Howard (“Howie”) Wallen needs your help. He would not ask for himself, so we are doing it for him.

Howie played guitar with us in Alone In A Crowd 30 years ago. He is now a macrobiotic chef, with a wife and a teenage daughter. In the spring of 2017, Howie was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma: a slow growing tumor originating off of the auditory nerve between his inner ear and his brain. The tumor affected his balance and ability to walk and caused right side functional deficits. In May 2017, he underwent a 6.5 hour surgery that was supposed to have him back up and running in a month…

The surgery, which left him deaf in his right ear, did not remove all of the tumor… and it is growing back. Howie now suffers from chronic debilitating headaches; loss of balance; cognitive, memory and speech deficits; a tremor in his right arm and hand; vision problems; facial numbness; extreme fatigue, anxiety and, understandably, depression. With these disabilities he cannot work, and that has hit his family very hard. And, as the tumor grows, Howie’s symptoms will only get worse. If left unchecked, Howie’s condition is fatal.

So, Howie must have another surgery, this time a 10 hour surgery, followed by radiation treatment. We can only hope that after this he will improve… but there is no guarantee.

Let’s let Howie and his family know that they are not alone during this ordeal. After 30 years, Alone In A Crowd is getting back together again to play a one-time benefit show for him on February 16, 2019 at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia.  We hope you will show your support and come. If you can’t, you can still donate to this fundraiser we have set up for him.

For Howie,

ALONE IN A CROWD