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4/21/2010
The second Stars Go Blue benefit was held March 24th at the Loveless Barn raising $30,000 for the Colon Cancer Alliance and our newly established Blue Note Fund. It was also dedicated to our friend Peggy Nowlin who battled colon cancer and went through chemo treatments with Nan. They became friends and helped each other through the difficult process. Unfortunately, Peggy lost her fight in December of last year, so this years show was in memory of her and many of her family members came out to remember her including her husband Charles Nowlin.Mike Snider kicked the show off with his always entertaining mix of music, humor and excellent musicianship. If you haven't seen him, you owe it to yourself to see his show sometime, you will definitely not be disappointed! We then headed into the 'in the round' portion of the show with Barry Walsh, Gretchen Peters, Mike Reid, Wade Hayes and Peter Cooper. The round is always an intimate way to hear songs, but these guys are simply some of the most intimate writers in Nashville. I have been a fan of all of them for so long and seen them perform before, but this time the honor was truly mine more than ever since they came out and shared their music and stories for this cause. There's nothing like this anywhere else! After the round we closed out with the legendary Rodney Crowell and the gifted Bill Miller. Rodney of course has been a staple in the singer/songwriter world for many years and Bill is not only a gifted Native American singer/songwriter, but also a very talented visual artist! Check out the pictures to see his work on the bar stool he painted for the auction! All in all, it was another amazing night of music the way only Nashville can deliver it. Many thanks to Andrea Clay, Jasmine Greenamyer and Andy Spiegel at the CCA for all their help and support, Jensen Sussman, Chris Holden and Amserg, Salix Pharmaceuticals and all our local sponsors. Thanks also to Kelly Breece for taking some fantastic pictures and my longtime friend John Thompson, a great local artist here in Nashville, for painting one of our auction stools!
In other CCA and Stars Go Blue news, the dvd from last years show is now available! If you would like to experience music the Nashville way or if you were there for the show and want to relive the night, just head over to www.ccalliance.org or www.amazon.com to pick up a copy. Proceeds go to the CCA and the Blue Note Fund, which will give help directly to colon cancer patients in need of a little monetary support. This video is packed with great songs and some very funny moments and would be a great inspiration to someone you may know that is battling this disease right now or is a survivor. Remember, Christmas is only.....(hold on, I'm counting on my fingers) 8 months away! What could be a better stocking stuffer.....but I'll remind you again as we get closer!
More to come as the days pass and we move into the touring season, things are starting to get busy as usual! Thanks for stopping by and for your support of our efforts, you are greatly appreciated! Wishing you good thoughts always......CK
3/2/2010
In effort to spread the word about colon cancer prevention, I wanted to share with you the latest message from the Colon Cancer Alliance. Please take a second to watch this and know that I am proof that early detection is the key to beating this disease. As most of you know I was diagnosed with colon cancer after a routine colonoscopy....no symptoms at all. Fortunately, because of early screening, it was caught at stage 1 and I am completely healthy today. Had I not been screened, my outcome could've been different. Thanks for taking a look and please get screened, it could save your life....it saved mine!Wishing you all good health and good thoughts! - CK
2/15/2010
I can't believe it's been a year since the last post! Most of 2009 was spent touring with Jamie O'Neal and the rest of it recovering and helping Nan recover. I guess a year of treatment warrants a year of recovery! Lots of good things have come from it all though. Nan has become a local board member of the Nashville chapter of LLS and continues to be a big part of their Light the Night campaign and I am now on the board of the CCA and am excited to say that we are in preparation for the 2nd Stars Go Blue show! This year we'll be at the Loveless Barn on March 23rd. Rodney Crowell, Gretchen Peters, Mike Reid and Peter Cooper are all on board and there may be a few others still to come. Also, through the extreme generosity of James Stevens, Steve Angus and a whole crew of Nashville's finest audio/video folks, the dvd from last year will be available in March. 50% of the proceeds from the concert and dvd sales all go to The Blue Note Fund that was created with the help of the CCA. This fund will be able to give financial assistance to those in need of a little help in their fight against colon cancer. As Nan and I fought our cancer battles, I realized how fortunate we were to have health insurance, but even with that, we still amassed enough out of pocket expenses to buy a whole lot of really nice guitars! It was my dream and hope to start this fund and maybe be able to help with some utility bills, a mortgage payment, fuel costs for trips back and forth to oncologists etc. Just a small bit of help to those who need it, in turn giving them a little more hope. The Blue Notes Fund was a dream birthed in the hospital under the influence of morphine just over a year ago and I am very excited that it will be a reality! Credit must go to whom it is due and my deepest appreciation goes out to Andrew Spiegel, Jasmine Greenamyer, Tammy Ashton, Jeannie Moore and Andrea Clay and everyone at the Colon Cancer Alliance (www.ccalliance.org) for all their efforts, none of this would be possible without them.
I've been working quite a bit in the studio at Jamie's, contributing guitar parts to her projects and will be out on the road with her as well starting on the 27th of February in Biloxi MS at the Isle Casino. I'm also headed to the Navajo Nation in Ft. Defiance, Arizona June 4-5 to take part in the Arizona Myeloma Network's third annual Cancer Conference (www.azmyelomanetwork.org). Nan will go with me and we'll perform there as well as share our story in effort to raise awareness. This opportunity is one that reaches into my core as my personal beliefs are so close to those of the Native Americans and I am looking forward to meeting the Navajo people and sharing stories of hope in the battle against all cancers!
More with Matt Davenport Productions this week too. I'm adding guitars to a few more of his shows that will be playing at several theme parks throughout the country this summer. I'll keep you posted on those, but last years Sea World San Antonio show, 'Good Vibrations' is still going, so if you happen to be in Texas this summer, be sure to check it out. I'll also be in the studio producing several artists that I've been fortunate to work with and I'll post those projects as they are finished.
Til next time, good health and good thoughts to everyone - CK
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