billwixey.com

The other day, my son Will said to me, "It seems like you're getting more famous lately." I laughed.  I mentioned this, in passing, to my wife, you know, just as a funny aside.  She comes back with, "You think you are."  I spent 15 minutes dissecting those four words, trying to get her to explain how she came to the conclusion that I think I am some sort of a big deal.  Exasperated, she exhaled, "You need to realize the world doesn't revolve around you."  I am not a scientist, and I don't know much about orbits and things, but there have been a few moments lately where it actually seemed like the world did revolve around me. 

I am not an egomaniac.  Seriously.  But you would not believe all the cool stuff that has happened to me lately.

For the past 9 years or so, I have taken part in the Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey Challenge.  It's a fundraiser to beneifit the Ronald McDonald House.  The Challenge has raised over $4 million for the House.  It's a great cause and a fun event, the one night a year when I get to rub elbows with famous Hollywood types, and be a sort of "celebrity" for a day.  

                  

I joined Eric Rosenbaum, Michael Rosenbaum, Jamie Huscroft, Cameron Bancroft, and Jason Thompson on a trip the Ronald McDonald House, and visited some of the families there.  It is always fantastic to go there and spread a little joy to these families who are staying there while their kids get treated at Children's Hospital.

                         

I met this beautiful little girl named Jade.  She has bone cancer.  We shared stories about our chemo treatments.  I showed her pictures of me with a bald head, and she thought I looked pretty goofy.  Fortunately, both of us are done with chemo and Jade will be going home soon.

                             

It's a little weird when you meet folks that are wearing your jersey around.

I have played in this event for many years now with Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor on the TV show, "Smallville".  I've gotten to know Michael and his brother Eric pretty well over the years.  I've also gotten to know Jason Thompson from "General Hospital", who has played in the event for the past four years.  Jason is originally from Edmonton, and is a fantastic hockey player.  At first, I'll admit, it was kind of strange hanging out with famous Hollywood types.  I didn't know quite what to say, but you quickly realize that they are just people.  Famous people have the same issues as we all have, they just happen to have high profile jobs. We've been teammates for years, and I consider them friends.  It's kind of fun learning the inside scoop about the world of show biz, too.

So, that was Saturday night.

Sunday night, I was invited to speak at "A Hootenanny for Haiti", a benefit rock concert featuring some high-profile Seattle musicians: Duff McKagan from Guns n' Roses, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, Kim Warnick, Star Anna, Kristen Ward, Kim Virant, Mark Pickerel, and many others.  It was a sold-out concert at the Showbox at the Market to benefit Partners in Health's Stand With Haiti Program, which provides medical care and supplies, along with training for Haitian doctors, who are overwhelmed by the amount of people needing care after the horrible earthquake there.

I travelled to Haiti shortly after the earthquake, and was deeply affected by what I encountered there.  As I wrote in a previous entry, the situation there is dire, and the recovery for that nation will take many years.  I am committed to doing what I can to get help for those people. 

I was contacted, quite unexpectedly, by a lovely woman named Debra Heesch, who is the booking manager for the Seattle Theatre Group.  She was organizing the concert, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in saying a few words about my trip to Haiti and make a couple of announcements at the show.  I don't know if I have ever replied more quickly to an email.  Speak at an event with some of my favorite artists? Hang out with famous rock stars? In!
 
She invited me to come meet some of the folks at a rehearsal at the Showbox on Saturday night.  Unfortunately, I couldn't make it, because of my prior commitment to the Hockey Challenge.  Debra graciously invited me to swing by her house and attend a jam session with some of the performers in her basement on Thursday night.  I asked Will if he would like to come with me and meet some famous rock stars. 

"Nah..." Will murmured, staring intently at the XBOX game he was playing. 

See, here's the thing. I ask Will about 12 times a day about travelling somewhere.  If he wants to come to the store, if he's ready to go to basketball practice.  I always get the same answer.  It's instinctual with him.

"Nah..."

But suddenly what I had just said to him registered.  He glanced up from his game and said, "Famous Rock Stars?" 
"Yeah. Wanna come?"  
"Okay."

So off we went.  
                             
          

As we walked into the basement, the jam session was in full swing.  It is a little daunting to walk into a room and have the eyes of musicians that you have long admired, suddenly focus directly on you, wondering what the heck you are doing there.

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready was leading the session, and as I looked around, I recognized Mark Pickerel from Screaming Trees, Kim Warnick from the Fastbacks, Chris Friel from Sweetwater, Jeff Rouse from Loaded, Kim Virant from Lazy Susan, Gary Westlake, who has played with everybody, and several others.  Will and I were introduced to everyone, and they couldn't have been more amiable.  It was a terrific experience to watch these amazing musicians work through the songs for the benefit concert in this intimate setting.  I learned later that this basement was actually the place where the "Hootenanny for Haiti" was born.  It's a sort of home base for all of these great Seattle musicians, who just get together and jam for fun.  When they learned of the situation in Haiti, they decided to bring the basement show to the stage and present it to the public. And what a presentation it was.  It turned out to be one of the most amazing music events this city has seen in quite a while.
 
I show up at the Showbox Will Call table and secured the very first backstage rock show passes of my life.  All I know about backstage at a rock show is what I've seen on TV and on Wayne's World.  I proudly flashed the pass to the amply tattooed and pierced security guard, who informed me that I needed to actually adhere the pass to my body.  I slapped it on my chest, and she gave me the okay to enter that area.  I entered an unmarked doorway adjacent to the ladies' room.  It was a closet. The tattooed guard pointed me toward the other side of the stage. 

The backstage area was cramped and crowded before the show.  There were about 15 musicians on the bill, many of whom played at the same time on stage, a throwback to the Hootenannies of the folk era.  Several of them were gathered together backstage, working the harmonies on Allison Krauss' "I'll Fly Away", which was to be the evening's finale.  Mike McCready walked up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for coming.  He asked if he could grab me a water, and pointed me toward the food they had catered in. I tried to play it cool as I looked around and noticed Duff McKagan absently picking at his guitar, while talking with Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron. Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard was chatting with Star Anna, an amazing up-and-coming singer with a booming voice.  It was heady stuff.  I tried my best to stay out the way and not be a complete idiot.   

              

The first set contained some amazing performances: Kim Virant and Duff McKagan doing Petty and Nicks' "Stop Dragging My Heart Around", Mark Pickerel fronted a great version of Petty's "Even the Losers", McCready sang lead on the Stones' "Dead Flowers",  and Kim Warnick took the stage for the first time in six years to sing a breezy version of Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place on Earth", to close out the first set.  Then I was on. 

                

I have done dozens of speaking gigs over the years, but nothing quite like this.  I walked up on stage and the spotlight hit me square in the eyes.  I got a bit of a cheer from the crowd when I walked up, which was nice.  I had prepared some things to say about Haiti, and about what I have learned about the situation there, and how much we appreciated the folks showing up and supporting the cause.  I think most of it made sense, but it was disconcerting standing in front of a packed house full of rock fans, murmuring and shuffling around, waiting for the show to continue.  Ashley, Mike McCready's wife, couldn't have been nicer, and helped out with the raffle items on stage, which included some fantastic Pearl Jam collector items. Kim Virant played the role of Vanna White, pulling out the tickets so I could read them.  It was good fun and the crowd appreciated it.  Then we got the heck off the stage, and the show continued.

The second set was truly astounding.  For a Seattle rock fan, it was a nostalgic tour de force.  They pulled out some Mad Season, some Mother Lovebone, some Stones. Duff fronted a version of "Knocking on Heaven's Door".  Towards the end, Kim Warnick joined Stone, Mike and Duff as they plugged in for Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog".  McCready grabbed a guys' Heineken bottle  from the front row and used it as a slide on his guitar, then spilled the remains of the bottle all over the crowd.  It was amazing, and the crowd ate it up. Or drank it up, as the case may be.

As they finished that song, I went backstage to grab a beer from the fridge.  I noticed that there was only one beer left.  I thought to myself, "Do I take the last beer from the rock stars?"  I reasoned that the rock stars would definitely find more beer, so I went ahead and cracked it open.  Just then, Kim Warnick came back and checked the fridge and let out an audible, disappointed "Ohhhhhh." I handed Kim my beer, saying, "You deserve it."

Kim replied, "That's what she said." 

During the show, I was walking to the men's room and a large, burly guy stopped me and said, "Hey man. I just wanted to tell you something."  Tears started welling in his eyes.  "I think you're awesome," he said.  "I am going through a divorce and it's ripping me apart.  But I think about you and what you've gone through and it gives me strength.  You're a real inspiration." 

How do you handle stuff like that?  I don't know.  I told him that it's all about taking the obstacles that life throws your way head on and just keep moving onward.  I gave him a little man hug and we went our separate ways. 

Cancer is a curse, but it has also been a blessing.  By sharing what I went through and being open and honest with folks, some good has come of it.  More good than I ever would have imagined.  But it also comes with a major responsibility.  I am constantly contacted by folks who want to share intimate detals of their life with me.  They are open with me, I believe, because I have shared intimate details of my life with them. I take this responsibility seriously.  It's kind of like how I feel about Haiti.  Those people shared their pain with me, and I relayed their stories to a larger audience.  I guess I'm not a very good reporter, because I can't remain objective when faced with stories like this.  I just can't get it out of my mind.  I am determined to get those folks some help. 

So, there it is.  Am I an egomaniac?  I hope not.  I know one thing for sure.  I am very fortunate.  Very blessed.  And I am very thankful.