Move On, MS was originally started as a way to combine my work in the music industry with a need to create a support system for people within that community dealing with things like multiple sclerosis (MS). I held my first event at a friends’ bar in New York City. The event was a benefit concert which featured a live auction . It was a night full of friendship with people there as much to support MS awareness as they were to support me. MSAA Ambassador Anna Webber, who has now become a close friend and confidant, was by my side all night. We had music and great prizes donated by Live Nation, Roadrunner Records, Sumerian Records, Dangerbird Records, Fat Wreck Chords, Merge Records, EMI and so many more friends. That was the key word; friends. People came together as a community for that night and it felt like we could do anything. It was my proudest moment and I hope it would have been my mom’s as well. I felt that the money we raised paled in comparison to the connections we formed and relationships we cemented.
I believe it’s normal for the first time you do something like Move On, MS to see it more as something about your own state of mind and the healing and grieving process than a mission to change the world. I wanted to keep my mom alive in whatever way I could and if she wasn’t going to be with me anymore I wanted the world to remember who she was. After it was over I didn’t feel healed; I felt like my work had just begun.
Moving on, (no pun intended) my goal was to improve upon the flaws of the last benefit and do something on a larger scale. My friends over at The Audio Perv, a popular music blog and USvsTHEMinc put together an unbelievable lineup for their official CMJ Music Marathon showcase at The Bowery Ballroom and invited me to come along for the ride. I am humbled by the faith they have placed in me and their support of my idea. On October 18th we will come together for a night of music and Move On, MS starting at 7:00pm EST. Tickets are $10 at the door and we will be giving away some exciting prizes all night including a guitar signed by My Chemical Romance and a photo taken of Beck and Philip Glass by Anna Webber herself that was signed by Glass. Some of the items have been generously donated by BUILT NY, GelaSkins, Engineer Records, Live Nation and more. For more information on the event you can visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/moveonms.
Hi my name is Gerry and I also lost my mother to the effects of MS at the age of 54 and that was in 1974. I was 3 when my mother was bed ridden and was moved to a nursing home. I remember all the doctor visits and the happy times with my mother. My mom had 3 children and I was the last. There was alot of great times and I always remember them. The Doctors always told me that it wont be passed on to children, well in 2009 I was told I did have RRMS by my new doctor. I was 62. I am just glad that ther is meds now to slow MS down. To see your love ones suffer does effect ones self. My 2 sisters have forgotten the good or bad times, but I will always remember the special times with my Mom and the wonderful care she received at the nursing home. Your letter has lifted my spirts knowing that children today care about the parents. Have a wonderful life and God Speed