Saturday,
November 4, 2000
Gentle reminder
As a culture,
our collective memory is short.
Maybe that's
because the speed of life is increasing and we're all too
busy trying to keep up, that we can't take the time to look
back.
Or maybe it's
just easier to forget.
Whatever the
case, singer-songwriter-author Tim Lawson is making a concerted
effort to get people to stop, think and remember with his
new album, Lest We Forget, a contemporary
Remembrance Day tribute.
The multimedia
CD, which features songs, videos, poetry and prose is not
just the West Coast artist's attempt to honour Canada's veterans,
but also a reminder of why we do.
"The whole
thing for me is that I write the songs because that's the
way I feel about my everyday life -- this is not free, being
here. So many people payed the price for our freedom,"
says Lawson, who will be performing selections from the disc
on Monday at the Chapters Macleod Tr. location.
"To be
able to pass that on to the next generation through music
I think is really a valid thing to do."
The album,
which has been released on Lawson's own Timberholme Music
label just in time for the Nov. 11 holiday, is being endorsed
by the Royal Canadian Legion and proceeds from sales will
be donated to the Poppy Fund.
Lawson, who
is also an Ambassador in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis,
views the project as his artistic duty and only a small step
in getting to the point in our history where it's no longer
necessary to be reminded of the wars that were fought for
us.
"When
we can get to that, that chapter is when war is finished on
this planet," he says.
As to whether
we'll ever reach that goal, Lawson says it may not happen
in his lifetime but he's certain some day it will.
"I'm a
huge believer in the human spirit, and one of the things I
tell people is that my favourite word in the human language
is hope," he says.
"I'm a
fatal optimist and I'll keep hoping until I draw my final
breath."
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