Tim's Cancer Tour

We all just found out that Tim Shadley, one of my oldest and dearest friends, has stage 4 renal cell cancer.  He doesn’t have long with us. I don’t mean he’s got a few years, I mean we’re likely only looking at a few months if we’re lucky. 

If you don’t know Tim, he’s not hard to describe.
Brilliant. Creative. Witty. Honest. Acerbic.
As a musician I’d describe him the same way.
Like if Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock had a baby.

Being a successful professional musician in this century is one of the hardest things one can do. But this guy has more hustle and work ethic in his little finger than most of us have in our whole bodies.

So it took more than a whole pandemic closing every venue and opportunity to perform to knock him down. And even though this virulent form of cancer has been ravaging him since last summer, he’s still playing and recording online. 

When I asked him what he wanted to do, he just said, “I wanna go play with my friends around the country and if I’m lucky maybe go visit the grave of Rik Mayall in the U.K.”

All of this has to happen now. We’re all getting vaccinated as fast as we can. Updating travel documents so we can see what we can do.

I just can’t stress the urgency of this situation enough. 
He can still play Today.  Right now. 

And he should be afforded every opportunity to share his great talent for as long as he is able and desires it. We've all benefited from him. Whether you know him, have heard him play or not, Tim is one of the few that elected to dedicate his life to music. And the world as a whole is better for it. 

So please give what your heart tells you. This is the last tip jar on the last set. I hope you guys overwhelm him with your support. Let’s end this gig with a standing ovation that leaves Tim knowing without a Shadow of a doubt, just how much he is appreciated and loved. 

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