The single was released March 13, 2012, from Shinedown ‘s fourth studio album, Amaryllis. “ Alone we are like one drop, united we are like an ocean.” Ryunosuke Satoro We can all learn from the example of the young girl in this video….

It is not screaming noise, there is melody here. And please, don’t be scared by the words, hard rock, this band can play and this guy can sing. I love a good hard rock band that writes great tunes and matches the music with lyrics of substance. Please take a few minutes listen one of my favorite rock bands, Shinedown. Someday, I hope to be a part of the march of one million surviving spirits …. We could unite on that piece alone and march on Washington, DC to demand what is right in treatment, dignity and a place in society. All of our issues are important, we have all been hurt and marginalized, that is our common bond. Unfortunately, we lose too many good folks who could be helping in raising awareness on the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health. Nobody letting their ego take over the team.” Michael Phillips Other than to treat one another with compassion and respect – why can’t we all lift one another up, and not look at this as a competition as to who gets what. I do not have the answers to this dilemma, I don’t. Someday down the road, I will write more extensively on what I have witnessed.īut I do hope, that in this simple piece of sharing some music and thoughts of the need to stand together, that maybe, we might start something here. This is only a short blog, it is not meant to be an expose on what ails this community of ours. But I still remain confused and saddened by the amount of back-stabbing and the down and dirty politics of what is supposed to be a ‘ healing community ‘. I understood competition and gaining a leg up in the music world and in business. For the most part, I was able to work with like-minded agents and managers who wanted to do the right thing in business, still competitive, but the need to be cut-throat to one another was avoided.Īnd then I entered the mental health, trauma and abuse arena…and I was in for a rude awakening. My years spent in the music business were highly competitive and it could get down and dirty. As a band, we were in seventh heaven to have these paying gigs.Īs a young man, my band had to compete even more to stay gainfully employed, we had to be better. Our competitive spirit to win, enabled the band, “ Resistance ”, to perform at Jaycee sponsored teen dances, splash parties and community events. Heck, there were some days we would skip school just to hear the radio announcements about our band. The business connections of the Jaycees gave us opportunities to be in newspaper articles and radio spots. At the age of fifteen and sixteen, my band, “ Resistance ”, won a few of those competitions which led to more work and advertising for the band. The community service part of the Jaycees was a huge piece of the pie for winning one of their sponsored competitions. Their areas of emphasis are business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. The Jaycees (The United States Junior Chamber), is a leadership training and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. Back then, “ The Battle of the Bands ”, were sponsored by the local Jaycees of that particular town or city.

Every band wanted to win the prize, a trophy and cash. Performing in “ The Battle of the Bands ” said it all. At the age of twelve, as a drummer, my band wanted to play at the party or the teen center, so we were competing with others to get those coveted paying gigs. It was understood that if you practiced your butt off, performed every gig you could get, that slowly, but surely, you would see the results. The music business is competitive, you want your band to be seen and heard. There were parts that were distasteful, but for the most part, it was the time of my life. RowlingĪ major portion of my life was spent in the world of music, and I loved it. “ We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” J.K.

Shinedown unity