Keep Bernie's Dream Alive
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Dear Friends,
Bernie Dalton is a songwriter and single father living with Bulbar Onset- ALS (Lou Gerhig’s Disease.) He currently resides in a San Francisco hospital and has a traeceostomy and a ventihilator machine that helps him breath. He has lost all mobility and communicates with his eyes using an eye gaze device, like Stephen Hawking. He has a feeding tube that bypasses his stomach and goes directly to his intestines because his digestion has been compromised by this unforgiving disease. Before Bernie was diagnosed with ALS, he was my voice student.
My name is Essence Goldman and I am a singer-songwriter and voice coach. Bernie responded to an ad I had on Craigslist, when at 46 years old, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of making an album of his own songs. After 2 short months of lessons, tragedy struck. Bernie’s voice mysteriously disappeared. Months passed and it did not return. After a series of tests, Bernie received an unthinkable diagnosis. He was given a 1-3 year prognosis. Bernie was a devoted single father to a 15 year old daughter. He was an athlete. And he was an avid surfer. When he lost the ability to speak and sing, he asked me to be his voice.
I gathered a team of talented musicians and together we put music and melody to his words. Bernie produced and directed from the couch signaling thumbs up and thumbs down during the writing and recording process. Last year I Iaunched a Go Fund Me Campaign and funds were raised to make an album of songs that he wrote for his daughter’s future children, that he knew he would likely not live long enough to meet. Songs that express his views of the world, his values, his advice for living for future generations. Through generous support and donations from the community, Bernie & The Believers recorded and released “Connection” in February 2018. The project received national attention and Bernie's story and music was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and All Songs Considered. The SF Chronicle published a front page feature story and filmed an emotional documentary. Your support made this possible!
Bernie & The Believers are thrilled to announce we have been invited to perform a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, October 16! We are planning an East Coast Tour that will include Bernie’s hometown in Pennsylvania among many other stops. Bernie’s image and his lyrics will be projected on a screen in real time from his hospital room behind the band as we perform his songs. We are partnering with the ALS Foundation to bring visibility and attention to this horrible disease that will, hopefully, lead to a cure someday. It will be an unforgettable musical triumph over ALS.
Bernie and the band need your support to make this trip possible. We have come this far with your support, and we would be deeply grateful if you’d be kind enough to help us keep this train going. There are many expenses in bringing Bernie’s music on the road. Flights, a rental van, meals, accomodations, and modest pay to make it possible for the band to take time off from our other paying jobs. The generous money that was raised in the first "Bernie's Song" Go Fund Me campaign was used to create the amazing album and video that have brought national attention to the Bernie and The Believers project as well as giving Bernie a meaningful reason to keep living. The additional funds raised in the "Send Bernie Home" campaign have provided Bernie with medical care that is not normally available for ALS patients at this advanced stage. It is very important that the tour back East takes place and is well funded. These ongoing events keep Bernie's hope alive and improve the quality of his life.
Despite Bernie's grim prognosis, he has all of his mental and emotional faculties in place. He is a courageous fighter and he presses on. He lives for his daughter and he lives for his music. We want to give Bernie the joy, satisfaction, and sense of accomplishment knowing his music is reaching a national audience by playing a Tiny Desk Concert.
This cause is greater than all of us. In the spirit of healing and music, please give what you can, and please, if you feel moved by Bernie’s courage and music, share this far and wide. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. We are grateful beyond measure.
With Love and Music,
Essence, Bernie & The Believers
Bernie Dalton is a songwriter and single father living with Bulbar Onset- ALS (Lou Gerhig’s Disease.) He currently resides in a San Francisco hospital and has a traeceostomy and a ventihilator machine that helps him breath. He has lost all mobility and communicates with his eyes using an eye gaze device, like Stephen Hawking. He has a feeding tube that bypasses his stomach and goes directly to his intestines because his digestion has been compromised by this unforgiving disease. Before Bernie was diagnosed with ALS, he was my voice student.
My name is Essence Goldman and I am a singer-songwriter and voice coach. Bernie responded to an ad I had on Craigslist, when at 46 years old, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of making an album of his own songs. After 2 short months of lessons, tragedy struck. Bernie’s voice mysteriously disappeared. Months passed and it did not return. After a series of tests, Bernie received an unthinkable diagnosis. He was given a 1-3 year prognosis. Bernie was a devoted single father to a 15 year old daughter. He was an athlete. And he was an avid surfer. When he lost the ability to speak and sing, he asked me to be his voice.
I gathered a team of talented musicians and together we put music and melody to his words. Bernie produced and directed from the couch signaling thumbs up and thumbs down during the writing and recording process. Last year I Iaunched a Go Fund Me Campaign and funds were raised to make an album of songs that he wrote for his daughter’s future children, that he knew he would likely not live long enough to meet. Songs that express his views of the world, his values, his advice for living for future generations. Through generous support and donations from the community, Bernie & The Believers recorded and released “Connection” in February 2018. The project received national attention and Bernie's story and music was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and All Songs Considered. The SF Chronicle published a front page feature story and filmed an emotional documentary. Your support made this possible!
Bernie & The Believers are thrilled to announce we have been invited to perform a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, October 16! We are planning an East Coast Tour that will include Bernie’s hometown in Pennsylvania among many other stops. Bernie’s image and his lyrics will be projected on a screen in real time from his hospital room behind the band as we perform his songs. We are partnering with the ALS Foundation to bring visibility and attention to this horrible disease that will, hopefully, lead to a cure someday. It will be an unforgettable musical triumph over ALS.
Bernie and the band need your support to make this trip possible. We have come this far with your support, and we would be deeply grateful if you’d be kind enough to help us keep this train going. There are many expenses in bringing Bernie’s music on the road. Flights, a rental van, meals, accomodations, and modest pay to make it possible for the band to take time off from our other paying jobs. The generous money that was raised in the first "Bernie's Song" Go Fund Me campaign was used to create the amazing album and video that have brought national attention to the Bernie and The Believers project as well as giving Bernie a meaningful reason to keep living. The additional funds raised in the "Send Bernie Home" campaign have provided Bernie with medical care that is not normally available for ALS patients at this advanced stage. It is very important that the tour back East takes place and is well funded. These ongoing events keep Bernie's hope alive and improve the quality of his life.
Despite Bernie's grim prognosis, he has all of his mental and emotional faculties in place. He is a courageous fighter and he presses on. He lives for his daughter and he lives for his music. We want to give Bernie the joy, satisfaction, and sense of accomplishment knowing his music is reaching a national audience by playing a Tiny Desk Concert.
This cause is greater than all of us. In the spirit of healing and music, please give what you can, and please, if you feel moved by Bernie’s courage and music, share this far and wide. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. We are grateful beyond measure.
With Love and Music,
Essence, Bernie & The Believers
Organizer
Essence Goldman
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
