Roger Greenawalt Needs Our Help

Our dear friend Roger Greenawalt needs help. Roger has had an amazing life and career making wonderful music, inspiring and delighting fellow artists and the public but he has now reached a place of crisis and it's on us who know, love and admire him to do what we can to help him stabilize his life. The need is both immediate and ongoing.

We have set up a Special Needs Trust to supplement the minimal social security income he presently receives. Without the support garnered from your contributions to this GoFundMe that will go into the trust we fear Roger will face a set of increasingly dire circumstances. The Trust will be administered by professionals who will ensure the money goes for basic needs (rent, utilities, food and medical) or emergencies and that it lasts as long as possible. Some portion of the money raised will go towards first stabilizing his housing situation, then the rest will provide ongoing support. When, and if, any of the Trust's funds are no longer needed they will be donated to a charity that supports others in similar straits.

For those who know him, Roger Greenawalt is an undeniable creative force of nature. He is an inventive and imaginative musician and producer and always capable of making you hear new things, think new things and see new possibilities. What many don't know is that for years now Roger has been not only dogged by cancer and debilitating nerve damage to one of his hands, but he has also been stalked by bi-polar disease. The accumulated weight of these physical and mental health crises have made it impossible for Roger, at age 63, to not only practice his craft professionally but also have irrevocably damaged his ability to manage his affairs in an orderly way.

Over his life, Roger has been a force for love and beautiful melody in this world. Things we could use a lot more of these days. His sense of humor and his wit are legend. Those, in combination with his talent, are all precious contributions and deserve respect and are due honor.

For those who don't know his work, over his career Roger worked with artists as disparate as Nils Lofgren, The Pierces, Ben Kweller, Ric Ocasek, Branford Marsalis, Philip Glass and many others. He was particularly known for mentoring young artists as they became mature professionals. He began his career as a pillar of the "Sarcastic Post Punk No Wave Death Disco" band The Dark who, whose extraordinary musicianship, invention and gonzo humor gained them a loyal East Coast following.

He is also known as a kind of Johnny Appleseed of ukulele. Convinced that the Uke was the "happiest" instrument, Roger for years has walked the streets of New York and Los Angeles spreading joy whilst composing songs on the march and offering renditions of each and every Beatles song.

Help us give this remarkable, inspiring man a handhold on a stable next phase of his life. Your generosity is deeply, truly appreciated.

Andy, Eric, Clark and Hall