Live Concert
|
When:
02/22/2008 at 08:00 pm
Where:
Théâtre Ste. Catherine
264 Ste. Catherine E
Montreal,
Downtown
|
When it comes to Robbie Tucker and his music, there is no question, this guy has got determination. On the heels of his 31st birthday, he still emits a seemingly endless flow of creative and musical energy. Tucker, has been working his tail off on a number of projects, shall we run through?
Right off the bat we see how dedicated this man is to his craft. Tucker has been compared to such musical geniuses as Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Mika and also, Rufus Wainwright. He does it all while dealing with the progressive neurological disorder, Parkinson's disease. Diagnosed at the young age of 28 Robbie began showing symptoms just before moving to Montreal, in 2005. Traditionally Parkinson's disease is thought of as only affecting the elderly, this of course is untrue. The risk of Parkinson's disease increases with age. The general age for onset is 60-65 yrs; however, around 5-10% of people diagnosed are under 45 with about 1% of those being under 30.
"I've been on this messed up medication that, you know, I have to take or I just don't function, and I can feel it slowly getting worse” states Robbie matter-of-factually, seeming very at ease with his situation.
"You know sometimes, in life we tend to get lazy. Parkinson's disease was my wake up call. Before my diagnosis I had to stop playing onstage because my voice and guitar playing had gotten so bad."
Tucker didn't stop though, and it doesn't look like he plans to anytime soon. Presently he is organizing a year long series of concerts to raise awareness for people living with Parkinson's disease, and $1,000,000.
"There is a small fire that is lit under this disease in the media and I am about the pour a whole can of gas over it. These issues need to be talked about by someone with a big enough mouth to make people listen". Let's face it, this interview isn't about Parkinson's Disease is it? Really, it's only half the tale. Robbie Tucker is getting ready to do something spectacular. "I am going to put together such a big show that by the end of the year, artists and producers that won't even talk to us now are going to find themselves on the other end of the stick. This isn't amount money, or fame and people need to grasp that. I am here to try and solve this problem that is slowly taking my life away from me. That's a pretty decent motivator don't you think?"
After trying to change the public's general out look on Parkinson's disease with Parkinson's Society Canada for 2 years now, Robbie's new plan of attack has him flying solo. "I just felt a lack of support and ambition but, to be fair what motivates each of us is different. It doesn't mean that their hearts are not in the right place, it just means that I am the one whose brain is slowly deteriorating"
So what has Robbie done? He has spent the past 2 months working on a new project, a new charitable organization that he calls pdMoves.org. It's an online 'useful' community for people living with Parkinson's disease. Upon arrival to the website you are greeted by Robbie, well, virtual Robbie. "I am going to have a 24/7 online neurologist, online appointments whereby patients meet their neurologist online for a visit and hey, I won't spoil it for everyone. You’ll just have to wait." He is scheduling it's completion for late this month.
Just when I thought the interview was coming to a close, Tucker let me know that he's pulling out all the stops this time around. He's asking the big boys for help. He has put together a series of request.com websites such as, www.PaulMcCartneyRequest.com, www.OprahRequest.com, www.MichaelJFox.com and the list doesn't stop there.
He has put together a phenomenal new 9 piece band and will be returning to the stage once again. His latest album has received great reviews from Taxi, Stephen McKnight and has had material forwarded to Hollywood records.
The first concert of the series begins in February. Please check http://www.robbietucker.com for more information on this.
Before I wrapped up the interview and left Robbie Tucker's studio I asked him, "How do you feel about losing your abilities again?" to which he replied, "I am the driver of this car, and I won't stop until I want to."
Sounds like determination to me.
*http://www.pdmoves.org
|
|
|
|
|
Favorites
Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Furl
Magnolia
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo MyWeb
