EB: While we spoke, you could hear a pin drop. And then, so many questions. After every talk, we were approached by someone, often in tears, quietly sharing about a friend or loved one who had AIDS or had already died. These people had never told anyone until we came to speak and put a face on AIDS. I met gay children who were thrown out of their homes; hospitals that would not let gay partners visit their loved ones without the family's consent; The Dade County Public School System AIDS Speakers Bureau tried to prohibit us from talking to kids about important things like condoms and homosexuality and I paid no attention to their rules. The stories go on and on. Eventually we were able to create an AIDS Teachers Curriculum Guide in the Miami-Dade County Schools, with a special dedication to Doug. Eight years later, for our work together, speaking out for AIDS education and research, I was chosen to be a torch bearer in the 1996 Olympics. I asked the Olympic committee if I could wear my AIDS pin on my Olympic Tee Shirt in memory of Doug and the thousands who died and they said "no". I wore it anyway!
JB: It sounds like Doug was one special guy. How did you go forward?
EB: Special, indeed! For me, his death was a bittersweet moment of relief from my own sadness, from watching him suffer and the exhaustion from many sleepless nights and watching him deteriorate and waste away. AIDS ravaged his body and his mind and I was helpless as I watched him take his last breath. All I had been able to do was love him and try to ease his pain. This beautiful man, whom I loved so much, aged before his time. He was so brave, outspoken, and then, finally, at peace. For a while after his death, I was overwhelmed by daily life with my three toddlers and had little time to grieve. And then, four months later, I crashed, let go and finally cried.
JB: Definitely a heart-wrenching way to kick off your song-writing career. Since then, what kinds of issues have ignited your passion and been transformed into song?
EB: I believe that love and loss ignited my passion for songwriting and, since then, I have been hell-bent on speaking out! I found solace in writing while Doug was sick and sleeping a lot. He slept with his eyes half open, so I checked on him frequently to make sure he was still alive. I was never a writer before, but discovered it was a good release for me, a way to think and sort through what was happening in my life and the world around me.
Since those days, in addition to running a full-time graphic design business, I have been commissioned to write, film and produce music videos to raise money and bring about awareness for community organizations. These include:
Shalom Bayit Domestic Abuse Program Faces of Violence featuring: You're Not Better Than Me helping battered families in the Jewish community; Camillus House Homeless Project Open the Door To Hope featuring : Somebody's Child helping build a 340-bed facility for Miami's homeless; Easter Seals Small Miracles, featuring: A Few Small Miracles, daycare for adults with Alzheimer's and children with autism; Greater Miami Jewish Federation featuring: Tikkun Olam Repair The World. Since 2006, all together, my music videos have helped to raise upwards of $100 million, each one with its own special story.
JB: That's major moolah!
EB: I feel very gratified that my songs have touched people in a way that is making a difference. The reaction to You're Not Better Than Me was a pivotal surprise. The video evoked some incredible responses from survivors of domestic abuse from around the country, telling me how much comfort and empowerment it gave them. It opened up my eyes to a world that was foreign to me. I am grateful that the song has had such a positive emotional impact in addition to raising money for family outreach.
That song won Breaking the Silence in Song in NYC, a national competition for songs about domestic abuse sponsored in part by NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). Michael Bolton, an activist for women's rights, was one of five Grammy-winning judges who chose my song as the winner, which included Ben E. King, Sissy Houston, Run-DMC and Kevin Lyles. And it was Michael who announced and presented the award to me. It was very exciting!
JB: I can imagine. Let's skip ahead to Who's the Pusher Now?, the song you wrote on legalizing marijuana. Where did that one come from?
EB: Who's The Pusher Now? came out of my outrage at the hypocrisy of our government's Drug Wars.
JB: Three trillion dollars and counting, according to the just released IBW Report Card on the Obama Administration's Policies and Practices!
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
