I’ve said it and I’ve written it before, but once again I must say it: I am overwhelmed! How can a simple “Thank You” suffice after having been showered with praise and generosity at Show The Love: A Benefit for Robert K. Wolf? To be the recipient of such an outpouring, to witness such concern and prayer, sharing of song, testimony and assistance—is something that will always remain in my memory, for which I will forever be thankful. Douglas Corner was at capacity. Packed. Performer after performer hit the stage, so graciously giving of their time and talent. They and the organizers, the audience, the volunteers, the silent auction contributors, all acting selflessly, in solidarity to help in this time of need, in my continuing fight with this stupid cancer. How could I be anything but blown away (in the very best sense of the phrase)! In a perfect world, we would not need benefits like this; but I see this as a perfect world because I got to witness love, kindness and togetherness in a most abundant show of support. I could not feel more touched by the enthusiasm, the volunteerism, the testimony, the resounding Amens! So many of my friends are there in both the fair weather and then the perfect storm. I am fortunate in that they have expressed concern and stepped forward with such kindness. The Show the Love evening and the preparation for it, as well as the continued outpouring, unequivocally confirmed for me both the quantity and quality of my long-time and brand new friends. Love was shown and in completely crazy abundance. With an event of this size and with the number of folks involved, I must apologize in advance if I have excluded anyone. Thank you for your understanding (and if you find such an omission, I hope you will contact me and I will do my best to make amends!). I am blessed, fortunate, and loved. And most of all grateful. There is the turning. The turning of lemons to lemonade. The spinning of isolation and crisis into a perfect reason to celebrate and support. This is what I am watching unfold in my challenging circumstances—with my diagnosis and continuing fight, and with the stepping up of dear friends to get the ball rolling on answering the need and letting me know how loved I surely am. E Marlowe, you’re unbelievable. We are twin sister and brother from different mothers. We met each other only a couple of years ago, but very quickly I knew we went way back, further back than each of us probably knows. We must have been jamming deep in the back woods of eastern Europe, singing Yiddish murder ballads. How you saw my challenges and stepped up and gave so much of yourself— turning the thought into speech and action, rallying friends, associates, volunteers, making this such an unforgettable event and endeavor. Where did you find the energy and persistence? And may I have some of that? It would have been enough at any point. You went above and beyond and continue to do so. Your love, concern and friendship are so evident, and I am humbled. They say that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Kris Bergsnes, you appeared in spades and have so many lessons to offer. Dang it I’m still on Lesson One! I am so thankful we were connected years ago via Barbara Cloyd and Rusty Gaston, and that we finally reconnected to co-write, co-ride, learn, drink copious amounts of Starbucks, and share in the passion for knowledge, music, art, mnemonics, philosophy, religion, technology and so much more. You keep so many in this town inspired and charged to create and serve with everything they’ve got. You brought many to help me in this journey overall — and at Show The Love Benefit you brought them to the stage, to the audience, and straight to my heart. Kris you have a beautiful mind and soul. I will always cherish our friendship. We have miles and miles and writes and rides to go before we sleep! We certainly had the songs, the performers, the hosts. But there was such support from Nashville’s premiere live music room, Douglas Corner, with owner and good friend Mervin Louque, Sheri and Alex behind the bar and Donnie Winters doing sound so flawlessly. I’ve had such a terrific time over the years listening and playing at DC’s lamplight writer’s shows, and they have one of the best open mics anywhere. Some of my best memories unfolded right in and around the room, with great warmth, great respect for the songs. Thank you so much to Mervin and the team at Douglas Corner for giving of your time and awesome venue! The love of my life, Lori J. Ingberg, has Shown The Love in so many ways. Her undying love has pulled me through this fight and will continue to do so. Thank you, Lori, for for writing and sharing the stage with me, believing in me, sharing your life with me, and making me the luckiest man ever. As you may or may not have noticed, I kept myself relatively quiet during the evening. With the onslaught of performers and co-writers all I could do was stay riveted to my front and center seat. Round after round of Nashville’s best filled the evening with emotion, reverence, irreverence, render-without-a-net abandon—all in an incredible spirit of giving. A resounding thank you to performing co-writers and a couple of whom I hope will soon be co-writers —Pam Belford, Jane Bach, Billy Lee, The Red Wine Effect, Trevor Finlay, Karen E. Reynolds, AJ Engstrom, Jeff Anderson, Lori Ingberg, Anne E DeChant, E Marlowe, Ruby Lovett, Elizabeth Eckert, Jon McElroy, Lisa Carver, Cheley Tackett, Mark Stephen Jones, The Henningsens (did I say The Henningsens!!!!???) (Aaron, Brian, and Clara), Brian White, Karyn Williams, Phil Barton, Pete Sallis, Jeffrey East, Steve Goodie, Jordan Lawhead, and Cloverdayle. Scheduling changes and illness prevented Mary Hartman, Matt Nolen, and Anthony Smith from hitting the stage and/or making it to the event, but their support resounds as well. Also, so many great writers and performers were in attendance it was staggering! Among them being the great Brett Jones (he almost made it up), Thumbpickers Hall of Famer Thom Bresh, and the Chuck Taylor-wearing, one- and-only Three Chord Hero Jimmy Payne. We even got to bring a little church to Douglas Corner with Brian White’s testimony and prayer during his set. We held hands, prayed, and let out a resounding Amen, making the evening even more special! The love was shown from the stage by all of the evening’s great performers —in song and in prayer. And every bit of it went straight to my spirit, carrying nothing but healing. Thanks to all of you for bringing it! With the help of wonderful Corporate and Individual donors and buyers, the silent auction was a huge success. Much appreciation to Corporate Sponsors T Bird (Jennifer Gabriel) at Zac Brown Band, John Driskell Hopkins of Zac Brown Band, Chris Gilchrist at Gibson Guitar, Dave Johnson (and his boss Larry) at World Music Nashville. The back of the room was buzzing with bidding activity, and you made such a meaningful contribution to the cause. Thank you so much to these individuals for silent auction donations: Pam Belford for the big gift card and handwritten lyric, Billy Lee for the studio time, Steve Goodie for studio time, The Henningsens for a co-write, Jon McElroy for a co-write, Kris Bergsnes for a co-write, Deb Ziems’ painting, Red Wine Effect wine basket, Laura Dukstra for her autographed books, Barbara Cloyd for a consult, Amanda Blackie for the Predators tickets. These days it has been taking me quite a while to process certain events and friendships. It’s tough to know if it is age, medicine, or something entirely different; but one individual sponsor, the late and much loved Lorna Flowers, and I struck up a friendship in recent months both being survivors (we had known each other for years, and I had attended a benefit for her years ago at The Commodore Grille—unfortunately I was unable to attend the recent memorial service held at The Listening Room). As the Show The Love date was approaching, Lorna told me she was going to try to make it, but she was playing at The Bluebird Cafe to celebrate her signing a new publishing contract. I did not see Lorna at Show the Love but we learned that she had contributed a beautifully framed photo of dolphins and orcas. The picture now resides in my home and will always remind me of our friendship. Thanks so much to the individual bidders on the Silent Auction, especially Suzanne Strickland, Tom Bohn, Steve Goodie, Bill Maier, The Parrishes, and Caitlin Parson! I can’t thank you enough, Debbie Pascarella, Tom Bohn, Kathy Redwine, Hollie Brogunier, John Forcinelli, Ruby Lovett, Kari and Carmen Brandy, for helping at the door, at the front table, at the silent auction, and elsewhere, so generously and cheerfully. Many thanks to these corporate sponsors of the event itself, the Show The Love CD, and the Silent Auction — Suzanne Strickland/RareSpark Media Group, Michael Lovett of Phat Magnet Media and Doak Turner with The Nashville Muse/Music Starts Here. The CD is a beautiful reminder of this immense community of collaborators and the friendships I have been so fortunate to have over my years in Nashville. To the the CD’s co-writers and performers, engineers, musicians and producers, you have so enriched my songwriting career and life here and have helped me grow and bring the dream of creating meaningful music to fruition. Thanks to co-writers Jeff Anderson, Kris Bergsnes, Tim Bezy, Hollie Brogunier, Seth Brown, Kimberley Dahme, AJ Engstrom, Trevor Finlay, Sherri Gough, Molly Hunt, Kelsey Klingensmith, Ruby Lovett, Elizabeth Marlowe, Matt Nolen, Kathy Marie Redwine, Karen E. Reynolds, Suzanne Strickland, and Cheley Tackett. Vocalists Matt Dame, AJ Engstrom, Trevor Finlay, Molly Hunt, Kelsey Klingensmith, Ruby Lovett, The Redwine Effect, Karen E. Reynolds, and Cheley Tackett brought the songs to life. Generous support for Show The Love CD has come from the following publishers: Brooding Stud Music (ASCAP), AJ Engstrom Publishing (ASCAP), IMBZ Music (SESAC), Kemily Music (ASCAP), Maple Music, Inc. (ASCAP), Morning Man Music (SESAC), Plumb 40 Music (ASCAP), Karen E. Reynolds Music (BMI), Rhyme Spree Music (ASCAP), Still Working Music/ BMG (BMI), SB21 Tunes (BMI), Soul of A Songbird Publishing (BMI), Spark Ark Music (ASCAP), Steel Train Music (ASCAP), Stop Being So Awesome (BMI), Tackdaddy Music (ASCAP), Three More Days Publishing (ASCAP), and Words of Vision Music (BMI), . Special thanks to my publisher Maple Music, Sure-Fire Music and the Wilburn Family, for their support of the project and my continued songwriting endeavors. For those of you with the Show The Love Benefit CD, a critical part of it being in your hands has depended upon the time, care and generosity of Elizabeth Marlowe, RareSpark Media Group, and Bobby Simmons at WTS Media, Kris Bergsnes, and Thom Bresh. Out of nowhere this CD took shape, with the contacting of the writers and performers, the beautiful design, sequencing, duplication, and mastering. Kudos to you for your design, production and duplication efforts. Thank you again to the Performers, Co-Writers, Publishers, and the design and duplication team for getting the Show The Love CD together for sale not only at the benefit, but for future sales. And thank you so much to the audience and folks from all parts who have purchased it. I certainly hope you keep those songs playing! Although my eyes and ears were glued to the Douglas Corner stage, I did glance back into the crowd a time or two to witness the gathering—what a feeling. It was an incredible turnout. Friends old and new were sitting, standing, and listening to the evening’s performers. You made it to Show The Love, you gave such support, and you touched my heart.Thank you all so much for being there! To those who could not make it to the event yet contributed to the cause, I am so appreciative. You are lightening the burden even from a distance with your support. From Washington State, New Jersey, and seemingly parts unknown. You have made a difference. I am still flat-out stunned from the invigorating, inspiring, and heartwarming evening at Show The Love. And I will be for a long, long time—at the show of talent, kindness, community brought to Douglas Corner on my behalf. All I can possibly know in having been shown such love is an immense, profound and lasting sense of gratitude. With this solidarity I know I will prevail. Thank you all again so much.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:21:59 +0000
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