It started out simple enough: “Hey, why don’t we get some Santa Cruz artists together and have you all do a “Playing For Change”-style take on The Grateful Dead song “Ripple”. That of course, was a great idea – and a big ask – since we were in Phase 1 of the Shelter In Place protocols.
A few weeks – and LOTS of emails and phone calls later, songwriter Keith Greeninger, Andy Senczak of Gadgetbox Studios and KPIG DJ and songwriter Michael Gaither (full disclosure: that’s me writing this post) had produced a music track and video featuring lots of local talent. The video itself evolved into a tribute and thank you to all the front line workers who are keeping us fed and healthy.
As of this writing, the video has been up a little over a week and has received over 10K views on YouTube. Recently, Wallace Baine (good friend of the pig and now hosting his own show on KSQD radio) interviewed Michael to chat about how the whole “Ripple” project came to fruition, who the players were, and to share some thoughts about the initial response to the video. Listen to the whole interview here. You can also read Wallace’s interview with Michael about the project in this article from Santa Cruz Good Times.