| mattwesselmusic.com |
| matt's journal march 24, 2009 |
| Forgive me for not getting this journal up yesterday. I had dinner plans after work and then I had to watch '24' -- greatest show ever -- and then I was too tired to do anything so I fell asleep by 9:30 or so. But I'm wide awake now .......... And I wanted to get this journal up soon because it appears that a lot of people have been coming to the site. Over 1,500 visitors in two days. That's a lot for me! The 9th Annual Concert For Life was a huge success. FBLA put together another phenomenal event that, when all was said and done, had raised another $35,000+ for the American Cancer Society. Money is still coming in, too. Restaurants that donated portions of their sales on certain March days are still submitting their donations. Private donations are also still being made. When all is said and done, the show will have raised over $37,000, essentially matching it with the past two Gurnee shows in terms of money raised. The crowd on Sunday was as big as we've ever had. Or at least it seemed that way. Sue Walker - head advisor fo FBLA - told me that over 1,200 tickets had been purchased prior to the event. I wasn't sure how the economy would affect the attendance. The tickets are cheap enough that anyone can come on any budget, but I wasn't sure if people would be detered by whether or not they could afford to purchase raffle tickets or bid on silent auction items. But the crowd was there and nobody seemed to spend as if there was an economic crisis. $35,000+ in one, single afternoon. At an event organized by KIDS, many of whom can't even drive yet! How amazing is that?? They do such a good job. I'm so proud of them. We had so much fun on stage. The entire concert seemed to fly by. Per usual, there was a healthy combination of tears and laughter, and the entire crowd seemed to really appreciate our performance. From a musical standpoint, our group was very "on". We were very in sync with one another and sounded really, really sharp. We opened with a few upbeat songs before slowing it down with "Father, Please" and "Dad's Song". During "Dad's Song" I showed a slideshow of my father that Katie and I made. It included photos and video. It was very moving and a great way to show my father to the crowd. I wanted to do that because I realized that people have heard me talk about my dad for so long, but few knew what he actually looked like. After that I played the song I wrote for Katie before we got engaged. I followed that with a nice surprise for Katie. I asked her to come on stage so that everyone could meet her, then I told the crowd how she's asked me a few times in the past as to why I never ask her to sing at a show. She was never serious when she asked, always just trying to make me stir. Katie immediately knew what I was up to. I told the crowd that we've always got to be careful what we ask for, then I handed Katie a mic. She sang "This Could Be" with me and did an AMAZING job. We had practiced it a couple of times under the pretense that it was a "vocal lesson" for Katie, but in reality I wanted to make sure she'd be okay with doing it live. She had no idea what I was going to do - and her face on Sunday proved it! I loved it. She did a great job and received a larger ovation then I ever had and probably ever will. They were applauding both her ability and her good sportsmanship. After that we did "Kate's Song", which this year featured a slideshow of photos we received from concert-goers - photos of their friends and family members (and sometimes themselves) who were fighting cancer, who had survived cancer and who had passed on because of cancer. It was a wonderful tribute to the many "faces of cancer", as we called it. That song was followed by "God's Chosen One". This year I had Amy, Beth and Emily sing parts on the song and I think it sounded good. During the song, when we asked all of the fighters and survivors in the audience to stand-up, I was taken a back by how many people actually stood. I would say double from last year. That was a sign to me of both how serious of an issue cancer is and a testament to how much this show has helped people with the disease feel more and more as if they don't have to fight it alone. The ACS representatives that were on hand asked the FBLA students to hand out yellow flowers during the song to anyone that was standing. It was truly an emotional moment. I'm so thankful to everyone who stood because it gave us a chance to make a direct connection with the people who inspire this show every year. I went on to end the first half on a funny note. I sang a song about the trials and tribulations (okay, that's kind of dramatic) of being engaged. As of today, the song is currently on the homepage for you to listen to. Once it's removed, I'll add it to the jukebox on the homepage. It was such a fun song to write and I loved singing it. As you'll hear in the recording, I couldn't hold back my own laughter. And, yes, I'm still engaged. : ) Intermission featured the usual buzz. It lasted about 35 minutes. We came back with "Falling In Love" before doing two songs with the St. Paul Choir -- "Glory" and "Be With Me". Beth sounded awesome on "Be With Me" this year -- one of her best performances ever! The rest of the show included some favorites, but not too many surprises -- "See Them", "Take, Lord" and "Alive In You". Before I closed the show, we recognized Sue Walker for all of her hard work over the last nine years. Sue is retiring from Warren this spring and, while she'll always help out with the CFL, we felt she deserved some special recognition for all that she had done while at Warren to make the CFL a reality and a success. Betsy Barnich, who helped organize the first-ever CFL back in 2001, had the wonderful idea of having past members of FBLA walk up on stage and hand Sue a single rose to represent each previous show, while at the same time announcing their name and that year's total. At the end, the three student leaders from this year's show presented us with the total from this year, which by now you know was over $35,000. After that little ceremony, representatives from the American Cancer Society came up to present Sue with a token of their appreciation -- a beautiful paperweight with her name on it, the years of the CFL and a message of gratitude. Sue seemed really touched, as did everyone in the crowd. She received a standing ovation. Speaking of standing ovations, the Warren FBLA students received one, as well, which they truly, truly deserved. I can't express enough how good of a job they did in organizing everything from raffles to donations to tickets to food to set-up to advertising to t-shirts to hospitality .... the list could go on and on. They were so organized, so friendly, so passionate and so amazing. Great job, you guys! I closed out the show with the Baseball Song. I had some fun with it, asking the crowd to help me sing. I even broke them into three part harmony at the very end, just like Ben Folds does at his shows. They impressed me! I had them hold a chord in three-part harmony at the very end, then cut them off and took a bow. It was a neat way to end the night. Their applause was very flattering and extremely appreciated. Oh, I also made a point to keep the crowd updated with the Marquette vs. Missouri score. The Golden Eagles (MY Golden Eagles) were playing for a spot in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and the game happened to start right as the CFL did. Their game actually ended right as the show was nearing an end, too. They didn't win. : ( I talked about the Carry On Campaign toward the end of the show. I've always thought that if we could challenge those in attendance to try and raise $100 for the ACS over the course of a year, and then pooled all of that money together, that we would have a massive contribution to add to the next CFL. The catch is that the money can't be from the volunteer themselves. It has to be fundraised in a creative way. The campaign is about raising hope and awareness as much as it is about raising money. So the idea is that anyone that signs up has to think of a neat way to raise $100 by the next CFL. Whether it's a change jar at work, a lemonade stand, selling necklaces ... whatever ... the thought is that the campaign will make people more aware of the fight against cancer, that it will inspire people to join the fight and fight back, and that, of course, it will help raise a lot of money for the ACS. If we can get 1,000 people to join the campaign, that's 100,000 potential dollars for the fight against cancer!! You can learn more about the campaign at www.carryoncampaign.com. I also want to address what I brought up right before I did the last song ... something that people have been e-mailing me about ... Right before the final song, I let the crowd know how much of a pleasure it was to entertain them once again and how grateful I was for the opportunity that Sue and FBLA gave me back in 2001. They believed in my music and my message. Without the avenue they provided me with which to perform my songs, I don't know where my music career would be today. I owe them so much more than just gratitude. After I said that, I said that next year's CFL, the 10th Annual show, would likely be my last CFL in Gurnee. At that point, I was getting really choked up. It was hard for me to say. It's hard for me to think about my life without the CFL, mainly because it's been a part of my life for so long and it has literally helped shape who I am today. But for the past couple of CFLs, I've approached the show with thoughts in my head as to whether or not it should be my last. It has nothing to do with my not wanting to do them or not having the time to do them or anything like that. I want people to know that. Rather, it has to do with a feeling in my heart that I can't quite express -- one that asks me, "How long are you supposed to do this?" and "When would be a good time to stop?" People ask me all the time, "When are you going to stop doing the Concert For Life?", and they ask it simply out of curiosity, not out of fear or (this would be bad) hope. They just want to know. The more they ask, the more I think about it. Next year will be the 10th show we've done -- a decade of shows. I started them when I was 19 and next year I'll be 28. I know that I can't do them forever and I want to stop doing them when the timing is right. Who knows how I'll actually feel next fall and winter when we start talking about the 2010 CFL. But I know that with some big life changes for me on the horizon, it's been on my mind. Plus, I hope the Carry On Campaign creates a new way for us to raise money for the ACS and for others to take initiative to creatively find ways to educate and inspire others all year long. I'll always perform at shows, but the reality is that it's not as much of a priority in my life that it used to be. Maybe I just do the big show in Gurnee. Maybe I do it every other year. Maybe I take a five-year break and we do a reunion show after that. I don't know. What I do know is that it warms my heart to think about the countless memories that I've made because of the past nine CFLs. The show has been a part of me since I was a late teenager and it has helped define me. Thinking about ending it is not easy; talking about it is even harder; and actually deciding to end it is heart-breaking. But yet it's still something I feel strong about today. I also feel like I owe it to all of you to tell you what's on my mind, rather then just surprising everyone one year with a finale concert. I appreciate everyone's kind words and e-mails -- not just on this subject but on the entire show from Sunday. It was an awesome day and I'm thrilled to have played a role in its success. I need to thank all of my musicians, without who's support I wouldn't be able to do what I did on Sunday. Molly, Kelly, Chris, Mike, Chad, Beth, Amy and Emily -- thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to make a difference in the lives of others, including mine. Your talents are inspiring to me and all who hear your music. I couldn't think of a better group to be a part of the, uh, Wesseltones. Words cannot describe what you mean to me and to my music. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Larry, Brian and Al -- thank you for showing up early, staying late, and running all of the sound in between. You three have selflessly given of your time and abilities for several years now (Larry since the Matt Wessel Live show in 2000!) and it's an integral part of the show. Thank you. Mom, Jim -- thank you for your contributions to the show and for all of your pre-planning. Mom, a fifth of that crowd gets their tickets from you! Haha. Kim -- thanks for the CD sales, as always! And for all of the small things you do. Nicki, Dave, Ben and Mike -- thanks for not choosing the Marquette game over me. Carolyn -- thanks for organizing the set-up and teardown of the stage area before the show and for all of the other things you did to make Sunday a better day. Fr. Farrel and Fr. Ray -- thanks for the use of the church and, Fr. Ray, thanks for the photos. I can't wait to see how they turned out! Kathy and Jim -- thank you for opening up your home to all of us after the show. What a party! Mike Semmerling -- thank you for donating the programs AND for re-printing them when an error was found. You're an amazingly generous person. Thank you. Charlynn, Carol, Sue and other ACS representatives -- thank you for being there to show your support of the Concert For Life and FBLA, and for taking the time to recognize Sue this year. Ruth and the choir -- you guys were great, as usual! Thanks for being a part of this event every year. Finally, Sue, Chris, other advisors and students -- thank you for giving us an unbelievable afternoon of fun, hope and inspiration. You guys did it again! I'm looking forward to next year! I'll do my best to post photos from Sunday as soon as I get them. If you want to share your thoughts on the concert, please e-mail me and I'll eventually post a collection of responses. |