Will sing for shelter

In addition to volunteering time, food or money (say, by contributing $73 to pay for a square foot of the Phase II building), there’s another good way to show support for the shelter—by buying its new CD release. The CCSP is about to release a raw and emotional benefit music CD entitled Shelter that features songs and spoken word about the experience of homelessness by local musicians and a few shelter residents.

Stories of the recording session include Lin Jensen’s powerful reading of his essay “Eclipse” and that of a young woman named Shiloh Sosa who came in from the street with a guitar and laid down a song that moved everyone in the room. Numerous local songwriters, such as DeeDee Vest (“The Train Song”), Mark Lightcap (“Pops”) and Ron Coffey (“Day We Broke the World”) contributed, as well as local musician Barney Barbour, who helped out on several tracks. Rev. “Junkyard Moondog” Dwyer contributed, as did Aaron Lyons, who donated a track from his rock opera Hollywood Outsider.

But best of all, perhaps, was permission from folk legend U. Utah Phillips to select any song from any one of his CDs and include it. Organizers chose the ballad “Yuba City” from The Telling Takes Me Home.

Watch out for the Shelter CD at fine local music stores and support a good cause while enjoying some heartfelt music.

—C.B.