Giving is Instrumental Replacement musical instruments emerge from the ashes. Even ukes.
Republished from Local News Pasadena
by author Victoria Thomas
During the January fires, Altadena-based musicians Brandon Jay and his wife Gwendolyn lost their home and about 200 musical instruments. By founding Altadena Musicians, intended as a soon-to-be-separate-nonprofit foundation connecting donors to musicians who lost musical instruments in the LA fires, collective disaster becomes an opportunity for healing, and a means to turn “silence into song” as the Web site states. And an upcoming August 23rd concert at Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena is a great way to take part.
Currently, fiscal sponsor Creative Visions Foundation collects and manages cash donations for the group as its own 501(c)3 paperwork trundles through the filing process.
“The experience of the fires will have people in flux for three to five years,” says Jay. “I’ve heard about people having to move 15 or 16 times in the past several months. Recovery is a long-term thing.”
As we go to press, Altadena Musicians has landed approximately 1,000 instruments into the hands of local musicians who felt the burn using the app called Instrumental Giving. Interested donors may also donate directly from the site.
“We have a large database, reflecting communities in both our Eaton Fire area and Pacific Palisades. We’re basically a platform to connect, like a food or clothing drive, or a wedding registry,” says Jay.
He says that the Foundation uses cash donations to help musicians move large instruments, and also to pay for needed services, like the deep-cleaning of the pads on a saxophone or cornet.
Are all losses created equal? For an active musician, the Cajun-blackening of a musical instrument might be akin to losing a cherished pair of bronzed baby shoes, a beloved pet’s collar, or decades-old Polaroid photos. There’s no negative to find, and no digital record to retrieve, so, poof — buh-bye, we’ll always have Fresno.
In addition to replacing a source of joy, income or both for affected musicians, Jay says that giving an instrument (or the funds to buy one) also is helpful for the donor. “Some people have survivor’s guilt. Most of us feel helplessness on some level, that we can’t help each other more, do more. Giving is something actionable, paying it forward. It feels good to be on either end of that kind of transaction.”
He describes some of the recent transactions as “kismet,” recounting the offer of voice lessons from a teacher. “The voice teacher offered her specific gift,” says Jay. “And you know what? Now she’s hosting vocal retreats, where people have a safe place to scream. Because people need to scream.”
Jay recounts a gentleman who lost a lot of harmonicas, recently replaced by a donor. A Steinway piano recently entered the mix. KC Mancebo, publicist for the group, comments “We’re really fortunate. We now have so many instruments that we’re storing them temporarily until they find homes.”
She says that the business model can transfer to other cities in the event of natural disasters there.
Brandon Jay adds that the Foundation also works to help music-lovers restore record collections lost in the blaze. “For people who love vinyl, an LP is a living, breathing thing,” he says. “Never mind that everything’s on Spotify. The actual album, with its large format, cover art and liner notes, is an emotional tie to reminders of experiences.” Toward this end, the Foundation pops up at pop-ups at venues ranging from the Fairfax farmer’s market, the Rock and Roll Flea Market at the Regent Theatre, and the Los Angeles Record Fair, both in DTLA.