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That song, "What Matters," would go on to raise more than $45,000 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, an organization dedicated to combatting hate-motivated speech and violence through educational programs.

"I was really inspired by his parents because I had seen them on the news,"Driscoll said. "Everything they spoke about was about unconditional love."

Backed by a full choir, Driscoll will perform the piece, as well as selections from her CDs "The Play" and "Lucky," at 7:30 p.m. March 3 at the Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Escondido.

'Very private song'

Driscoll first performed the song shortly after Shepard's death. Audience members and friends encouraged her to record it.

"I wasn't going to do anything with it; it was a very private song," Driscoll said. "I thought maybe I'd send a copy to his mother with a card."

Driscoll raised $1,000 from an initial pressing of the song and a sold-out benefit concert at Twiggs Bakery and Coffeehouse in San Diego. She called a hotline established in Shepard's name to ask where she could send the money. She later received a letter from Shepard's mother, Judy, who asked if Driscoll would visit her in Wyoming to perform the song.

"It was at the beginning of one of the trials for one of Matthew's killers," Driscoll recalled. "We just had an instant connection and kind of felt like we'd known each other for years."

Judy Shepard endorsed the song on behalf of the foundation, and it was later featured in the NBC TV movie, "The Matthew Shepard Story."

"I started touring on behalf of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and selling the single out of the trunk of my car," Driscoll said. "I decided to make sure that all the proceeds went to anti-hate crime charities.

"It's the most important work I've ever done in my life."

Social worker

Driscoll's work with the foundation is the tip of her involvement in social justice issues. She has lent her voice to the Nicole Brown Foundation, the Human Rights Campaign and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, an organization that protects and supports refugees at the request of a government or the United Nations.

"I probably do at least 20 to 30 benefit concerts a year," said Driscoll, a Tierrasanta resident who also speaks on social justice issues at colleges.

Driscoll was asked to perform at an AIDS benefit following a concert at Java Joe's in the early 1990s.

"It seems like a no-brainer to me to lend my voice to causes, because it's what I can give," she said.

Driscoll's soothing vocals and piano stylings have been compared to artists such as Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.

Recent departure

Since launching her career locally in 1992, Driscoll has performed with San Diego mainstays such as Eve Selis, Lisa Sanders and Berkley Hart. Her most steady collaborator has been San Diego bluegrass and folk musician Tim Flannery, a former player, coach and broadcaster for the San Diego Padres.

Upon his recent departure from San Diego to take a position as third-base coach with the San Francisco Giants, Flannery said he would miss performing with Driscoll the most.

"Listening to Randi is like sitting next to a warm fire," said Flannery of his longtime singing partner, via e-mail. "Her soul is in her music, and when she sings, she lets people in."

Driscoll performed with Flannery Saturday during a concert at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas that included Steve Poltz and Jack Tempchin.

"I cried at the end because he pretty much was saying goodbye to San Diego," Driscoll said. "He got the call and he's back on the field. That's what he loves to do and that's where he should be."

Driscoll also frequently performs with San Diego speaker Erik Wahl during presentations to corporate groups. While Driscoll sings and plays the piano, Wahl paints. Driscoll raised close to $2,000 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation by auctioning off one of Wahl's pieces at her last CD release party.

"He talks about how, as we sort of grow up and enter the corporate world, we leave our creative minds behind, and why do we do that," Driscoll explained.

Driscoll lends her talents occasionally to Sunday church service at the Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Rob Molek, outreach committee chairman for the church, recalled a recent performance.

"She is a phenomenal singer and pianist," he said. "To imagine that we are just a small little congregation and we've got a performer of her level is amazing."

The congregation schedules six concerts a year. For a list of upcoming performances, go to www.chaliceuu.org.

But what has recently brought Driscoll the most notice and the most personal fulfillment has been the success of her song "What Matters." The song was penned after the untimely death of Matthew Shepard as a result of the brutal hate crime perpetrated against him. Shepard died in Laramie, Wyo. on October 12, 1998 after having been beaten and tortured because of his homosexuality and the blind, hateful ignorance of his attackers. "I was really affected by that story," says Driscoll. "I took a picture of Matthew into my room with my keyboard and wrote the song. I was just going to send it to his parents to say 'I'm sorry, and we all grieve for your son.' I played it at a show in San Diego and the crowd really responded to it - they were holding one another and crying - and I realized that the story had affected everyone."

Since that night in California, Driscoll has taken the song around the country in aid of an important cause. "I was persuaded to record the song, but I couldn't stand the thought of ever making a dime off it. So I decided the only way I could do it was if $100% of the money that came in from it went to anti-hate crime charities." Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard, heard the song, invited Driscoll to meet with her and ultimately endorsed "What Matters" for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The Foundation, led by Judy and Dennis Shepard, works to increase awareness about the dangers of ignorance and intolerance and to encourage education and respect for all people from all walks of life. The CD single is currently available from New Light Media with a message from Judy Shepard.

"I do a lot of engagements with Judy Shepard where she'll be the keynote speaker and I'll play the song," Driscoll adds. As well as increasing awareness and helping the anti-crime cause in live appearances, the song has been noted in Rolling Stone and featured on a number of documentaries, in the Spike Lee-directed iam.com commercial, and in an upcoming NBC film on Matthew Shepard's life.

In addition to her work with "What Matters," Driscoll has embarked on a series of adventures, both for her career and her chosen cause. She has performed at the Lincoln Center for the Bang on a Can festival, the HRC Dinner in Washington, D.C., wan femmusic.com's 2000 Artist of the Year award and is a five-time San Diego Music Awards nominee.

Randi Driscoll's music is smart, piano-driven pop with hints of Joni Mitchell and Sarah McLachlan delivered by a warm, emotive voice and engaging melodies. Her recent work with Taxi, the A&R connection service for independent artists, is showing promise in conjunction with her rising profile in the song-writing world. "Taxi is very, very cool. Their screening process is great and they're selective about who they approach and how they approach them."

Her 1999 release Climb is an emotional evocative work - equal parts punchy folk, straightforward poetry and lush romanticism . Driscoll's strength as a songwriter is an intuitive straight-to-the-bone understanding of the unperpinnings of human relationships, actions and reactions.

Driscoll says, "I've been learning after September 11 that people really want to do the right thing. They want to make a difference. And this song is, without a doubt, the most important thing I've ever done."

With a new record The Play, due out in January 2002 and some serious tour plans in the works, Driscoll is still reeling from the effects "What Matters" has had upon her personally. "Songwriters can be pretty self-absorbed with trying to get our songs radio play and are we gonna get a deal. But when you take some time off and do something like this, you quickly learn what's really important in life. You meet people like the Shepards who are these unbelievably gracious, wonderfully compassionate people who don't seem to have any hate in them. They're just trying so hard to see that something good comes out of their son's death. It makes you stand back and realize what in life really matters."

More information on Randi Driscoll, including CDs, merchandise and tour information can be found at www.randidriscoll.com. The song "What Matters" can be purchased at www.newlightmedia.org and more information on Matthew Shepard and the Matthew Shepard Foundation is located at www.MatthewShepard.org.

Randi Driscoll is as beautiful as the music she plays. As a person, she is a dedicated individual who has touched many with the honesty in her songs. As a musician, she shares this same honesty and emotion in her piano playing as well as her intimate acoustic performances.

Currently promoting the release of her second full-length solo CD The Play, Randi will make a return stop in San Diego at Twigg's Coffee Shop on Friday, May 24, with accompanists Noah Heldman and Mike Mannion. She has established herself as one of our best singer-songwriters and it was more than three years ago that she officially released her tribute single "What Matters" at this same venue. The song was written as a personal response to the death of Matthew Shepard.

"What Matters" is the only single endorsed by the Matthew Shepard Foundation and it is featured as a live track on the new CD. It is one of sixteen beautiful tunes on the well-crafted disc. The single itself is still available online from www.newlightmedia.org and all of the proceeds benefit anti-hate crime charities.

While Randi has been busy touring the country, this stop at Twigg's will be a very special one. Guests include Dina Finai from New York City and Juno Award Winner Sue Medley. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Twigg's is located in University Heights at 4590 Park Blvd., and may be reached by calling (619)296-0616. Randi will also be performing at San Diego LGBT Pride on the Xone Stage on Sunday, July 28.

The Play is available online at www.randidriscoll.com and copies can also be purchased at the show. For the many who have already discovered the beauty of this artist, reserve this Friday evening for a return engagement. And for everyone else, well, make a date and discover the magical power of good music. To contact Just Russ, email ByJustRuss@aol.com.

Randi Driscoll's simple liner note barely hints at the complexity of her second solo album, The Play. Her intimate and authentic lyrics, deeply rooted in palpable feelings, truth and honesty, bring to life this beautifully melodic concept record about the human condition. Producer Larry Mitchell spotlights Driscoll's angelic vocals and impassioned piano work, adding the right mix of bass and drums and weaving in warm, velvety layers of guitars.

Structured like a theatrical production, The Play opens with a brief orchestral seque into the lush ballad "Let Me Be Your Angel." Like the sentimental "Saving Grace," the song is deeply personal and introspective. Driscoll is so adept at capturing the intricacies of emotional strengths and weaknesses that all of her songs seem like templates for the listener's own experiences.

"Shine" is a confident, upbeat power pop story of determination and triumph in the face of diversity. In contrast, the American Beauty-themed "Happy" is a sobering, earthy number. The elegant piano and cello arrangement of the reflective "Be Easy on Me" makes achingly real the difficulty of losing a loved one to other plans and places.

The lilting title track is the "finale," but it is on "My Turn" which follows that Driscoll fully exposes the emotional vulnerability inherent in all fifteen tracks. The three "encore" numbers were recorded live at Twiggs in December 2001, and include the moving Matthew Shepard tribute "What Matters," which closes The Play.

When Melissa Etheridge was asked to write a song for the U.S. women's soccer team in 1998, what she came up with was something entirely different. "I'd go to work on this soccer song, and I'd be working more on this Matthew Shepard song," she says, referring to the die University of Wyoming student who had been brutally murdered in Laramie a month earlier. "A week later I got two pages worth of Matthew Shepard and nothing on the soccer team."

Etheridge is not the only one taking on Shepard's cause. Randi Driscoll, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter, wrote a ballad called "What Matters" for Shepard's parents, Judy and Dennis, after seeing his funeral on the news. The CD single of the song has sold about 1000 copies, with proceeds going to tolerance organizations like the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Women's choirs were very popular in the 19th century. But it's unlikely that Victorian literature would satisfy such a choir today, especially Vox Femina Los Angeles, which describes itself as "a family of women who are lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual."

So to solve the problem of repertory, the group, founded in 1997 by conductor Iris S. Levine, has commissioned a number of new works as well as arrangements for women's voices.

Under Levine's direction, the chorus sang premieres of three multipart works in its "Celebrating Women--Celebrating Our Diversity" program Saturday at Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. The new works were Roger Bourland's "The Alarcon Madrigals (Book II)," three writers' contributions to "The Tolerance Project," and an arrangement by Kevin Robison of Randi Driscoll's "What Matters," a song written in response to the murder of Matthew Shepard.

All three works are miniatures that are easily accessible. Bourland's six a cappella madrigals are nicely crafted settings of poems by Francisco X. Alarcon.

Joan Szymko, Dave Kopplin and Karen Hart each wrote one effective song in musical-theater style for "The Tolerance Project."

The effort also included two spoken narratives published by the Tolerance Group at Culver City High School.

Driscoll's "What Matters'' is an inspirational soft-rock song that should have wider currency.

It was evident that few choirs are as engaged as Vox Femina. The 29 singers showed that singing and texts mattered to them, collectively and individually.

Rarely does so much individual personality shine through a choral group as the singers responded to the subject matter in a personally committed way.

They have different vocal strengths and techniques, however, as revealed by numerous soloists. Levine is able to blend all that into a honed musical-theater style, but it has limits in dynamic, focus and color.

Lisa Edwards, Ida Bodin and Megan Foley were the discreet pianist, bassist and percussionist, respectively.

As the single encore, the chorus sang Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's "Kiss the Girl" from Walt Disney's "The Little Mermaid" as singers Elizabeth Swenson and Liesl Scalzitti acted out a delightful scene of two women finding each other, which neither Disney nor the Victorians might have envisioned as an element for a women's chorus.

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives . For information about reprinting this article, go to www.lats.com/rights . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times

Randi Driscoll, who garnered national attention for "What Matters", her tribute to the life of Matthew Shepard, will never be fully captured on record. With rich vocals infused by a depth Jewel could only dream of, coupled with the intensity of her life piano, Driscoll is San Diego's most gifted live performer.

Climb to calmness awfully close, though. The lyrics of "Coffee for the Queen" read like poet Maya Angelou in peak form, introduced by a truly haunting rendition of "Amazing Grace." "What She Said" is quite possibly the most emotionally charged memoir of yesteryear ever recorded. Driscoll sings, "Maybe if you hadn't been there to dry my eyes/Brush back my hair/I wouldn't have heard what she said/My God, how I tried/My God, how I tried/You have got to believe/My God, if I lied/My God, if I lied/you have got to forgive."

Emotion is Driscoll's greatest asset. Her voice can move the most emotionally void listener to tears. That this record can't measure up to Driscoll's live performance is only a compliment to her incredible ability to move a crowd. As is, Climb stands as a treasured party favor: something to tide fans over until the next time Driscoll comes through town.

Randi Driscoll has always been one of my favorite singer-songwriters in the San Diego music scene. Her voice has a rich and satisfying quality to it and she sings her songs with passion and conviction. Yet it was not until she split from her band and branched out on her own did she truly evolve into the outstanding artist I saw perform at Twiggs coffeehouse on August 21, 1999 for the release of her new CD "Climb."

The CD features a blend of pop and folk rock songs that pour out of Randi's soul and into the listener's heart. A poignant highlight on the disc is "What Matters," a song Randi wrote in response to the killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming. Randi was saddened and outraged by this senseless loss and was moved to write a powerful tribute to him. The song was released as a single in the spring and Randi has been gaining notoriety performing it at benefits around the country to help raise money for anti-hate-crime organizations. Therefore, I wasn't surprised when I arrived at Twiggs for her show to see a standing-room-only crowd fill the room and spill out on to the sidewalk. Due to the large number of fans who could not get into the sold-out event the management set up a video monitor outside the club for those fans who were not lucky enough to get inside.

There was a feeling of nervous excitement in the room as the crowd waited for Randi to take the stage. The audience broke into thunderous applause as she made her entrance and took her seat at the piano. Randi was clearly moved by the overwhelming response she received and deeply thanked everyone for coming. She began her set with "Paper Hearts," the opening cut from her CD, a heartfelt song that rang with emotion. Randi was in fine voice as she played the tunes off her new album.

Everyone in the room was totally into the music and it was obvious that entertainer and audience were enjoying this special night together. It became a truly remarkable evening when Randi introduced the song "Umbrella" from her album in a unique way. She told everyone that she was going to make it rain--if the audience believed her and did not say a word. You knew she had the audience in the palm of her hand when in an instant you could hear a pin drop. She then had the audience do a series of repetitive hand percussion sounds at different intervals and, voila, you could hear it rain! We all looked at each other in total amazement. This woman was a sorcerer.

We had all gone throught the looking glass and become the show. The line between artist and audience had been erased. Wasn't this what performance was all about? For the finale, Randi played the song we had all been waiting for--her tribute to Matthew Shepard. As I looked around the room I could see tears flowing everywhere. Wouldn't you know, she had made it rain.
- Sandy Troy

Randi would like to thank Twiggs, John, and everyone who came to the show that evening, along with the wonderful musicians who helped make it such a fantastic night. Also a special thank you to Kendall Bard and Bebe, for helping with the taping...and setting up the monitor!

"I don't throw this around lightly, but when I say this song has changed my life, I really mean it. It absolutely has changed my life."

The song is "What Matters," and like most life-altering events, it caught Randi Driscoll by surprise. She wrote her tender tribute to hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard in the privacy of her bedroom, and she planned on keeping it to herself. This is what happened instead:

Less than a month after she wrote it, Driscoll performed "What Matters" at Borders Books and Music. The audience response was so overwhelming, the singer had trouble finishing her set because so many people were crying. In the audience was local singer-songwriter Dana LeeWood, who was so moved by "What Matters" she insisted Driscoll record it.

Driscoll recorded the song in January, backed by local musicians who worked for free and using studio time that LeeWood had won in a songwriting contest. Since then, Driscoll has sold more than 1,000 copies of the CD single, with the proceeds going to several nonprofit agencies, including the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Most importantly, she has become friends with Matthew's mother Judy, and Driscoll has been invited to perform the song at Gay Pride celebrations in San Francisco and San Diego, and anti-hate crime events in Dallas and Colorado.

"Out of everything I have done in the last eight years, this song has taken on a life of its own," said Driscoll. "I didn't think in 10 million years this would happen. This song has become my top priority, and it will remain my top priority."

And while she is in no big hurry to talk about it, Driscoll has just released "Climb," a new album that features "What Matters," along with 11 other songs exploring love and loss and the maturity that comes along with them. Written and recorded after Driscoll split with musical partner Paul Abbott (along with the band that backed her on 1997's "Wriggle" album), "Climb" is powered by Driscoll's supple piano playing and a near-obsessive desire to explore every nook and cranny of a heartache.

"The album is named after a song that didn't make the final cut," Driscoll said. "That song was about growing and climbing and moving on, and I think the whole album reflects that. All the songs are really inner monologues that have gotten out. Ask anyone who has had a band break up, and they will tell you it's like a relationship breaking up. It's been an incredible couple of years, but this time has not been without a dip or two."

A native of New Jersey, Driscoll moved to San Diego in 1989. In 1990, she joined singer-guitarist Abbott to form Rekless Abandon, an acoustic duo that became a regular presence on the local coffeehouse scene.

"For awhile there, it was us, the Rugburns, and John Katchur and Frank Drennan," said Driscoll, who moved to Los Angeles in July. "I had a lot of fun, but because Paul was such a great guitar player, I put some of my music on hold. A lot of people had no idea I even played the piano. The first time I did an open-mike show at Java Joe's with my little portable keyboard, people were shocked."

"Climb" is being released by East River Records, a small independent label based in Pacific Palisades. Knowing that everything from distribution to promotion (not to mention coveted radio airplay) will be a challenge, Driscoll will be taking "Climb" on the road, hauling her keyboards and her inner monologues out to new venues in faraway places. And when the time is right, she will perform "What Matters," no matter how much it hurts.

"Each time I do it, it gets harder," Driscoll said. "You would think it would get easier, but it doesn't. But the more I sing it, and the more people respond to it, the more I see how important it is."

A local singer-songwriter hopes to raise awareness about hate crimes with the release of her new single, "What Matters." Randi Driscoll wrote the song in response to the hate-crime beating death of Matthew Shepard last year.

'I heard he had passed away and I cried and cried; then I went into my room and wrote this song," Driscoll said.

A week later, Driscoll said she performed the song for the first time at a show she was doing at Borders Books and Music. In the audience that night was singer-songwriter Dana LeeWood of Escondido, who encouraged Driscoll to record the song right away.

LeeWood went so far as to give Driscoll three hours of studio time she had won from the San Diego Songwriters Guild, she said.

In addition to LeeWood's generosity, musicians chipped in their services and East River Records paid for extra studio time and an engineer, Driscoll said.

"I've been around a lot of incredible things in San Diego, but this blew me away," she said.

When she wrote the song, Driscoll said she kept a picture of Shepard - a gay student in Wyoming who was beaten to death last year - by her piano to help her write a song that she could see him singing.

"My plan was to send it to his parents," she said.

Keeping his presence close by also helped Driscoll dampen the anger she felt about what happened, she said.

"I was disgusted by what they did to him, and I was amazed that the song did not come from an angry place," she said.

Even though the song is a ballad, it has a strong effect on people, Driscoll said.

"You're angry that (Shepard's death) happened, but you don't feel anger when you hear the song," she said.

More than 100 copies of the CD single were sold at a recent benefit concert held at TWIGGS coffeehouse in San Diego.

"I've heard that San Diego is apathetic, but I didn't see that at all," Driscoll said. "A lot of people came up to me afterwards to thank me for recording the song. There was lots of crying."

Driscoll said an additional $300 will be added to the proceeds before being donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and other anti-hate crime organizations.

"What Matters" may have been written as a direct response to what happened to Shepard, but its lyrics address the universal need for acceptance.

The issue is a hot topic for Driscoll, who speaks passionately about the need for developing understanding and acceptance through love and compassion.

Driscoll was raised in New Jersey by conservative parents who taught her early in life how to "accept people no matter what," she said.

She has been writing songs since she was 11 years old. The first song of any significance that she wrote was a love song to a boy she was dating at the time, she said.

"I taped it for him, and he played it for everyone. I was mortified," she said.

The experience did not keep Driscoll from pursuing a career in music. She can be heard on a variety of compilation CDs and on her first solo CD titled "Wriggle." Driscoll said she is currently working on her second CD.

Armed with a piano and a headful of reflective memories, singer-songwriter Randi Driscoll transforms her heartfelt emotions into nostalgic confessions. Adding yet another dimension to her musical prowess, Driscoll often debuts her new songs with guitarist Kyle Zamora revealing her poetic musings to coffee shop club audiences around town, most notably opening up for Pat Benatar recently. Driscoll's voice rings with visions of love, loss, and regret intertwined with faint bursts of fantasy and enchantment.

She began her musical career in 1990 when she formed an acoustic duo with guitarist and fellow songwriter Paul Abbott.

"Paul and I met at the University of San Diego and wrote songs and played together for seven years," explains Driscoll. "We played different venues in San Francisco and New York as Rekless Abandon."

After spending nearly two years in the big cities acquiring a fan base in San Francisco and recording in New York, the duo returned to San Diego and strengthened their sound by adding bassist Mike Anderson and drummer Noah Heldman to the lineup.

In 1995, the band released the CD wriggle and last year Driscoll received a nomination for best acoustic artist at the San Diego Music Awards for the third time.

Both Driscoll and Abbott are now exploring their creative energies through solo projects. Both are working on their own CD's. Abbott will release an instrumental collection of tunes highlighting his fancy fingerwork.

Deviating from the forceful vigor of prior collaborations with guitarist Abbott and the band she played with since '95, Driscoll's solo work is very subdued, almost melancholy in comparison.

Although she's been playing the piano since the age of seven, she hasn't performed songs she's written for the instrument until recently. "The songs now are really melodic and they come from a very real part of me because I write them completely," says Driscoll. "They're kind of like naked truth. I feel like I'm very connected to them because of everything that has happened."

Throughout her introspective works, her musical mastery combines soft, soothing piano melodies juxtaposed with sullen refrains echoing themes of heartbreak and lament.

'Tucker's Road' is as vague reminder of Natalie Merchant's voice in 10,000 Maniacs song "These Are the Days", as Driscoll pours her soul into the words "These are the things you left/I do not forget."

She's taken the past few months off to compose her delicately textured tunes and "Dancing in 7" is one of those pieces swelling with lyrical intensity. Driscoll entices the listener to float beside her through conflicting dreams of wanting, desire and vulnerability. "Some lovers never die/they just fade away deeper inside and some others keep you dancing," she lightly bellows.

The beautifully pensive ballad "What She Said" offers a pining remembrance of lost love as Driscoll weaves together a patchwork of emotion. At times she's apologetic and at other times she's angry and jealous. The piano playing adds a Tori Amos feel to the tune.

A personal song Driscoll titled "Pass Me Away" is dedicated to her half-sister who was 15 years older than her. "She and I were never really close and she had a lot of problems that were very difficult for her to deal with in her life," says Driscoll. "She died two years ago on Christmas Eve." Driscoll continues, "She died tragically under circumstances that could've been prevented."

She says it was when she came hack from the funeral in New Jersey that she realized that when problems are on TV talk shows or in the newspaper, its easier to understand that a person needs help, but a challenging situation with a relative in one's own life is more difficult to remedy.

In addition to her repertoire of tunes she has, Driscoll aims to expand her duo to include a cellist and violinist to perform on the CD which she plans to release in the upcoming months.

She's also been recording a ditty for a PF Productions compilation for animal rights. The analogy of freeing the caged bird is used in a tune about a prince attempting to release a princess locked in the king's tower. "It s a song about a woman being under the control of an overbearing partner who confines her and keeps her in," says Driscoll. The CD will benefit wildlife rehabilitation.

"I want people to come away from this concert with a positive attitude," singer-songwriter Lisa Sanders said with a smile midway through the "Artists Against Sexual Assault" benefit concert that took place at Java Joe's in Ocean Beach last Wednesday night.

"I want them to know that there are people out there who care, and that the victims aren't alone."

This powerful message seemed to be the thread that bound the local artists performing together Wednesday. They all seemed to want the audience to go home having learned one thing: No matter how bad it gets, there is always hope.

The evening jump-started to the kicking tunes of Wise Monkey Orchestra. Composed of a bongo, trumpet, conga, bass guitar and saxophone, the always-changing flavor of music coming from this group is both exciting and refreshing. The catchy "Speak to Me" comes across with some what of a calypso feel, while "Under Water" oozes of Caribbean influence.

In conjunction with the wonderful bluesy tone of their lead singer, Wise Monkey Orchestra definitely has a bright future on the local circuit. Proving to be a wise choice to open a show of this nature, the beats of this band symbolized love, faith and hopeÐkeeping up audience members' spirits.

With talk of raffles and statistics by the various performers, Randi Driscoll next took to the stage. Audience members whispered comments like "Wow, what a voice!" and "She's even better than Jewel," as Driscoll's voice glided through the powerful "Seven" and the lush ballad "Tuckers Road."

And how right they were. Driscoll is truly a master of her craft, knowledgeable in many aspects of performing and musicality (she played the keyboard as she sang).

"I usually say yes to benefits like this," Driscoll said the Monday evening before her performance. "But this one has a special meaning to me. After I read the statistics, I knew I had to do it."

Her compassion for the event shined through in everything she sang. But it was her newly penned song, the truly gorgeous "Coffee for the Queen," that had the audience on the edge of their seats. Beginning with the famous lyrics of "Amazing Grace", Driscoll sang of strength, and every word came from the heart. She is truly an amazing performer, and with a little luck, Driscoll will see the words "record contract" in her future.

With these two performers as the obvious stand-outs of the evening, it seemed fitting to wrap up the night with as big a jolt as it began. Which explains why the talented and dynamic Lisa Sanders, whose self-tided debut album was recently released on Cargo Records, was asked to round out the night. Her music is as powerful as the messages she hopes to get across to audiences.

In an interview before the show, she discussed her reasons for doing the concert:

'I feel compassion for victims of these crimes. They all need hope, they need a time of healing. If my music can help, I'm more Than happy to sing for the cause."

And sing she did. Her voice is as vibrant in person as it is on her album, which is available-in record stores around the city.

The aroma of coffee hovered over the intimate audience of about fifty people at Java Joe's coffeehouse Wednesday night during the first of two local concerts on the theme of "Artists Against Sexual Assault."

Randi Driscoll's resonant voice segued to the lyrics of her latest song, "Coffee for the Queen" from a popular gospel tune that framed the events fund-raising intent for survivors at sexual assault: saving lives. She sang "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."

In an effort to raise awareness about sexual violence, the Center for Community Solutions organized the concert, which was preceded by a candlelight vigil at the end of Newport Avenue, beside the Ocean Beach Pier.

Two rape survivors from serial cases in San Diego spoke at the candlelight vigil against the backdrop of a police car's blue strobe light, shining streams of light over the small group of supporters.

Lolita Ortiz, a survivor, spoke about victims of sexual violence.

"I'd like you all to take a moment and to listen to one of the leading causes of death."

She paused for about 30 seconds.

"That's right, what you heard was silence" Ortiz said.

In speaking about men and women victims, Ortiz said, "their silence is what killed them more than the crime itself."

Kim Caldwell, another speaker, was the seventh victim of the "Pacific Beach Rapist" about five years ago. Caldwell's testimony is credited for bringing about her assailant's 96-year sentence, which he currently serves.

She described the humiliation she suffered in dealing with people whose comments seemed to shift the blame from the rapist to the victim.

"We live in a shameful society," Caldwell said. "We must never forget that the shame belongs to the rapist. The rapist, in fact, is shame personified."

Local therapist Connie Saindon volunteers and trains at CCS. She said only about 10 percent of rape cases get reported and about one percent get to court.

Saindon, an adjunct professor at San Diego State University, also teaches a course that addresses culture-, ethnic- and gender-based issues on domestic violence.

"When in doubt, don't," she advises people who get mixed messages related to sexual advances.

According to Rape Crisis Center Director Kay Buck, who helped organize the events, a recent survey showed that 83.8 percent of rape victims were under 24 at the time of their rapes.

Buck said one of her concerns is that rape on college campuses is common.

Several local businesses, such as Salon Avalon and Cafe Athena supported the event. Other local performing artists who played at Java Joe's were Lisa Sanders, Carlos Olmeda, Joy Eden Harris and Wise Monkey Orchestra.

Several of the artists spoke openly with their audience about sexual-assault awareness.

Driscoll, who also teaches at San Diego Junior Theatre, told the audience about survey results obtained from eighth and ninth graders.

"This part really scared me to death," she said in reference to 40 percent of respondents who said "girls that wear sexy clothes are asking to be raped."

Driscoll said 27 percent believed "girls that get drunk at parties or on dates deserved (to be raped)."