A Kitty Community

Since I was little,  I've loved animals--especially cats.  I had them as pets growing up, and my wife and I now also own a cat on Lanai.  We moved there three and a half years ago, and upon arriving, we found a colony of about fifteen cats living around our apartment complex, Iwiole.  Our downstairs neighbor fed and took care of them, along with a few kind volunteers.  Being a cat lover, I couldn't resist, and also started feeding them.  Our cat, Puka, was one of the fifteen, and promptly declared himself ours by placing himself on our porch every night and meowing until we fed him!  We found out later that the previous tenant of our apartment also took care of Puka (who was formerly known as "Chase").

Over the past few years, I've gotten to know Kathy Carroll.  She is known as the "cat lady" and has helped us out several times when our cat has been sick or injured.  Her husband is the artist Mike Carroll, and she also works at the Mike Carroll Gallery in Lana'i City.    In October 2009, she helped start the Lana'i Animal Rescue Center (LARC), a spacious open air 14,000 square foot enclosure.  Earlier this year, a large expansion was opened up, which includes a specially designed cat house with ladders, perches, and tunnels. The sanctuary is complete with spacious cubicles for sleeping, "pallet palaces" for hiding, and kitty-climbing jungle gyms.   Here are a few pictures of the LARC:

My wife and I are frequent visitors to LARC, as every Sunday there is an Open House from 3-5 where anyone can come visit and socialize with the cats (current total is about 286).   Since the sanctuary is such a great place for the cats and they're so well taken care of (there are a team of volunteers that work there, and also a few paid workers), we decided that it was time for the Iwiole cat colony to be moved to the LARC.    So far, we've successfully brought five cats to the shelter, and after the New Year, will be taking the rest down--that is, except for our cat, Puka, and our neighbor's cat, Stretch.




During a recent visit to the LARC, Jocelyn Taal, a worker at the sanctuary, suggested that I write a song and make a video about the shelter.   There were a couple of birthdays coming up of volunteers/workers and her idea was to give it to them as a gift.   I went home that night, picked up my ukulele, which I've just started learning, and immediately had an idea for the song.   After I finished the song, I visited the LARC several times and took pictures and movies to use for the song/video.  After a lot of hard work, I produced a song/video called "A Kitty Community."  The video can be seen on Youtube, or can be viewed below:

My hope with this video is to help raise funds for the Lana'i Animal Rescue Center, and to also make other animal lovers aware that places like this actually exist and are possible with community support.  To make a donation to the LARC, you can visit their donations webpage, or send a check to:

Lana'i Animal Rescue Center

P.O. Box 631577

Lana'i City, Hawaii 96763-1577

Click here to visit LARC on Facebook

Start Living (feat. JR Etrata)

I recently met JR Etrata, a senior at Lanai High and Elementary School (where I work).  JR is physically disabled, and has to be stretched every day.  In February/early March, I was trained on how to do this. The Educational Assistant who works with JR was going to be out, and I would have to take over his duties.

I began working with JR several times over the next month, and got to know him.  I found out that he was into music--specifically hip-hop and rap--and that his dreams were to someday work as a DJ.  I also learned that for graduation in May, he was going to surprise everybody, and walk in without using his wheelchair.   This gave me an idea: What if JR could have a special song playing when he came in? More specifically, what if JR and I could write a song specifically for that?

On a day in late April, when I was stretching JR, we came up with the lyrics to the song, and decided that the verses of the song would be for JR to rap, and the choruses would be sung by his talented classmates.  Here are the lyrics we came up with:

Start Living
by Matt Glickstein and JR Etrata

Verse 1:
Skankin' down the aisle with my buddies at my side
I look up at my mama and her face is filled with pride
Sittin' on the stage looking out at every face
Got through all the fazes, and made it to this place

Chorus:
This is not my end, this is my beginning
Listen for J-Dawg, he'll always be winning
This is not your end, this is your beginning
Listen with your heart, and start living

Verse 2:
In my future I can see it, I'll be walking down the street
People calling my name, "J-Dawg, lay down the beat."
When I roll into the party, give a shout out to my brother
Even though you're gone, we'll always be with each other

Chorus repeat

End:
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (class of 2011 senior quote)


I then met with JR about a week later, and came up with the melody to the chorus, and the specific beat that JR wanted to use in the song.  I worked on producing the track, and gave JR a CD (with me rapping!) so he could start practicing.

A couple of weeks before graduation, I was able to bring my recording equipment into school, and record JR and his three classmates--Neidine, Chelsea, and Ceysha.  They were all very talented and incredibly quick learners--we were able to record the whole song in just over an hour.

Yesterday--May 21, 2011--JR graduated, and walked in to a standing ovation, while the original song we wrote, "Start Living" was played over the loud speakers.   Needless to say, it was a tear-jerking moment for everyone at the ceremony, and something I will never forget.

The song can be heard on my homepage or at Soundcloud, and is a free download.  Instead of making any money, we'd like to be able to get this inspirational song and message of hope to as many people as we can.  JR and I proved that anything is possible, and you can achieve your dreams. I also hope to be able to secure video from the ceremony and make this special moment available to the public.

To end, here are a few of photos of JR that we took a few days before graduation.

Steppingstone

The reason I'm starting this blog is because "Songs for a Better World" is my mission statement.  From the time I started writing music, this has been my goal.  My graduating class in high school was only 45 students, and we became extremely close over the course of our senior year.   I had played piano from an early age, but never really thought about composing my own song.  I wanted to do something for my classmates, so as a gift to them, I wrote an instrumental piano piece that I played at our "Senior Aloha," a ceremony that was held specifically for the students before graduation.  The feeling I had when performing my own song was indescribable.   I fell in love with composing, and decided to make that my major in college.

Writing the "perfect song" is not my goal--as that will always be impossible.   I want to somehow effect people in a positive way with my music.  Even if it makes their life just a little better for a short amount of time, then writing that song was worth it.   Music is about emotion, and it's how I express myself--the best songs have always come during the most emotional times in my life.

The recent tragic events in Japan inspired me to write a song called, "Steppingstone." Throughout my life, there have been many moments of inspiration, and this was an especially strong one.  I am a songwriter, although I don't usually write my own lyrics and prefer collaborating with other writers.  However, this time I received the gift of both melody and words.  I'm from Hawaii, and although we had some minor damage from the tsunami that was caused by the earthquake in Japan, we were okay.  After seeing the images and videos on TV, I feared the same would happen here.   I can't imagine what it is like in Japan now.

The words to "Steppingstone" had such clear imagery that I wanted to create a video that would capture the story.   Going through the photos and videos was a moving experience all on its own.  My intent with the song and video is to help anybody suffering from this horrific disaster, and also make this situation relatable to the average citizen.  This kind of tragedy could happen to anybody at anytime, and if we all did just a little, it would make the world a better place.

"Steppingstone" is available now for sale on my website, as well as iTunes.  I am donating a majority of the proceeds to The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.  For just 99 cents, you can make a difference.  Thanks to Stasia Estep (http://www.songbirdsounds.com) for recording vocals, and Jerry Brocklehurst (http://www.newboomermusic.com) for recording and mixing the song.

Posted below is the video: