Ride On!

We were gonna wait to tell you about New York City musician/producer Joel Hamilton's cross-country Vespa ride to benefit his producer friend Scott Harding and FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT). You see, we did a podcast interview with Joel this week, but haven't gotten around to editing it yet. But the awesome Ann Powers of the L.A. Times broke the story on the paper's music blog yesterday, so we figured we might as well fill you in.

Joel, who has worked the faders for acts like Elvis Costello, Marc Ribot, Jolie Holland and more, is riding his Vespa coast-to-coast this September to raise money for Scott Harding, a fellow NYC producer who was paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident while leaving a late-night studio session. Like so many musicians and engineers, Scott didn't have health insurance, and his medical bills are astronomical.

Not to give too much away from our podcast, but Joel also wanted to find a way to raise awareness about the importance of health insurance to the creative community. Often, artists think they don't have time to learn about their health insurance options, or feel they can't afford it. Well, coverage is definitely cheaper than having your wages garnished for the rest of your life to pay off massive medical bills resulting from a catastrophic accident or unforeseen illness.

When Joel came across HINT — a free hotline that offers information to musicians about their health insurance options — he immediately recognized its value, and decided to make it part of his ride. We're psyched that Joel is not only helping his friend, but also contributing to this worthwhile service for musicians.

If you're a musician who wants to know about your health insurance options, check out the HINT website. It's loaded with information on the subject, written in plain language. While there, you can schedule a free phone consultation with our health insurance expert, who is also a musician.

Stay tuned for the podcast interview with Joel, which should be up soon.