Tastemakers, Northeastern’s music magazine, is jam-packed with interviews, trend opinion pieces, concert schedules, and CD and concert reviews, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. For students and by students, it features bands that have played at the University’s own campus nightclub, afterHOURS, as well as in major Boston venues.
While on the road with Warped Tour last year, Kristina Grossmann, ’08, became ill. She ended up in an emergency room, where she was dissatisfied with the care she received from doctors and nurses who assumed she did not have health insurance.
Rock bands do indeed lead unusual lives, touring the world, rehearsing, and performing for thousands of fans. Not surprisingly, many insurance companies see these musicians as an at-risk population. “A lot of my friends’ bands have had to pay thousands of dollars worth of medical bills. Many musicians in rock bands forego health care until situations become desperate,” says Grossmann.
With this knowledge, and after her own experience, Grossmann set out to solve this problem by creating Rock for Health, an organization dedicated to making health insurance available and affordable for musicians.
The company first took shape as an assignment in her music entrepreneurship class with Richard Strasser, assistant professor of music. “This was the perfect opportunity for me,” says Grossmann. “I had the careful guidance of Professor Strasser and learned the proper way to create a business plan and how to file appropriate documents with the government. I learned so much in that class and am very grateful for Professor Strasser’s help!”
These days, Rock for Health is structured around live music, including touring, festivals, and shows. Grossmann promotes the organization through the sale of T-shirts and sweatshirts that bands wear on stage to show their support. The company is also working to form partnerships with nutritional companies to send bands on the road with care packages full of immunity vitamins and supplements.