Vega Chastain The Musician's and Songwriter's Guild of South Carolina (MSG of SC) recently completed the 501(c) 3 paperwork necessary to become a certified non- profit organization. In addition to helping local musicians and songwriters develop their talent, the group wants to be an active part of the community and put its energy where it can benefit the Columbia area.

For its first major project, the guild has chosen to make a powerful statement about an issue that is both timely and controversial. Using primarily in- house talent, MSG of SC has created a video to address the effects of second hand smoke in the workplace. The funding for the video was provided by the S.C. Tobacco Collaborative.

This summer, Richland County and Columbia passed ordinances to ban second hand smoke from all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Lexington County is currently discussing similar legislation.

The South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative has been active in publicizing this issue and getting ordinances on the agendas of local governments. Earlier versions of this type legislation excluded food service industries from the ban, in effect exposing waiters, bartenders, busboys, and musicians to dangerous levels of second hand smoke in their workplaces. The Tobacco Collaborative, along with other concerned citizens, has worked to make sure food service workers were included in any legislation.

A scene from Her Life Her Lifeis an MSG of SC project designed to vividly point out how service workers are exposed to this danger and that restaurants and bars are indeed workplaces.

The song was written by guild member and local musician Chip Mosteller, and is sung by Lucas War Hero, whose members also pay guild dues. The band got its name from Cool Hand Luke and is well known in the Midlands for rock and blues tinged covers and original tunes.

Kitchenfish filmed and produced the video, which starred Vega Chastain as the young waitress. Corey Plaugh was the sound engineer and Charles and Vicki Whitehead handled project management. The scenes were shot at Main Street Café in Lexington.

Lucas War Hero Several guild members served as extras in the video; including Sharon Van Fange, Keith Bates, Angela Trautman, Kendra Mosteller, Tom Coolidge, and Bill Stevens. The video premiered at the Nickelodeon in July and is currently featured on You Tube.

This project was dedicated to the memory of Chris Conner, longtime Columbia musician and Guild member who died last November from stage four lung cancer.

The four minute video is available free of charge to schools, civic groups, and other organizations. Anyone wishing more information can contact Vicki Whitehead, vicki@showcasepromo.com.

The project is also available for viewing, along with other information about Musicians and Songwriters of South Carolina, at www.scsongwriters.com.