In the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, many have wondered how they can help out. Many people sent donations, gave blood and saluted the heroic efforts of fire fighters, police officers and government officials. Countless star musicians came together for benefit concerts, but what could musicians who are lesser known do to help the cause?
With the release of the album Bands For America, those lesser-known musicians figured out what they could do: bring out an album with songs on their reflections of the horrible tragedy.
Bands For America features many artists who have come to Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., this semester, including Of A Revolution (O.A.R.), Virginia Coalition and Strangefolk.
O.A.R. put the song "Hold On True" from its album Risen onto this compilation. Even though the song wasn't specifically written for the disaster, the lyrics help the listener bring into perspective the American spirit of resilience and redemption.
When O.A.R. lead singer Marc Roberge sings, "We could have been so much better than before, if we held on true," the listener can't help but relate the lyrics to mistakes Americans made leading up to the catastrophic events.
Jack Johnson, who has worked with Ben Harper, has a song on the album called "Mud Football," which also appears on Johnson's album, Brushfire Fairytales. The song has Harper's bouncy style and lyrics that talk of a good old American past time, playing some football with friends on a rainy Sunday. It doesn't get more American than that.
The popular jam band String Cheese Incident offers up the track "Outside and Inside," from its album, Outside Inside. The song grooves with a bluesy guitar lick and mid-song jam that should be easy to listen to for fans of hippie music.
The most touching song on the album is the acoustic and harmonica driven "On 9.11.01," by Garrett Dutton of G. Love & Special Sauce. He sounds genuinely overcome with all the emotions that come out of an action that is hard to comprehend. Anger, sadness and nervousness melt into one emotion as his voice travels throughout the simplistic song. "Flags flown at half-mast to remember the lives gone" -- these lyrics tell the pain of all Americans, including the obvious thought, "I will not forget this day."
All proceeds from the CD are going toward The September 11th Fund. This fund was established by The United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust in order to focus on both short-term and long-term needs of those affected by the acts of terrorism. Additional information on the fund is available at www.september11fund.org.
-- Reviewed by Caleb Sheaffer
