Have you ever been to a concert slightly under the weather? Like bad enough that you’d call in to work, but not quite bad enough to not see the show? Have you ever wondered how often musicians have to do that? If they have 30 or 30 thousand fans waiting them they can can’t just call in sick. They have to do whatever it takes to go on with the show. (The Wall reference).
But what if it isn’t just a cold or an upset stomach? What if it is a long-term, unpredictable debilitating illness? How do plan tours? How do you record song? How do you maintain enough creative energy to even write songs?
These are the kinds of things WMNF thinks about in October because it is People with Disabilities Month. (See the full calendar below).
The WMNF Song of the Day for October 29 is Over/Under by Pohgoh.
Pohgoh are absolutely Tampa Bay legends. In addition to a bunch of US shows, they just played Japan! And they know a lot about dealing with these kinds of problems. Over 20 years singer/songwriter Susie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Here is one section from Susie’s essay on Talkhouse:
As dogged as my quest to find ways to treat MS, I continue to look under every rock to find new ways to keep creating. I was never an impresario when it came to guitar. I’m a songwriter who uses a guitar to communicate my ideas. I’ve always presented what I’ve written, and we get to work as a band to arrange it. I’ll play along with basic chord progressions with maybe a plunky one note lead here or there. But the day came when I couldn’t play at all.
Susie Ulrey
You can follow Pohgoh here: https://www.instagram.com/pohgohfl/
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