--- title: "Meet the Band: Acoustic Karma" description: We'll be RockingForGood with Acoustic Karma on October 22nd. Meet the performers. image: https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/IMG_6554.jpg --- Toggle navigation ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-mobile-menu.png) [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/LOGO_ALTSO_White.png)](https://www.altso.org/) ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-close.png) - [Who We Are.](https://www.altso.org/) - [Why Mobility?](https://www.altso.org/whymobility) - [Our Work.](https://www.altso.org/ourwork) - [CoolKid Stories.](https://www.altso.org/coolkids) - [Take Action.](https://www.altso.org/takeaction) - [CoolKids Club.](https://www.altso.org/ckc) - [Rocktoberfest.](https://www.altso.org/rocktoberfest) - [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) - [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-instagram.png)](http://instagram.com/alegtostandon) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-linkedin.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-leg-to-stand-on) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icons-twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/ALegToStandOn) - [![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/Blog/icon-vimeo.png)](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) The Community. ![](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/IMG_6554.jpg) ###### September 27, 2020 # Meet the Band: Acoustic Karma Author: ALTSO Staff Acoustic Karma will be joining us at this year's live-streamed Rocktoberfest concert! [Register](http://www.altso.org/rocktoberfest#register), for free, to rock with them on October 21, 2021.  ---- Every year across the country our Rocktoberfest musicians Rock For Good to raise awareness - and critical funds - for our CoolKids. From now until October 22nd, we'll be highlighting the musicians who will be rocking virtually with us at this year's Rocktoberfest. Up this week: Acoustic Karma from NYC featuring Doug Newsome, Koma Gandy Fischbein, Greg Khost, Doug Steinschneider, Felix Partow, and Linda Champagne.    **How did Acoustic Karma get started?**   Koma and Doug met and saw each other play and just decided to give it a try. We then added members each year and the band grew to be what it is today!    ![IMG_9108](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/IMG_9108.jpg?width=5184&name=IMG_9108.jpg) *Acoustic Karma at Rocktoberfest-NYC in 2017.*   **How did you get involved with ALTSO?** I (Doug) met Mead Welles \[founder of ALTSO\] at a conference in Bermuda in 2009. That year I came to Rocktoberfest, which was being held at BB King's. Mead promptly invited me to play with him on stage.   Koma got an email about ALTSO while working for a fund in 2008, and signed up to perform in the Acoustic Room and has been hooked on ALTSO ever since.   And we've been formally the Acoustic Karma since 2014.   ![_MG_8179 - Version 2](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/_MG_8179%20-%20Version%202.jpg?width=1024&name=_MG_8179%20-%20Version%202.jpg) *Doug Newsome and bandmates performing at Rocktoberfest-NYC in 2011.*   **What does ALTSO mean to you? ** We love that ALTSO directly changes the lives of children completely and positions them to live a much more rewarding life -- it's as simple as that.     **Do you have a favorite song to perform? Or venue?** Any song that gets the crowd singing and any place that will have us!     **Does Acoustic Karma have any pre-Rocktoberfest (or post-Rocktoberfest) band rituals?** We always have to cull one or two songs from our set list that don't make the cut.     **One of the benefits of a Virtual Rocktoberfest...things should stay on time. What are Acoustic Karma's favorite ALTSO performance memories?** Koma singing Sweet Child o' Mine and my \[Doug's\] son Jack singing in the 2018 Rocktoberfest. ![_MG_8053 - Version 2](https://thecommunity.altso.org/hs-fs/hubfs/_MG_8053%20-%20Version%202.jpg?width=1024&name=_MG_8053%20-%20Version%202.jpg) *Koma performing at Rocktoberfest-NYC in 2011.*   **How is the band preparing for this year's virtual Rocktoberfest? ** We've never done this so it's all new to us!   ### ALTSO Staff [← Back to posts](https://thecommunity.altso.org) ### Recent Posts. ### Categories. - [Our Impact: CoolKid Stories (46)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/our-impact-coolkid-stories) - [Rocktoberfest (24)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/rocktoberfest) - [Press Releases (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/press-releases) - [Program Updates (19)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/program-updates) - [Meet ALTSO (11)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/meet-altso) - [NextGen Club (9)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/nextgen-club) - [ALTSO Ambassadors (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-ambassadors) - [Fundraisers & Events (6)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/fundraisers-events) - [Partnerships (4)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/partnerships) - [ALTSO UK (1)](https://thecommunity.altso.org/tag/altso-uk) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/c00edccc-f8e9-4eca-9e2a-f833082df776) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6749729/18f7dbf7-96d9-4b3d-8765-15c37c83997a) A Leg To Stand On, Inc. is a US Based 501(C)3 EIN 02-0594709 & UK Based Charity 1118048 ©2026 - - - - [About us.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus) [Financials.](https://www.altso.org/financials) [Brand Partners.](https://www.altso.org/partner) [Videos.](https://vimeo.com/user8076691) [The Community Blog.](https://thecommunity.altso.org/) [Privacy.](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#privacypolicy) [Get our emails.](https://www.altso.org/getouremails) [Contact us.](https://www.altso.org/contactus) [Donate.](https://www.altso.org/donate) ## [View our Accreditations](https://www.altso.org/aboutus#accreditations) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "ALTSO Staff", "url" : "https://thecommunity.altso.org/author/altso-staff" }, "dateModified" : "2021-08-24T16:31:54.556Z", "datePublished" : "2020-09-27T12:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Meet the Band: Acoustic Karma", "image" : [ "https://thecommunity.altso.org/hubfs/IMG_6554.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://thecommunity.altso.org/meet-the-band-acoustic-karma", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" }, "name" : "A Leg To Stand On" } } ```