It's been a spring of new ways to help out. I spent some time with a friend on regular walks and talks to help them through a break up. As a way to be support and company to struggle sometimes the one on one and the very local is great. 

We have been donating time and food to the homeless here on our street as a way to help the larger refugee community that includes the refugees in Syria, Iraq, Beirut, Turkey, Germany, the EU, Israel and the US as they struggle to survive war and the aftermath of fleeing war. 

Our #musiciansvolunteerarmy is growing. It is a great pleasure and joy to play for those who would otherwise not get out and hear music. 

We visited a beautiful home for 200+ troubled children in Netanya Israel. A brief hour of music and some beautiful smiles. Driving there and back we were confronted with the enormous walls that separate peoples in the middle east. Music plays on both sides of every wall. 

Stay tuned. Get in touch if you want to help out. Stay positive. Peace and Love

I have been puttin in time in the shed and puttin beans on the table. Luckily I work with a lot of people who have kept me in the volunteering activities. Sometimes for a friend who is distraught sometimes for an organization that works with the larger community. Once in a while when a friend stumbles and needs help righting themselves as they start to walk again.

My mind has been organizing gatherings here at the house and new venues for me to volunteer at.

I have reached out to one network of hospice care facilities and put in my application. Here in California it is necessary to fill out apps and go through some extensive background checking. All to the good if we are creating an environment more safe for the community we serve.  But it slows things down.

I have often contacted a live in community in other states on the same day that I showed up and volunteered at their site. So i am continuing to do both and developing a larger network of locales where we can volunteer.

This past weekend I helped out donating time to engineer sound at a release party for a friend. I visited with family and recorded a soundtrack.  I am excited to put these activities together as I build a community around music and giving.

Stay tuned. As I begin to play at the newest live-in communities I have found I hope to have some exciting events to report on in the coming weeks and months.

Thank you to Earthworks High Definition Microphones for the vocal mic in the second pic.

I have just returned from my 3 month tour. Whew! It was a ton of work and a ton of fun!

I was so lucky to meet some more musicians who want to join forces for the benefit of those in live in communities.

I am looking forward to playing some MusiciansVolunteerArmy gigs here in LA this week!!

Stay tuned!

Dedication in the act ... if you play an instrument bring it along and you'll be doubly gifted with appreciation and inspiration

The people who run the VA Hospital, the parts that I know in bldg 30 and 60, in Tucson, AZ are lovely people. I have met a few of them now but the attitude has been the same from everyone and their dedication to caring for the vets who are there temporarily or long term is lovely.  At the most recent show on March 25th 2015 one of the directors stopped in to say hello and shake our hands.

I am inspired and feel I have a front row seat to some very important loving acts of caring and kindness in these encounters and it is a gift to be able to witness it all.

Other volunteers arrive and go to work bringing joy to the environment. One great example was the music therapist who came in just as I was finishing up and handed out percussion instruments and launched into song as soon as I was done.

The new employees and full time workers I meet give so much and inspire myself and the folks who help me arrange and play these shows.

If you ever get a chance go by and see what I mean. And if you play an instrument bring it along and you'll be doubly gifted with appreciation and inspiration.

The people who have been doing this work

The people who have been doing this work for longer than I have are numerous.

I found this organization when I was working in Davis, CA on my last tour. I was introduced to a member of the local choir by an old high school friend. I like the fact that this network of choirs is coast to coast and has more than a 130 chapters.


http://thresholdchoir.org

Or on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ThresholdChoir

From their own website:

"Threshold Choir is a network of a cappella choirs of primarily women's voices:
a community whose mission is to sing for and with those at the thresholds of life. 

Founded in 2000, more than 130 choirs now serve their local communities, nationwide and worldwide."


Let me know if you want to get involved on the road or in your home town!

It Was A Rocket Ship For The Soul - (When it's is about more than the art)

I started thinking back to when I first heard music. I started listening and writing songs in my parents home where they created an other worldly awe of music. To them too it was more than music. They had seen and expected big things from music. They met in a protest against segregation. My parents taught us the protest songs that had helped galvanize movements and changed our society. They taught us songs full of history that transported us.

So music was change. It was a rocket ship for the soul - out to other places and times. That is what I love about the music I learned and the work I try to do today.

Musicians sometimes end up in a cul de sac of 'Look At Me' activities and after a while it gets tiring. I got tired of it and was less and less committed to working for the attention. But the donations of music at each stop of the recent tours felt more like a prayer than I felt like a player.

It actually happened quite slowly. It started with my mother singing. And working with Norma Blase in the East Bay at retirement communities. (A topic for a future blog ... How To Volunteer In A Field Where Your Friends Make A Living). In NYC with Dorothy Potter, Alex Forbes and John Beltzer writing songs for chronically and terminally ill children as part of SongsOfLove.org.

Playing for Resolve To Stop The Violence Project in the San Bruno jail in California and feeling a different kind of heart opening from people who like those in retirement communities and those struggling with disease maybe receive music in a deeper way.

I think maybe I still hope for a one on one exchange that changes peoples lives a little bit at a time. Music as prayer, music as transporter both to and from other places.



Stay tuned ...

On these tours we have met other singer songwriters, and heard about a cappella groups, string quartets and musicians of all sorts who have been working in this way. In my next entry I will shine a light and try to pay homage to all of the wonderful work others are doing in this area. 

How-To - Help Others With Your Music

I have been overwhelmed with the energy and generosity of the folks I have met at the shows I donated on this tour.

What a blessing.

I have also met and heard of even more groups and individuals who are involved in the work of bringing music to those who have a hard time getting out. More on that in a future post.

Where do you think I should play next?

I have my itinerary pretty set and pretty full for the trip back to LA but I thought: I need to write a brief how-to on what I have been doing. So here it is:

1. You can be on tour or in your hometown but you must want to share your music with folks who are bed ridden or unable to leave their place of residence.

2. You can look up any establishment that serves people who do not get out much. You can also reach out to your friends and family and find an individual who is ailing or one that has been unable to leave home in a while. Put out the word that you are volunteering your music in any way you like.

3. You can contact the home or individual and ask to speak to the person in charge of volunteer services. Let that person know that you would like to offer an hour long donated show for their resident(s).

4. Schedule a time to play for them. Sometimes you will need to register with them also in advance.

5. On the scheduled day go to the facility and play for the folks who don't usually encounter you as their entertainment. Share your good feelings and love with them. Receive the family and individual gratitude in return. Love life!

6. Repeat.


7. If you need any help doing these steps, ones I haven't thought of or want to share something ask me or share it with me. I will help any way I can!