Drummer's Corner of the World

Wow... I haven't posted here much lately. Gotta carve some time out of the timesink which is Facebook and get back to posting!

In the meantime, for the few people on my friends list who haven't already seen this in a zillion other posts, I want to mention the amazing effort being made to help one of my favorite bards, SJ Tucker, aka s00j or Skinny White Chick, to recover from some major medical bills.

Sooj has been following her bliss, travelling the country on a shoestring, performing at festivals, house concerts and cons. I first met her when she came to Heartland Pagan Festival for the first time (six years ago, maybe?)... I swear it seemed like her guitar was bigger than she was, and her voice and guitar-playing at the open mic night left us all with our jaws dropped and wondering where she'd come from. I bought her sampler CD that weekend, and have spent the ensuing years somehow managing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time every time she's come near Indiana. It seemed like every time she got within two states of here, I was out of town, and when I passed through Memphis, she was out of town. Then in January last year I was thrilled when she surfaced (unexpectedly, at least to me) at Conflikt. Funny that I finally got to hear her again after we both went all the way across the country! Her music was still amazing, and the energy and joy and genuineness that she brings to a performance are a gift to the audience, even before the music starts. (And my long-held feeling that the filk community would love her proved to be very very true.)

But traveling musicians, like many other self-employed artists, are often without the wherewithal for pricy things like individual health insurance plans, and that was the case for Sooj and K. I've been there... you're young and healthy and you just hope that you're not going to need insurance before you can afford it. Unfortunately, Sooj wound up in the hospital and now she's a bard with a $25k hospital bill hanging over her head.

Thankfully, the folks who've been touched by her music are rallying around.

First, pleas went out for folks to stock up on CDs. The price on CDs was cut to $10 to get some money coming in. I had most of them, but took the opportunity to fill the missing spots in my collection and am now anxiously watching the mailbox for my new tunes. If you've not heard Sooj's music, I'd personally recommend Tangles as my favorite and an excellent starting point!

Then there was an LJ group, saveours00j, and things really started to happen. Items were hand-crafted and offered for sale or auction. vixyish and tfabris donated proceeds from their recent concert, upcoming gigs, and Vixy's Etsy shop sales; the Barfleet crew organized a charity auction at the upcoming Arisia; and now there's going to be a book. A very special, limited time book with stories by Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, our very own cadhla (who had a birthday yesterday... Hippo Birdies, Seanan!!), Sooj herself and lots lots more. It's going to be released in trade paperback, and will only be sold until the medical bills are covered. I've ordered my copy!

My point, in all of this... this extended internet "community" really is a community. We may be widespread, and we may be a diverse group, but we're family and times like let the online community shine. omnisti posted in saveours00j yesterday that the efforts have raised over $14k already. In a week. From a community and fanbase which is heavily populated with other artists and musicians who don't necessarily have a lot of "spare" cash sitting around. But our online "social spaces" let the word spread far and wide, and as a group, we are capable of so much. So go check out the music... and the book... and the neat stuff people are making and offering for sale... help an amazing young woman be able to continue to follow her muse so that she can continue to spread light and joy in her wake!