The campaign by the Kemptville District Hospital Foundation to bring a CT scanner to Kemptville has produced some very creative fundraising ideas since it first began, and some local musicians have come up with another inventive and fun way to raise money for the good cause. “CDs for CTs” brings together thirteen local singer-songwriters on a special cd of original material.
The musical fundraiser was the brainchild of Bob Windsor, best-known as founding member and lead singer of Eddy and the Stingrays and owner of Blackwind Studios. Bob wanted to do something in the community outside of the band and other projects, and, having the studio, he thought it would be a good way to give back by helping KDH. He contacted Jamming Around Man, Herb Cloutier, someone who knows the local music scene really well, and could organise that side of the project.
The decision to make the CT scanner the focus of the fundraising was one the two thought about carefully. As Bob said, “Obviously it was going to be a local charity that we were going to give the money to. It wasn’t a money making thing for us. So we tried to keep our artists within Leeds and Grenville, or North Grenville generally.” The recording took almost a year to complete, and, while the artists are known mostly for their acoustic sound, Bob worked with each artist and arranged full backing on the tracks to give the cd a fuller sound. Herb promises that the results are really impressive: “You’re going to love it. You’re going to love that cd.”
Everyone involved has donated their time, their talent, and their energy free of charge to the project, and the distribution of the cd will follow the same principle. There will be a cost to buy the cd, but it will also be a “pay-what-you-can” arrangement. Give more if you can, give what you can, but be sure to get the cd. And the creativity extends to the way in which the music is being made available. Confessing that he was too old school to have thought of it on his own, Bob gives credit to the musicians for suggesting a digital version of the cd be made available as well as the traditional cd hard copy.
Aside from download accessibility, the music will also be distributed on a card with a retractable usb stick, small enough to fit in a wallet, ready to play in the car, a laptop, anywhere a usb port is found. Herb and Bob believe that this gives the widest possible distribution and is therefore the best way of raising funds for the CT scanner.
The thirteen artists have been around the local music scene and each has a following of their own. But the production of their songs that Bob has arranged in close collaboration with them gives a new perspective on their lyrics and melodies that will be fresh and exciting, whether you know the songs already, or are coming to them with new ears.
It is hoped to have a cd release party in the near future, a chance to see some or all of the musicians play their songs live. A list of outlets where the record can be found will also be provided, as well as links to online sources including the various artists’ websites.
CDs for CTs has been produced in close cooperation with the FDH Foundation, and Bob and Herb were really pleased with the reception they received for their project. Likewise, the musicians were on board immediately, and, as Bob says, “they were right on board. And immediately, I mean, I don’t think we really had anyone turn us down. We really had to limit it to 13.”
The impact of the cd will be long-term, and will, hopefully, continue to provide necessary funds for KDH. There are very preliminary thoughts on making a follow-up cd, though what genre of music will be profiled, or what the timeframe will be, is still a long way from being settled. In the meantime, we can look forward to this first cd, knowing that the pleasure we get from the music will be just part of the value that it will provide to the community through the vital equipment it will help bring to our local hospital.
The Foundation has identified three reasons the CT scanner is essential. Patient care has become more complex. Issues may go undetected for too long without a CT scan to support diagnosis. Waiting for results feels like an eternity when you’re in crisis. With an on-site CT scanner, patients can get answers quickly, rather than having to wait and travel to Ottawa for a scan. And having a CT scan onsite means you can take a 1-minute gurney ride to the diagnostic imaging department. When you’re sick, being away from home is even harder. Less travel time means you find out what’s wrong with you faster, with your loved ones at your side.
All good reasons to enjoy local musicians giving their best.
