Hi Guys.
First of all, i want to say thank you for your incredible response this week. It has been beautiful to see. This has been a difficult week for a lot of people. We’ve been in touch with the guys from Hawthorne Heights all week, and we have a lot of friends who are hurting right now.
This is an important moment for us. i think i knew that as soon as i heard the news, that it was important for us to respond well, to try to lead in this moment. We have been embraced (beyond words) by Casey Calvert, by his band, and by this unique community, and now this is a moment where we need to do our best to return the favor, to try to be something strong in this moment, and to continue doing the work that Casey believed in.
[url=http://www.zambooie.com/twloha]Casey Shirts are now available for preorder in the TWLOHA Online Store[/url].
All proceeds will go to Casey’s family and funeral expenses.
At this point, it’s pretty undeniable that Casey’s life touched a lot of people – there’s a lot of folks moved by this news. And there’s a wife who just lost her husband. The shirt is simply an attempt to build a bridge between the two, to invite this community to meet a need, and to show this woman that she is not alone in this moment. Her husband’s life meant a lot to a lot of people, and this is our chance to respond. This is what it means to be a community.
Here is the artwork:
[img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/jamietwo/Casey_Black.jpg[/img]
i’ve seen a few questions about the words, people asking if it’s a lyric or where it came from. The short answer is simply that i wrote those words Tuesday afternoon. i wanted the shirt to feel like Casey. i read an article on MTV.com and in the headline, Casey was referred to as “Lighthearted guitarist…”. It made me think about the contrast in his life. This was a guy who made people laugh. This was a guy who lived with a smile. And yet Casey also lived with heavy things. He was no stranger to pain. Casey was honest with us about this. Perhaps a lot of us can relate to that.
Anyway, those words arrived like something of a gift and it meant the world when JT (from Hawthorne) said it was perfect. “That saying epitomizes Casey Calvert”, he told me. i’m humbled by the response.
Also, we’ve created a banner, which links to Casey shirts in online store. We hope it’s a great way to show your support in remembering Casey, and also to help raise money:
Add this banner to your page:
Our thoughts and prayers remain with Ashley and the band and all of Casey’s family, friends and fans. We talk a lot about “community” but i think it’s appropriate right now, this idea that people need other people, this idea that we’re not alone, that we’re all in this together. Life is a lot of things. Our hearts are heavy and light. We laugh and scream and sing. Our hearts are heavy and light.
Peace to you today.
jamie
ps: There’s been a lot of good stuff on MTV.com about Casey this week. [url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1575426/20071129/hawthorne_heights.jhtml]Here’s the latest article[/url]. John Norris from MTV sat down with the band, and with Casey’s wife Ashley, and the video is incredibly moving.