Sending Love to Levon Helm

I am sad to report that Levon Helm, who has played drums and contributed lead vocals while in the groundbreaking musical group The Band is "in the final stages of his battle with cancer." Levon's website notes, "Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey. Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration...he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage."

Rolling Stone writes that ,"Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s. He recovered, but it took him many years to recover his singing voice. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony past Saturday evening, Robbie Robertson sent "love and prayers" out to Helm."

From The Road (1995), shot 8/5/94 in Rockford, IL

The Band:
Levon Helm - vocals, drums
Rick Danko - vocals, bass
Garth Hudson - keyboards, accordion
Jim Weider - guitar
Richard Bell - keyboards, vocals
Randy Ciarlante - drums vocals

The Horn Section:
Joe Mulherin - trumpet
David Woodford - tenor sax
Joe Sublett - tenor sax
Garrett Adkins - trombone
Howard Johnson - tuba, baritone sax

Video (c) 1995 by High Five Entertainment, Tribune Entertainment
Atlantic City c. Bruce Springsteen

Read more: 


Photos: Levon Helm Through the Years


Levon Helm Battles Cancer

Listen to Levon Helm's Finest Moments, from 'The Weight' to 'Atlantic City'

Thoughts and Prayers With Japan

Buddha, Japanese National Museum, Tokyo


Gregg Chadwick
"A Balance of Shadows"

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan.


Video from Shinjuku,Tokyo showing skyscrapers swaying with the force of the March 11, 2011 earthquake centered off of northeastern Japan. Buildings in Japan are engineered to meet extraordinarily high governmental standards to help prevent earthquake damage.
(Video by escot2008)





" Friday’s quake was centered off the coast of Honshu, the most populous of the Japanese islands, at a point about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo and a depth of about 17 miles below the earth’s surface.The quake occurred at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time, and was so powerful that buildings in central Tokyo, designed to withstand major earthquakes, swayed."
-United States Geological Survey

globalgiving has set up a well organized webpage for donations at Japan Earthquake And Tsunami Relief Fund

More at:
Earthquake in Japan