CANADIAN MUSICIAN LA FIRE SUPPORT: for MORGAN DOCTOR

My name is Lisa Patterson and I'm a Toronto based music creator & industry entrepreneur.

This is a Community Call to Action to contribute whatever you can to support our friend and colleague Morgan Doctor in rebuilding her professional life.

I've known Morgan personally and professionally for over 25 years. She's an award-winning drummer, composer, producer, musician and a kind and gentle human on this planet. Her celebrated work in recording, touring, film composition and collaborative bands, exemplifies the dedication, talent and integrity of a self-employed creator who has earned every accolade and hard-won step towards arriving at an established career.

Unfortunately, when fires swept through Altadena, California they destroyed not only Morgan and her wife Ondi's home, but Morgan's entire studio. A lifetime of instruments and audio production gear - some irreplaceable collectibles - disintegrated. Guitars, Drums, Bass, Percussion, Hang Drum, Microphones, External Processors, Monitors, Interface … gone. No equipment insurance. It's a shocking situation to process. A professional's tools and work environment are crucial for survival.

Morgan is a private person, and by her own admission, not the type to ask for help. With her permission, I'm calling on community to pitch in and help replace her studio and live performance valuables so she can eventually rebirth her career.

Please share this with public, friends, family, fans of music & film, music & film industry, and particularly with fellow artists, musicians, songwriters, composers, producers, studio engineers, stage performers, live audio techs.

Community comfort comes in many forms: well wishes and emotional support certainly matter however tangible support is also essential. Nothing can replace one's feeling of security or the devotional design invested into creating one's own studio over time but we can try to lighten the load.

Thank You Merci Gracias Miigwech

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In case you're not familiar with Morgan's work here's a brief summary:

Morgan Doctor is Canadian-American artist based in Los Angeles, and for many years, Toronto. She played drums and percussion for recording projects and tours across USA, Canada and Europe with esteemed artists Jill Barber, The Cliks, Andy Kim, Amanda Rheaume, Chantal Kreviazuk, Feist, Ron Sexsmith, Danny Michel, Fefe Dobson, Tamara Williamson, Lily Frost, Kevin Drew, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, Lisa Patterson band, Rakkatak and more.

Morgan scored the music for 2022 Oscar short-listed film 'Last Flight Home'; as well as for 'Coming Clean' (2021) and most recently for 'The New Americans', which premiered at 2023 SXSW film festival. She earned a Dora nomination for her sound design work on 'Between Us Goddesses' and a Juno nomination for her work with the Toronto Tabla Ensemble. She has appeared on MTV Cribs Canada, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late show with Craig Ferguson. Her session drumming is heard on CBC Metro Morning, The L Word, and Grey's Anatomy.

In 2006 Morgan signed with Aporia Records and has released four solo albums, most recently, Strangers which explores the actions of connecting and disconnecting and the fragile boundary between intimacy and estrangement. "… it is a rare musician who can make an instrumental album that seems confessional” – Toronto Star.

Morgan has appeared in Modern Drummer Magazine and is a regular contributor to Tom Tom Drum Magazine. She's a Banff Centre Musician in Residence alumni and an advocate of music education, teaching at Girls Rock Camp Toronto as a drum instructor and band coach.

When she’s not composing, performing, producing, or practicing yoga, Morgan enjoys time with her dachshund Cymbal.