Mary Edith Pitts, famously known around town for years of performing in drag with the Armorettes and on her own, and from hosting shows at Burkhart’s, has a heart bigger than most fans and bar patrons know.

Inspired by the tragic loss of best friends, Pitts has spent the past several years raising money for HIV/AIDS around her birthday. With close to 5,000 friends on Facebook alone, she is generously at work again this year and asking ALL her friends, old and new, to help a very worthy cause.
Her goal this year is to raise $60,000, and at this point she has raised approximately $28,500 from donations at shows, donors, and a scooter raffle.

“Money is still trickling in from the scooter raffle but we still need some big checks from donors,” said Pitts, whose real name and alter ego is Richard Cherry.

Pitts says her reason for doing this fundraiser is “simple,” that as difficult as it is in this economy for an average person to get by, it’s even more challenging for someone living with HIV/AIDS.

On August 21 she will be drawing the winner of the scooter raffle, for which she has been tirelessly selling tickets for weeks. Whether she reaches the goal or not, she plans to present her donation on Aug 29 to Jerusalem House, which provides housing for individuals with HIV/AIDS, and to The Grady Infectious Disease Program, which provides comprehensive healthcare.

Dragonette Brings Something New to Atlanta Music Fans

Courtesy Photo

Who is Dragonette? If you don’t already know, you will soon get to find out. Atlanta audiences will hear and meet the Canadian trio Monday Aug. 16 when they perform with Shy Child and Barry Brandon at The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place NE.

Dragonette is made up of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz (also in The New Deal), guitarist Chris Hugget and drummer Joel Stouffer. A few years ago they released a self-titled album before moving to London and signing with Mercury Records. There they recorded their debut album “Galore,” followed by a second studio album, “Fixin to Thrill” in 2009.
Since the release of their albums, they have been touring the UK and are now on tour in the U.S. Their stop in Atlanta at The Drunken Unicorn is greatly welcomed by local music fans. Their U.S. tour concludes in San Diego in late September.

Some of the hit singles they have released so far include “I Get Around” and “Jesus Doesn’t Love Me.” They also released a cover of Calvin Harris’ hit single “The Girls,” which they retitled “The Boys.” When they released “I Get Around” in their home country of Canada, it peaked at number fifty-seven on Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100.

The lead singer and bassist/producer met at a music festival and originally formed a duo they called The Fuzz. They rehearsed in their basement for fun. The duo recruited a third musician and formed Dragonette after these initial recordings, and supported New Order on only their second live performance. In 2005, the band released the Dragonette EP, prior to signing a record deal with Mercury Records of Universal Music UK.