Providing Hope Through Music

Adversity has a way of refining a soul. The hands of despair and pain reach inside and although grieve you, they also somehow renew. I am sure to some that sounds a bit dark but ponder for a moment all your past struggles and proceed to ask yourself, “How did that affect me?” Most likely the answer is: strength. Our trials make us stronger. The battles revive our yearning to be victorious; to overcome.

Watching our father, Glen, walk the rigorous journey of mental illness has cultivated a drive to be artists of honesty. We, The Rosies, have no interest in sugar coating our lyrics just to satiate the popular opinion. However, we are passionate about depicting the human condition in its entirety. Joy and sadness, blight and strain, happiness and sorrow are all part of life and each of those emotions wind their way through our music.

Mental illness is a serious matter, far too often silenced and/or ignored. The time is now to rise up and speak out. Together, we wrote “Silently Suffering” to be an anthem for the many people struggling. The song begins with a portrayal of the early stages of depression, progresses into a life fraught with loneliness, builds into a bridge of encouragement and support, and ends with the hope that no one has to face affliction alone. The depth of this composition is credited to mental illness and the difficult but successful life our father and family have endured.

Many times, losing ourselves is the greatest fear. You hide behind drugs or alcohol for fear that medication will change you or take away your artistry and vigor. We have poignant reason to believe that outlook is false. Our father has not only been a poster child for faithfulness and dedication to staying well but has also maintained his creative mind. Working every day in a company he and our mother, Joyce, developed proves your gifts and talents are valuable. Strung up, a line of recycled guitar string jewelry has become an engine for change, a vessel for awareness. We are advocates for mental illness and herald our support by wearing and sharing the jewelry. A portion of all proceeds are donated to our non-profit, Concerts of Hope and every performance is just another platform to spread the word.

As Aldous Huxley said “After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” We whole-heartedly agree. Music should be robust with depth, meaning and substance. We believe our talent is not only our voices or writing, but our ability to relate, reach out, and remind our listeners that light will filter in, darkness will not last, and hope is every bit tangible and alive.

To discover, listen, or purchase The Rosies music visit http://www.facebook.com/therosies.