Sad Song Radio

Proof That Music Soothes Body & Soul

By Mike Briotta, PRIME Editor Music has helped people in need for thousands of years - it's been shown to ease blood pressure and heart rates, as well as releasing endorphins in the brain. And music therapy treats neurological conditions from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to anxiety and depression. The journey from a stringed instrument string to your heartstrings is well proven. While not specifically called "therapeutic music," a pair of recordings from local group Sad Song Radio is another example of the music-medicine nexus: songs played by medical professionals to benefit good causes. Tom Murphy, a pediatric occupational therapist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, and Ted Ellenhorn, a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst who practices in Amherst, form the core of the group. Rounding out the trio is Ed Brainerd, an area accountant. "I started as a guitarist and banjo player in a high school concertina. From there I performed jazz music in restaurants, stuff with a bluesy feel," said Murphy, founding member of the group. Murphy has worked at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for 16 years. He played jazz during that time as well, but it wasn't until recently that he envisioned Sad Song Radio. "Beginning around 1980, I was a stand-up bass player. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that I got back into playing the guitar again, with a small guitar called a 'baby' Taylor. Now I play everything I've loved since I was a kid. Jazz, folk, blues, just great songwriting." Murphy said of their first CD of somber tunes: "This collection goes back 35 years at least, and I've tried to include something from the songwriters that have meant the most to me." He added, "Finding a new singer or songwriter has always been a great pleasure. So if any listener hasn't already heard of Elliot Smith or Buddy and Julie Miller, well it's my pleasure to make the introduction." Ellenhorn is a core faculty professor in the Clinical Psychology department at Antioch University in New Hampshire. He's also a gifted guitar player. "Tom and I have been playing together for 15 years, before this in a jazz group," Ellenhorn said. "We stopped doing that and started playing guitar together, with me on electric and him on acoustic. We have different musical backgrounds, and I think that also makes this music more interesting." Ellenhorn is a former Los Angeles area jazz-fusion guitarist whose influences often provide a counterpoint to Murphy's folk and blues roots. "I come from a progressive rock and fusion background, such as Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin," Ellenhorn said. "That's really my first love, as well as jazz music such as John Coltrane. I did play fusion for a long time." He continued, "Tom likes folk, and both enjoy songs that tell a story. Each solo has an architecture to it, the way the song structure does. Often there is a guitar solo happening at the same time with the singing. It's a polyphony found in Dixieland and New Orleans music, and also in post-bebop. In jazz, you'll hear improvising while the singing is happening."

A Sentimental Mood

"We find sad songs, the sadder the better. My favorite songs, the most powerful ones, to me are all sad," Murphy said. "Most great songwriters write better sad songs than happy songs." He continued, "Most of the best songs I hear seem to be sad ones; they're the ones that have always had a hold on me, and the ones I wanted to share once I learned to play."

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"It's not about making money for ourselves, but doing something outside of yourself." —Ted Ellenhorn, Sad Song Radio

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It's not just cover songs to be found on their two Sad Song Radio recordings. In both cases, Murphy and company mix in a few originals as well. "To include a couple of my own songs in this company is no more ridiculous than the urge to record in the first place," he joked. Murphy, who's recorded musical tracks at other area studios, finally found his home with Northfire Recording Studio in Amherst. "I had a lot of traumatic experiences in other studios," Murphy recalled. "I tried for four or five years and never really liked any of the recorded material. Then I found this studio in Amherst and for the first time it felt good, I actually had fun recording," he added. They distributed the 2009 recording, the original Sad Song Radio compilation, and got a favorable response from fans. Each CD was priced at $5 and, combined with gigs and other fundraising events, it raised about $1,200 for Doctors Without Borders. More than $200 of that came from Cooley Dickinson friends and supporters. "I also sent it around to friends from high school, and the response was good," Murphy said. "It's like telling people you're still alive. For his second release, Murphy and friends shortened the song list by about half, but soon found that less was more. "This second recording.has been quite a different process from [the previous year's] effort," he said. "I had intended to record another hour or so of the songs I felt strongest about, adding a bit more jazz into the mix, and soon discovered it was harder than I thought to make it sound authentic and satisfying to my own ears," he explained. Said Murphy: "My hope with this recording is to make it feel like we're sitting in my living room, having a collaboration." Listeners of either CD will immediately recognize some of the songwriters Murphy covers, including Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt and Nat "King" Cole. A total of 22 tracks span both CDs. "I don't make any money from the sale of these CD's or when we do gigs," Murphy said. He also played the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton last year with his other group, The Jazz Daddies. Fans may have also seen Murphy play live shows at the openings of art exhibits featuring his wife, Nan Salky. The musician played openings last year in Northampton and Brattleboro, Vermont. He's also playing the opening of her next show, March 6 at Western New England College. His daughter Helen provides all the artwork for the musical group. Murphy added of the project, "This is a mix of everything I've loved playing for so many years. I feel like I've always been a song-finder. The great songs that no one's heard of. Part of it is this feeling of wanting people to hear stuff that isn't as well-known." Among his favorites is Elliot Smith, a Hampshire College alumni, whose talent Murphy says is "up there with Lennon-McCartney" in the realm of great songwriters." At the end of the day, both his occupational therapy job and his musical performances are about lending a hand to others. "Both are about helping people," Murphy said. "Sometimes the best thing you can do is break away from the idea of having to make money to be successful. It frees you."

No Boundaries

To help promote Sad Song Radio 2, the band played a few local gigs, plus a house party in Vermont that raised additional funds. "I probably never would have played that party otherwise," Murphy recalled of the June event. "But it was for a good cause. As it turned out, it was one of the best gigs. You have more fun. This is my way of feeling good about playing music too." "Doctors Without Borders has always been my favorite charity," Murphy said. "It's not just about doing great work, but great work in dangerous conditions." Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in 1971. Today, it provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened. For the release of their second CD, Murphy chose a new charitable endeavor. All proceeds from Sad Song Radio 2 will be used in a collaborative project building indoor playgrounds for young children in Holyoke. "I built playgrounds for kids when I was in college, and always wanted to get back into it," Murphy said. "I also designed equipment for disabled people, so I have a lot of experience figuring out what would work." His day job includes screening children for motor development issues. He's also an adaptive equipment specialist. Motor development skills include sitting up straight, walking and jumping among other milestones. "I want kids to start with as close to age-level skills as they can," he explained. "Kids that get behind tend to stay behind. There's a need for places to go that have interesting play equipment." He continued, "A lot of centers have become very skittish about what they'll let kids play on, for liability concerns. The result is that, a lot of places I go, they are just big empty rooms, because they're afraid." The Holyoke playground project aims to increase areas where children can climb, jump, roll, crawl and explore on indoor equipment. According to its statement of need document, "Even for centers with interesting and challenging outdoor equipment, indoor play opportunities are extremely limited." The project will be completed with the help of engineering students from Smith College and occupational therapy students from Springfield College. Although there is an undeniable nexus between the healing powers of song and the help he provides his patients, Ellehnorn said this music is not by its nature a strictly therapeutic effort. "Music is all about feeling, however I don't play for therapeutic reasons," he said. "I thought it was a great idea when Tom presented Sad Song Radio to me. It's not just about making money for ourselves, but rather feeling like you're doing something outside yourself." He concluded, "I think this is wonderful because it supports our local communities as well. Giving back makes our music feel very immediate and relevant to something. This is an innovative vision that Tom has." PRIME For more information about Sad Song Radio, please contact Tom Murphy by e-mail at tomnankids@comcast.net.