“Music can’t change the world, but it does have the power to bring people together. In such divisive times, it seems a good place to start”- Billy Bragg
In April, Musack ventured to the coldest tip of the Cold War – literally and figuratively…. We took guitars to the site of a former US army base in the wilds of Alaska that has been converted into a public boarding school for Native kids.
As you probably know, when Musack donates instruments, our REAL mission is to give kids a voice... or some type of greater meaning with music.
Recently, we wanted to find out right from the kids what these donations really mean to them, and if you've supported Musack for a while, you may know that we frequently reference this photo of Woody Guthrie:
So, we decided to not only re-create it, but to use it as inspiration for the kids we support to tell us what these "machines" we're giving them really mean to them.
The answers we're receiving so far are exactly what we're hoping for. We're seeing that we're, in fact, giving more than just instruments. So, we wanted to share these photos with you so that you know by donating to Musack, you're not just giving instruments, you're giving confidence, a voice, peace, love, and so much more.
This machine calms me down!
This machine spreads peace, love, and happiness.
This machine makes me smile and makes me happy.
This machine is a guitar! Guitars are cool!
This machine is HANDcrafted!
This machine makes me feel happy.
This machine helps me express myself.
This machine can do anything!
This machine inspires me to be confident.
We'll be sharing more photos of Musack kids and their responses, so stay tuned on our social medias and feel free to donate if you want to help us give more! In the meantime, here's another photo of Donick re-creating the Woody Guthrie photo... just because.
Guitar signed by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, if you're wondering.
Read Donick's recap in Relix of the first Cuba missionary guitar!
Our friend Jem Gruber helped us connect with a great program in Oakland, called 3 O'Clock Rock to donate guitars to provide kids with vehicles of self-expression and creative growth outlets. Read the story of the guitars here.