Barrett is a children’s author and motivator of women. Her series which is around a girl called Lori Leaks, an African-American child who travels with her parents and explores the wonders of the world. Each book speaks to her observations and shows all children of colour that they too can experience life in other parts of the world.
“for the LOVE of Music with Sara Troy with her guest Michael Michael Mesey, on air from February 23rd
As the go-to special show and traveling drummer for Chuck Berry for many years, Michael Mesey had a blast creating explosive moments on stage with the legendary musical pioneer all over the country. Yet one of his most cherished memories is a moment on a tour bus, when Berry was listening to a blues tune, turned to him and said, “This is how I want us to play the blues – because when it’s time to rock, you rock me. No, I mean, you REALLY rock me!”
While transcendent, pinch me moments like these have happened throughout the St. Louis native’s multi-faceted 40 years as a writing, recording and touring musician, Mesey also knows a little something about the darker side of the life he chose – spending long stretches on the road, spending weeks at a time and holidays apart from beloved family members (including his daughter as she was growing up) while blazing away in the service of rock and roll. A few years ago, when he wrote “Together” for his hard rockin’ band American Greed, he never dreamed that the poignant powerhouse of a song – reflecting the personal heartache and longing of the road warrior musician – would become a universal anthem perfectly meeting our anxious collective moment during the age of COVID-19.
Over a propulsive, mid-tempo groove created by Mesey, Matt Arana’s sizzling electric guitar energy, lead vocalist Dave Farver’s searing, emotional vocals speak eloquently for all those apart from their loved ones due to the pandemic, from family and friends who must Zoom to communicate to relatives of those suffering in the hospital and front liner workers spending hours away from home: “Sorry for the tears you cried/I wasn’t by your side when you needed me. . .all I ever wanted was to be by your side/In this jaded heart of mine, you know I really tried/How can I find a way/To heal our soul of sorrows for the time I was away…I just wanna hear you say, we’ll be together, We will be together.”
In addition to nearly 200,000 streams on Spotify, “Together” –featuring the searing emotional lead vocals of the four-piece band, American greed – is a hit on two influential international charts, reaching #9 on the World Indie Music Chart and hitting #14 on the DRT Global Top 50 Rock Airplay Chart during a week when AC/DC’s “Shot in the Dark” was #1. Its impactful video, which opens with the words “We Are In This Together,” has over 400,000 views on YouTube.
The clip, created by Mesey, intersperses hard-edged live performance clips of American Greed with compelling images of healthcare workers, military personnel reuniting with family members, eerily empty city streets, medical ships, a busy ICU and crowds of masked people – images which are now familiar to us but only a year ago would have seemed like a new sci-fi movie.
“Together” is the title track from American Greed’s 2020 full length debut album, which was produced and engineered by Malcolm Springer, who has worked with Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Isaac Hayes. The track has received an impressive array of critical accolades from prominent indie music outlets. Garth Thomas of Hollywood Digest writes, “Carried out with a thrilling rock ballad music bed, this understated track is one of exceptional musicianship. ‘Together’ ties the binds that glues the best of the best rock tracks together – a band that rocks together can also release heartfelt songs. The song is inspiring and hits close to home for many. , .American Greed captures the hurt and balances it out very well with the pining for forgiveness . . .a way to say thank you for the selflessness.”
Michael Rand of Mobangeles.com adds, “Packed tightly with a near symphonic rock guitar and a percolating percussion, American Greed spoils the listener with the right amount of heart, rock and power pop. ‘Together’ feels like the culmination of hard work, exceptional talent and wearing one’s heart on the sleeve.”
“The song had some promotional stops and starts in the past,” Mesey says, “but it turns out that this year was the perfect time to release it, because the message is that much more meaningful in light of everything that’s happening. Every line I wrote literally fits what we’re witnessing – people going into the hospital alone, the first responders spending hours away from loved ones. I originally wrote it because I was often on the road for Thanksgiving, and I regretted missing so many moments in my family’s life and wondered how I could make things right. I thought maybe the concept would touch the lives of military personnel who are away for months or years at a time, but now it’s an experience almost everyone is going through.
“The truth is, we all have someone that we miss, that is all alone, that is on the front lines working to keep us safe and healthy, and some loved ones we have lost,” the drummer adds. “Whether it’s the pandemic, the protests due to racial injustice or everyday life, the truth is that despite our differences, we are in this together. Everything in the world and in America is about being ‘Together.’ I truly believe that we need to come together, rise together, heal together and then we will be together. I hope the song and the video helps everyone in some way or another to feel like they’re not alone, that so many others are dealing with the same challenges and frustrations.”
Prior to their breakthrough with “Together,” American Greed scored some major indie success winning a total of six Los Angeles Music Awards – including Music Video of the Year and Live Video Producer of the Year – and nominated for such honors as Rock Single of the Year, Rock Artist of the Year and Hard Rock Band of the Year. In addition to performing extensively in and around their home base of St. Louis, they’ve opened the LA Music Awards and the Phoenix Music Awards in Arizona and played the legendary Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Blvd.
Mesey split his time for many years between high profile gigs with Chuck Berry and recording and touring with famed St. Louis based Classic Rock Band Head East, including performances with Sammy Hagar, Boston, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Heart, Cheap Trick and many others. His time with Berry includes shows at legendary venues like The Fox Theatre in St. Louis, The Show Boat in Atlantic City, Bayside in Miami for the Super Bowl, in front of 66,000 at Busch Stadium and performing “Johnny B. Goode” for a live worldwide broadcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena CA for The Voyager project.
The drummer also produced and performed on an all-star version of “Johnny B. Goode” featuring one of the last studio performances by legendary pianist Johnnie Johnson, in addition to Michael McDonald (who sang lead vocals) and saxophone legend David Sanborn. Also interesting to note, Mesey owns the only Chopper drum set in the World and has been featured in many articles around the world including Drum Magazine, Music Connection, Motorcycle USA and Thunder Roads Magazine.
“All of these incredible experiences have led me and American Greed to this moment where we are sharing ‘Together’ with the world,” says Mesey. “In my heart, this is the rock song for the moment we’re living in. I hope that when people hear it, they forget about left and right and can relate to it no matter what they’re dealing with personally in their lives. It’s not a political statement, it’s a song about the current realities of what’s happening in families everywhere around the world, written straight from the heart. If they feel when they listen the way I felt when I wrote it, maybe they can let all the other things, the differences between us and the issues that divide us, drift out of their head. I would love for everyone to think about “Time can seem very long, remember me when you hear this song, and close your eyes with a little smile”, because it’s truer than it’s ever been, we are all in this together.”
Our Global Veterans Story with Sara Troy and her guest Nicole Gebhardt, on air from February 23rd.
CEO and Founder of Spiritual Lighthouse Healing and Guidance
Ms. Gebhardt graduated from the University of Alabama with an MS Degree in Human Development and Family Studies with an emphasis in Child Life. Her BS Degree is in Business Communications from Florida State University. Additionally, she is a CCLS- Certified Life Specialist and Sacred Usui Reiki Master Holy Fire III®?Karuna 2®?Reiki Master.
Nicole Gebhardt is, in fact, a lighthouse; A bright beacon of light-a voice for all women especially military spouses who are broken, grieving alone in the dark. She is a strong leader, guide and healer. Nicole’s passionate message is, “you are never alone, you are enough just as you are…be unapologetically you! You can get through the grief and pain to move forward into the peace within.”
Nicole is the proud mother of six children, a military wife who has had to manage her young family on her own, when her husband was deployed several different times in seven years. She is a pillar of strength in her community of military families, as well as for her own family, friends, acquaintances and beyond.
Nicole truly has the heart of a warrior, to champion those hurting in pain, grieving in need of hope, inspiration and reassurance on life’s sometimes difficult path. She, herself, has sustained molestation, abuse, rape and loss of a child. She leads to show, you are no longer a victim but a true survivor.
Her education, life experiences and business enable her to coach, guide and heal those who have had similar traumatic events. She leans into her hard earned knowledge and natural compassion to spread her words of encouragement to all in need on an international level. Nicole does this through her speaking, writing, one-on-one counseling, classes, seminars and retreats, where she also incorporates her Reiki Master training.
Nicole Gebhardt, CEO & Founder of Spiritual Lighthouse Healing and Guidance is passionate about sharing her story of survival and hope gleaned from a tumultuous grief and pain-filled past.
As a former victim Nicole, is now truly a survivor having worked her way through molestation, rape, alcohol, and drug addiction, marital abuse, divorce, and loss of a child. As a warrior of and for all women, she brings beautiful angelic healing, enlightenment, and guidance through her one-on-one counseling, Reiki, support groups, speaking engagements, retreats, and social media platforms.
Nicole is considered to be a gifted healer and a beloved friend to those in need. She uses her business to weave together her life experiences and knowledge, to uplift and help women, especially military spouses, to not only change lives but save lives. Nicole further assures these women they are not alone and that they are good enough to be loved for exactly who they are. She gently and lovingly directs them to shed past or current resentments, disappointments, fear, and mistrust. She assists them through the grieving process, to discover and relish in their own special talents and wake up every day in love and bliss.
It’s Nicole’s mission and greatest desire to breathe new life into the women she serves, to be that bright light leading them through the darkest times. She proposes to all that it’s okay and healthy to ask for help. She teaches others how to let go of insecurities, fully embrace their unique qualities, and nurture their soul’s passion. She also facilitates the release of past or current pain through the forgiveness of self and others.
Nicole’s personal calling is to love, be love, and spread love, along with joy and laughter, to all women. With a strong conviction as a woman of faith, Nicole has found her purpose in service to others. Seeing women come through their personal storms to find happiness again is her greatest fulfillment.
Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from February 23rd
There is so much information out there, that it is hard to know what we should hear and what to dismiss. It is so easy with everything at one’s fingertips, click here click there and everything you want to know is there, or is it really.
Just because we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, does not mean that all knowledge is for us at the time. Our heads are filled with data, so much info in there, but what is prevalent to the now is the question, the answer is your knowingness. You knowingness is your soul, gut instincts, consciousness speaking to an open heart, which ignites the spirit into action and extracts what data it needs from the mind.
I own and run a Podcast network, I have collectively over 2700 shows here filled with incredible knowledge and wisdom, but that does not mean every show is for you. We have to be willing to do our own research, and allow certain titles, topics, genres to stick out to us, for that is what you need to know in the now.
Many people listen to everything, and yet they still can’t move forward because they are stuck in the knowledge and not hearing which applies to their action. Knowledge for knowledge shake is futile, knowledge that allows us to take positive action is progress and that is how we move forward.
We do not watch every show on T.V of Netflix etc, we discern what we wish to see by how we feel. So why can’t we do the same with all the knowledge out there and pick what we need to know in the now? We are not meant to be Google or Alexa, we need to pick the wisdom that applies to us and that will stimulate and help us move forward.
I feel that a blank space of nothingness is a good way to hear what your soul is saying to us and what we need to know to take Actionism. When I am buying a book, or listening to a podcast/youtube, I allow my senses to guide me, for they know what I need in that time and what will serve me best.
So don’t get overloaded, listen to the silence, be still, be willing to cruise the info, like podcast lists, books, etc, and see what sticks out to you, then listen/read, hear and apply it to your kit of wisdom for your journey in life. I have so many shows here on Self Discovery Media, and they are filled with abundant wisdom and profound knowledge, but do they all apply to you? No, there are many shows that will be your inspiration, be your guide, redirect you and show you the tools for your own journey, so deduce which ones apply, then listen/read, etc and then it will truly be the wisdom you need to hear in the now.
The universal energy is open and ready to guide us with the divine intellect. So please be open to what you do not know, what you feel you can’t understand and trust your gut (knowingness) to show you a way into wisdom, for that it were to real truth lies.
Ignite your heart and soul with Sara Troy and her guest Amy Dempster, on air from February 23rd
Amy Dempster helps in understanding the healing power of the earth. What began as openly sharing her spiritual journey on her popular blog Following Hawks, has become a resource for others wanting to learn how to communicate with nature and share their own unique healing gifts with the earth.
Together with the Spirits of the Land in the mountains of northwest Montana, she tends seven portals on the land where she lives, along with any grid keeping work she is assigned. She also leads the Earth Tenders Academy, an immersive online journey to help others re-establish their connection with their ancient ancestors, learn to communicate with the seen and unseen forces in their environment and respectfully offer their healing energy to places in need.
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