On July 21, 2008 I was diagnosed with Stage III inflammatory breast cancer. Not the best day. A server by day and a Musician by trade, I not only had to face down the ugliness of cancer but also the frightening
reality of how I was going to pay for being sick. By November, a group of amazing people had organized a series of benefits to help raise money to get me through it. The benefits were called Apocalypse Meow. A year later, I’m alive, still singing, and forever indebted to the community that got me through it.
I am a Musician. I sing and write songs. I am a person who, for the last several years, has tried to make a living playing music, touring the country, and selling records. I am part of a larger community of Writers, Players, Sound Engineers, Recordists, Producers, Teachers, Label Folk, Music Club Employees and Owners who collectively make up the musical lifeblood of this city. In order to be one of these folks, one must operate, to a certain extent, without a net. Instead of a traditional 9-5 job with benefits, Musicians and those within the music community work several different sorts of jobs. Very few of them are 9-5. Very few of them provide health insurance.
Music is a job, not something one does instead of getting one. Music- making it, producing it, recording it, showcasing it, selling it- is an important part of the cultural make-up of Kansas City and the surrounding areas. To be truly moved by a song, a piece of music, a performance is a rare thing. On any stage in this fair town of ours any night of the week someone is moving someone. Music does that. Something new is created. Something old is reborn. Be it the rock show or the jazz club, the music in this town stands toe to toe with New York, LA, and Austin. And the people who make up its community should have the mechanisms in place to take care of themselves in order to continue to pursue their art.
Apocalypse Meow happened because some folks thought that I needed to get through the fight of my life and still be able to sing. The Midwest Music Foundation, a Nonprofit committed to promoting and supporting Kansas City music and Musicians, has taken up the cause. The MMF hopes to one day help insure the collective, but until then we will hope to help out any way we can. Apocalypse Meow 2 is a benefit to raise money for a Musicians Health Care Fund. So the next time one of us falls there will be something there to catch us.
Friday November 6, 2009 will be the Apocalypse Meow 2 Pre-Party at Midwestern Musical Co. It’s a free show with The Gaslights and Howard Iceberg & The Titanics and there will be lots of rock photography by local music photographers up for sale.
Saturday November 7, 2009 will be the Apocalypse Meow 2 Main Event at Crosstown Station with performances by slimmSPINS, Tiny Horse, Sara Swenson, Alacartoona, The Grisly Hand, The Columns, and The PEDALJETS. Festivities also include a Health Fair with free blood pressure screenings, a raffle with awesome prizes including an Epiphone guitar, and auction items from local businesses like The Mercy Seat and The Riot Room just to name a few. There will be a photography exhibit by local music photographers up for sale. And, of course, there will be a bake sale, because what would a rock-n-roll Saturday night be without cookies?
