Greetings and a very happy Monday to you all. I’m headed out on a little journey for the next week and a half so I am going to wish you all well and I will see you on the backside. Parlez-vous français?
This week an international music group hosted numerous public forums for musicians, venue owners and the general public in an effort to obtain information to provide an evaluation of the music industry in Huntsville. It is truly invigorating to see the city take a vested interest in the musicians and the music scene of this city. Sound Diplomacy, a global expert in developing music strategies, has been retained by the city to research the current state of the music industry in Huntsville and provide effective and sound advise on how to increase the value of Huntsville music ecosystem. Evan Billiter and I, representing the Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation (MDMEF), were two of the hundreds that attended the Wednesday public forum and were fortunate enough to meet the Sound Diplomacy team. After the forum they asked if we could meet them for a follow-up meeting to discuss the foundation and on Thursday we were able to do so. It was a pleasure to meet with Katja, Azucena and Katerina and provide a little insight on what the MDMEF is doing in our city.
For those of you that are not familiar with the Foundation, you might just have heard about out annual fundraiser, Microwave Dave Day (MDD). To our extreme surprise we will be hosting the 4th annual MDD on June 24, 2018. In 2015, Mayor Battle declared the last Sunday in June as Microwave Dave Day and gave blues musician Dave Gallaher a key to the city. MDD has been held every year since and the proceeds from that event are used to further the foundations “Concerts in the Classroom” series where local musicians are engaged to go into the classrooms and entertain as well as provide an educational lesson to kids K-12. My favorites are the K-5 age group.
There is no greater reward for us then to see the enthusiasm and excitement as the children light up with the first note of music. We are so very blessed to have such an amazing group of musicians that have supported our mission and come to the schools to face most likely the most daunting group of “critics” they will every face. Most of the musicians say that playing in front of a crowd of 1,000 music fans pales in comparison to being scrutinized by 100 children in P-5 with their uncensored enthusiasm and questions. It is like appearing in an episode of “who’s smarter than a fifth grader” or for us older folk, “Kids say the darndest things!” The concerts in the classroom series is the brainchild of Nukes bassist Rick Godfrey that came about from a discussion over a plate of lunch burritos. It furthers the vision of Microwave Dave and comes from his early childhood introduction to a musician when he visited his fourth grade class.
The Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation, which was formed three years ago, is continuing to facilitate and further Dave’s mission of encouraging students to purse their goals and dreams. Even in “our widest dreams” did the initial rag-tag “group of 12” ever envision that we would go any further than organizing the first Microwave Dave Day and end the day with a toast over a few libations. Three years later, it is now our dream that we will have the pleasure to announce this year that our application to become a 501-c3 has been approved. As a non-profit we hope more opportunities will come our way to help the North Alabama educational community and our school with providing a “little love in our lives”. I guess that is why they say music makes the world go round. We are truly blessed as a group, to have this opportunity to further our mission to inspire youth and make the world just a little better place – one kid at a time.
We are so extremely grateful to all of our sponsors and donors that have made a commitment to support our educational vision All of the proceeds from the Microwave Dave Day go to the MDMEF to further our educational mission. If you are a teacher and want to host a free “concert in the classroom”, contact us. If you are interested in getting involved with the Foundation or helping further our mission you can go to: www.microwavedaveMEF.org. Or www.microwavedaveday.com and make a donation! Better yet come out on June 24 and dance the day away with us in the streets of downtown Huntsville.
“It’s only rock and roll, but I like it!” Enjoy!
