While many of us are helping others through staying inside and doing as little as possible, others have a different calling. We are living in a crazy time right now, and it’s amazing to see the recognition and support people on the frontlines are getting. They deserve every ounce of that praise, and much much more! There are others doing their part to help in ways they can that align with their passion.

Two such people are Dan Riddle and Kyle Ziegler. Dan and Kyle are friends and musicians who have made countless musical connections over the years. These two men decided their way to give back and help those in need was through their love of music and to call upon those connections. They enlisted Daniel McGarvey, who created the WONDERFUL featured artwork, as well as Chris Pollock, who donated his sound engineering skills to master the tracks.

Dan and Kyle saw this as an opportunity for musicians to come together and collaborate during these troubling times and to raise money for a good cause. Their calls were answered and then some! A total of 23 artists are featured on the compilation. This support came from both coasts, numerous cities in between, and even from the UK!

Oh, and if you’re curious, yes Dan and Kyle contributed songs. Kyle’s is easy to spot since it is under his name with a fun track titled “Pizza.“ I am not a fan of mushrooms on my za, but I am more than okay with a side of fries and Kyle’s grunge-punk vibe! Dan’s song is the dreamy and shoegaze-esque instrumental “Home Was A Ghost Town,“ under the moniker of The Lunar Haircuts.

This compilation is made of bands, side projects, solo artists and everything in between. It’s pretty lofi garage-y in nature, but with the polish that Pollock was able to bring, seemingly with a magic wand considering the wide array of production qualities the tunes came in. Just about every genre is included here, and I have enjoyed the majority of songs through multiple listens over the last week. As you’d expect, there were tracks that had me feverishly searching for who the artist was, and I’m sure you’ll discover some that conjure a similar reaction!

I included a few of the songs below, but I recommend going to their bandcamp site and listening to the full compilation. You can listen for free, but if you are able to purchase a copy, ALL proceeds go to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. You can also simply make a donation and there’s even an option to buy a limited edition cassette (only 100 copies will be made). Dan says the “cassettes are a way to give people a tangible memento of their support during the pandemic. I also like to think of the cassettes as an audio time capsule, or snapshot of Spring 2020.“ Couldn’t have said it better myself! Music for Nomes had to secure one of these cassettes for our personal collection.

We will come out of this, but we can never forget the sacrifices so many have made nor what many have done for others during these times. There’s nothing stopping us from continuing these good deeds once we are able to walk freely again. Times are tough, but despite all of the negativity some of the best parts of humanity are shining through.

We want to thank Dan, Kyle, Daniel, and Chris, and ALL of the wonderful musicians who contributed to this compilation. This is an inspiration for all of us. A friend here in Austin who contributed a track, and she introduced me to this project. Now it’s on me to return the favor and share it with all of you.

-Josh

Opener, “So What“ by Plans to Sand

“Zipwire“ by Jetstream Pony

Suzannah with “Get A Load of This“