Bring Johnny Cash to Poland!!

Hi!

I’m William… I'm a myelofibrosis-cancer patient living in Poland, and I'm dedicating my energies to bringing Country Music to Europe in a much better way. Country Music does technically exist here in Poland, but only to a limited degree, and its presence could be dramatically improved. The goal of this fundraiser is to generate the public support necessary to create a state-of-the-art destination spot in Poland for world-class musicians to perform, and for people to dance-- in order to grow a sizable fan base for the genre in Europe.

The mission here is to renovate this dilapidated, 3-story, 100,000 sq. ft. property (photo above), an old fabric warehouse in the city center, and to repair & renovate its badly damaged infrastructure. As you can see from the photos, a great deal of work is involved.

Also, please have a listen to the music below to hear some of the musical artists who have inspired this ambitious project. If you share the love for country music, and this sounds like a meaningful concept to you, we invite you to get on board. And who knows, maybe Kenny Chesney or Taylor Swift will drift through these parts and play our humble stage.

And of course, I also encourage you to learn more about myelofibrosis (my condition) and other MPNs.

Many thanks for your support. Now let's make Johnny and June proud.

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Before we get into some of the property details below, I thought it'd be fun to show the type of talent we’d like to introduce to Polish audiences. Here’s Ryan Bingham performing his original song "Bread and Water".

THE VIBE...

One of the unfortunate realities about modern-day Poland is that despite having large sizes of youthful populations in its major cities, there are very few, intimate venues wherein people can hear live music. The goal here is to invite great musicians to Poland and see how audiences react... Musicians like Robert Counts, here, singing "Backseat Driver".

Kelsea Ballerini is a beautiful musician we all know and love who nicely captures the spirit of this country music project. Here she is singing her infectious anthem to unbreakable friendship: "If you go down (I'm going down too)".

WHO AM I ??

(Photo: Wolsztyn, Poland.)

I'm an American physician-- with roots in Baltimore, Nashville and Dallas, and I came to Poland to attend medical school years ago. Now living with myelofibrosis, I am both a doctor and a patient simultaneously. I do not have any Polish heritage, just a big love for Poland that I developed since my arrival. Poland is a well-kept secret in my book, it's that great. It reminds me a bit of Old America.

I am fairly confident that musicians like Josh Turner and Carson McKee (below) will be well received in this part of the world. Here they are performing the John Prine tune "Paradise" (below) with their friend Bob Barrick.

Not many would guess that Beethoven could be played on the banjo. To prove that it can very much be done, here is "Mean Mary" (below), a skilled banjo player performing with Frank James a song that she wrote using parts of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".

WHERE WILL THIS COUNTRY MUSIC CENTRE BE LOCATED??

As a mood reminder, enjoy this clip  from "Walk the Line" (below), the biographical film about Johnny Cash starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon... here singing the Cash classic "It Ain't Me, Babe".

Hailey Whitters is another musician who is as talented as she is beautiful. Here she is singing her popular song "Fillin' My Cup" featuring Little Big Town.

NOW... ABOUT THAT PROPERTY. LET'S TALK "LOCATION".

In conversations with countless business owners and friends regarding this project, two critical elements have repeatedly been emphasized to me. Namely, LOCATION & ACCESSIBILITY. Any potential site has to be close and convenient for people to attend, or they simply will not come-- regardless of how wonderful the music is or well-intentioned the concept might be. The proposed property you see in the photos (below) is very close to the heart of the city and right next door to its largest university. Located at the corner-intersection of a major tram stop, it is also accessible and convenient for locals who do not own vehicles.

Here's "Toes" by Zac Brown Band...

If you haven't heard this next song, you've been living under a rock. Here is multiplatinum Darius Rucker, originally the front man for Hootie and the Blowfish, singing the Old Crow Medicine Show classic "Wagon Wheel".

Lastly in our musical digression is Waylon Jennings who wrote the well-recognzied theme song to the hit television show "Dukes of Harzard". His catchy, country tune perfectly captures the rascally, playful spirit of the American South.

CURRENT STATE OF THE PROPERTY....

HOW WE ENVISION IT...

Now that you've seen the current condition of the property, here's a much-needed mood-lifter... John Hiatt and The Goners singing about a Cadillac with "Tennessee Plates", a song featured prominently in the movie "Thelma & Louise".

Most of us know Jeff Bridges as the affable, award-winning actor that he is. Very few, however, know that he's also quite a skilled musician. Have a listen to the multi-talented Mr. Bridges singing "What a Little Bit of Love Can Do" (below)

Not all Bob Dylan songs qualify as "country" obviously, but the following group playing "Mighty Quinn" includes a banjo, a slide dobro guitar, stand up base and a mandolin (Mike Hedding is great). The group is lead by the super-talented musical pair of Rachel Cordova (Reina del Cid) and Toni Lindgren.

One of the great things about Nashville is the unlimited number of venues in which you can hear incredible musicians in smaller, intimate settings... such as The Bluebird Cafe, Exit/In, The Station Inn, etc. Places like this, which I call the "anti-arenas", foster special connections between musicians and their audiences. As an example of the type of atmosphere that I strive to create in Poland, here is a clip of Taylor Swift playing for a small group of students (below) as she explains her approach to songwriting.

To finish things up, here's Elvis Presley... "The King" himself, in his grinning, leg-twitching splendor... performing his classic, hit "Hound Dog" on the Ed Sullivan show.

A very special "thank you" to the first contributors to this fundraising effort... Rich Stromback, Elizabeth Tumulty, David Cook, Teddy Winstead and Henry Mitchell.

So let's build this thing-- and not just for Johnny and June and Elvis, but for their future fans in Europe who don't quite know and love them yet.

May God bless you-- and this little Country Music Experiment in Poland.

Love,

William