Interview with Stephen Schnee, Executive Producer of “Of
Hands and Hearts, Music for the Tsunami Disaster Fund”
Interviewed by Kayt, February 2005
There are times when we must take time out from our daily lives to recognize
and empathize with tragic events that happen elsewhere in the
world. Everyone knows that on December 26, 2004 a major earthquake, followed by
enormous tsunamis, occurred in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing
more than 200,000 people, ripping family members and loved ones away from each other and
terrifying and injuring countless more. Since then many relief efforts have been
undertaken to help the victims of this horrible natural disaster; the survivors
need food, clothing, shelter and medicinal supplies, homes and businesses need
rebuilding and most of the affected areas have little or no means to handle such a
huge loss of the basic necessities of life. One of the more exciting relief
efforts is a compilation CD scheduled for release on March 22nd on Integrity Records,
called “Of Hands and Hearts, Music for the Tsunami Disaster Fund.”
This tsunami relief CD was the idea and vision of one man, Stephen Schnee, of the Southern
California company Norwalk Distributors, who saw a need and found a way to help. I
first heard of the project when I received an email from Stephen in January of
this year that was actually intended for another musician I know and occasionally receive
emails for since I'm one of the webmasters for a website related
to him. The email from Stephen was intriguing and read, in part:
“...I am contacting you because we are in the process of compiling a
benefit CD to raise money... to bring aid to the regions affected by the
catastrophic tsunamis that took many lives on December 26th, 2004... We are looking
for songs by artists that are uplifting and offer hope in the midst of this
devastation...”
I quickly forwarded the message to my other musician friend for whom it was meant
but also had a great idea that any Red Elvises fan naturally would have – why not
recommend Red Elvises to Stephen Schnee for this tsunami relief CD project? They
love Thailand, one of the affected countries, and their music is certainly
uplifting, hopeful and heartfelt enough to fit right in with the spirit of the
project. So I did, and thanks to Our Favorite Band’s great reputation the
suggestion was received with quite a high level of excitement. Honestly, Stephen’s
exact words were “Red Elvises? Hell, yeah! I definitely want them, as I've heard
really good things about them!”
So that’s how it came to be that Red Elvises’ song “Ticket to Japan” is Track 6 on disc
one of this timely and very worthwhile double CD; once Stephen contacted
Igor the wheels starting turning for the Reds’ participation. Of course, many other
wheels were also turning at the same time regarding all the other fine artists involved.
The result is “Of Hands and Hearts” which will be a truly wonderful way to help people
in this time of desperate need and at the same time experience some terrific music you
might never hear otherwise.
Stephen Schnee, who, it must be noted, has put in many hours working on this
project largely on his own time and is receiving no personal monetary benefit
whatsoever from sales of the CD, graciously consented to be interviewed for The Red
Pages to share more about how the project came to life. His is a story of love,
compassion and caring that I think you’ll enjoy reading. Here is what he had to
say:
KO: Like you and everyone else, I was shocked when I
first heard the news of the devastating tsunamis and was even more upset and concerned
upon seeing the news coverage, video footage and hearing some of the survivors' stories.
Is that how the original idea for a tsunami aid CD came about, the urge to do something to help?
Stephen Schnee: The whole idea for this project was actually born out of the
feeling of “helplessness.” My father was diagnosed with lung cancer in October of
2002, which had sent my whole world, this safe and happy life I lead, into a state
of disarray. For two years, while undergoing chemotherapy, the cancer had stopped
growing and did not spread. Things had gone back to normal, so to speak. Towards
the end of 2004, things changed for the worse. The cancer began growing again and
spreading to other parts of his body. The first time I really noticed a physical
and mental change was on December 26th, the day after his 65th birthday...and the
day of the devastating earthquake and tsunamis. Although they had absolutely
nothing to do with each other, I was utterly shocked and felt absolutely helpless
in both situations. I couldn't do anything for my father except offer him love,
support and strength. For the victims of the tsunami, I felt that my love, support
and strength would never be enough....
KO: I believe Red Elvises and their fans are a compassionate bunch
so I feel safe in including all who will read this interview in extending sympathy for
your family in this heartbreaking time. Was it you who had the initial idea to put together
a tsunami relief CD or was it more of a group effort?
SS: While wallowing in my own self-pity, thinking that there was nothing I could
do, Mark Grindle, the Sales and Marketing Manager at Norwalk, had felt moved enough
to contact a relief organization and set up an account to which our customers could make
donations to the Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund. I myself was so taken by this
gesture that I began to push my customers into making donations. Then, it hit me:
why not put out a CD to help raise funds? I realized that people would be more
willing to give if they got something back in return... it’s just human nature,
isn't it? I went to Mark with the idea and he told me to see if I could find some
interested parties that would donate a track. I think that he initially was
intending it to be a single CD, but I had other plans... The rest, as they say, is
history!
KO: What does Norwalk Distributors do exactly?
SS: Norwalk Distributors is a wholesale one-stop. The company itself has been
around for over twenty years. We sell CDs, DVDs, cassettes, etc. to independent
music stores, chain stores, Internet businesses and the like. We do not sell to the
public, but we hopefully sell to your favorite music or DVD store!
KO: This seems like a project driven by a real music lover. Have you been into music
for a long time?
SS: I am a music fan first and foremost. I listen to music when I get up in the
morning, listen to it on the way to work, listen to it at work, on the way home and
then, finally, listen to it when I get home. I've been in this business, on the
retail and wholesale side, for over twenty years and I still don't get tired of
music!
KO: How was the list of bands/artists initially compiled? Was it mostly those you
already knew and worked with?
SS: I put together a letter explaining a little about Norwalk and about the CD I
was compiling for this cause. Over a two-week period, I sent it out to probably 100
different artists that I either knew or admired. The artists were relatively new
ones plus artists that I had loved for the past 10 to 20 years or so. I'm not going to
act all cool and say that any of these bands were my close personal friends, but I
had been in touch with some of them in one way or another over the years.
KO: Just how did the roster and the styles of music come together? It must have
been an exciting process!
SS: I was not looking for any particular style, just a nice mix of bands. It
hadn't occurred to me initially that most of the bands I contacted were of the
“alternative” variety. Early on, I sent an email to John Easdale, leader of
Dramarama and a great songwriter, and I told myself that if he agreed to let me
have an unreleased Dramarama track, then that would motivate me to take this idea
even further. He offered me the fantastic "Try Five Times" and at that moment,
I was off...
KO: Did you end up with more artists donating tracks for the project than you had
room for or not enough at first?
SS: We actually ended up with more tracks than we could use, fortunately. I
briefly toyed with the idea of making this a three-CD set (and trust me, all three
CDs would have been great), but stuck with my original idea of only two discs. It's
a real shame because some of the tracks that I was not able to use are great.
KO: In addition to Red Elvises, what is the rest of the lineup?
SS: The final lineup on Disc One is, in track listing order:
Paul Collins’ Beat, The Talk, Dramarama, Eddie Spaghetti, Dillon Fence, The Red
Elvises, GanggaJang, The Dotted Line, BangSugarBang, The Last, The Donkeys, Nine
Below Zero, The Rubinoos, Annabella Lwin, Dog Trumpet, Barry Holdship, Jeremy, Ray
Mason Band, The Sunbeams, The Lolas, Rosetta Stone, Midway, The Fixx
and Joanna Hogg & Nick Beggs
And on Disc Two we have Supersuckers, The Waking Hours, Guitar Gangsters, Suburban
Legends, R. Stevie Moore with Dave Gregory, Adrian Belew, Chromosome Tea, Jeffrey
Foskett, Wang Chung, Easterly, Wormstew, Kevin Gilbert and Thud, Kyle Vincent, John
Wicks, Underwater City People, The Twinkles, Wonderboy, The Virginia Sisters,
Joe “King” Carrasco, The Letter Openers, Eugene Edwards, The Randies, BMX Bandits,
Michael Carpenter and Bobby Whitlock & Kim Carmel.
KO: Pretty impressive! Now, I have to ask... Having now been exposed to Red
Elvises’ music, what do you and those closest to you think of them? And do you
think you might possibly make it to their show at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on March 25th?
SS: I...went to their website and heard a few tracks and now I need to own every CD
by The Red Elvises! I might be able to make the gig. Wanna see them. My wife LOVES
their track and constantly plays it over and over in her car.
KO: I know that you wrote the liner notes yourself - and did a great job, by the
way - but who is the artist who did the cover art?
SS: The cover art was done by my favorite artist of all-time, Reg Mombassa. He's
been one of the most popular artists in Australia for twenty years or so, actually.
He did the artwork for Public Image, Ltd.'s "Greatest Hits" CD if you're familiar
with that one. He's also a great singer/songwriter and guitarist. For over two
decades, he was a member of Mental As Anything, who remain one of the longest
running bands in the Land Down Under. They even had a few tracks that were
played on the radio in the U.S. during the early '80s. Songs like "If You Leave Me,
Can I Come Too?" "Let's Cook" and "Brain Brain" are still fondly remembered by new
wave fans. Anyway, he and his brother Peter O'Doherty left the Mentals a few years
ago to concentrate on their art as well as their own band, Dog Trumpet, who
contributed an unreleased song to this project. I could not believe that I actually
got a phone call from Reg, who has been a hero of mine for years, and he jumped at
the chance to help.
KO: How was the organization CARE chosen as the
beneficiary of the proceeds?
SS: After a large organization turned us down, citing “quota” reasons, CARE embraced
us with wide-open arms. They are an international humanitarian organization
dedicated to helping combat global poverty and are working very hard to help the
tsunami victims and their families. We chose CARE because they were in the region
long before the devastation and they will be there for years to come.
[CARE's website is www.care.org for more
information. Click on "USA" for tsunami relief info.]
KO: How can people purchase “Of Hands and Hearts?” Will it be distributed to
stores? Sold online? And when might it be available?
SS: The marketing wheels are in motion as we speak. This double CD will be
available early March and if your store doesn't stock it then ask for it. We are in discussions
with a few of the major chains and will be approaching all the indie stores and all the Internet
stores we can, so we expect this thing to do quite well.
KO: Do you mind if people contact you directly
concerning purchasing it?
SS: If people can't find it, e-mail me at ofhandsandhearts@gmail.com and tell me
what city you live in. I'll make sure that there's a store near you that carries it.
Please join me in thanking Stephen wholeheartedly for this interview, and more importantly, for
his terrific work on this project! Truly dedicated to this cause, he has done a great
thing for music lovers and for humanity by creating and selling a CD that will help huge numbers
of people who were overwhelmed by an unforeseeable catastrophic natural event. And
that’s what we’re all here for, to help each other and enjoy music as well as all the
other good things in life in the process.
I think Stephen himself summed up the focus of this relief effort best in this excerpt
from the CD's liner notes:
“I put this CD together in hopes that I could prove that music can change the
world, one song at a time. The music on “Of Hands and Hearts” was created by the
hands and hearts of all the musicians involved. They gladly gave a piece of
themselves to help those in need. I am honored that they have given so completely
of themselves and their art. I am pleased to present this music to you, and I am
humbled by your donation to this worthy cause. As you listen to the music, always
remember that the real reason we put this together is still with us today, although
it is no longer a major news focus. Please continue to give. And never forget.”
-Stephen Schnee, Executive Producer, “Of Hands and Hearts."
Check out the "Of Hands and
Hearts” website! The CD will be available on March 22nd, released on Integrity Records.
Please remember those who need your help.
|