On Friday, August 15th, I was fortunate enough to witness a wonderful display of humanity and, in my opinion, one of the greatest moments in rock and roll history… EP!C’s own Marcus H., along with his friends Breezy and Devon, had the opportunity to go on stage at the Peoria Public Radio Concert Under the Stars in Glen Oak Park Amphitheater. The whole thing started when I heard an advertisement for the concert on the radio during my morning commute to EPIC. The ad mentioned that one of the performing acts was local musician Michael Galletti. I have met Mike several times and knew he was a cool guy, I contacted him and asked if maybe he would be willing to come say Hi to a couple of our individuals who are big music fans after he performed. Mike immediately loved the idea and plans quickly progressed to inviting us on stage with him. I explained how Marcus is a huge fan of 1990's Grunge era rock and roll and how excited he would be to get to see some live music. Most music events take place too late at night and Marcus had only ever been to one concert, the Backstreet Boys, many years ago. However, Marcus really loves guitars and rock and roll, something the Backstreet Boys are lacking. I explained to Mike how much Marcus seriously loves rock and roll and loves being a DJ on our EPIC radio show, where he always picks out a selection by one of his favorite bands for each radio show. I sent Mike a CD of a couple of our radio shows and he loved it and got excited about doing something cool for our guys. He decided to play a medley of some of Marcus’ favorite songs by his favorite bands, Guns N Roses and Nirvana, for him at the concert. During the week, I had asked Marcus what he thought about maybe going on stage at the concert and I said, “I think the guy I know might play some Guns and Roses songs for you even…” Marcus just stared at me for a minute then finally said, “Brad- Hold on a minute, let me get this straight… I get to go on stage? - Heck yeah!” Throughout the week Marcus’ excitement grew, he kept coming to my office and asking how long until he got to go on stage with Axl Rose? I had to explain it wasn't actually a Guns N Roses concert, but the guy playing was a pretty cool rock star and he was going to play some Guns N Roses music. On Friday night we loaded up a bus with Marcus, Breezy and Devon and headed to Glen Oak Park. Marcus was so excited, he had a huge smile on his face from the minute he came out the door. As I was loading his wheelchair on the bus, he took out a pair of drum sticks he had stowed away in his book bag and began lightly drumming on my head as I strapped down the chair. The night started off wonderfully, Mike was the first person we saw as we pulled up. He looked just like a rock star straight off MTV with his slashed jeans and sunglasses. Marcus was excited to tell him how he too sang and played guitar, as Mike helped us get all the wheelchairs down to the front of the stage. Everyone enjoyed some ice cream as we talked and took some pictures with Mike while waiting for the show to begin. Most of the early acts were cast members from local musicals, singing some show tunes- not exactly Marcus’ favorite, but Breezy and Devon and even Marcus did enjoy some of the funnier theatrical songs. While waiting for the rock and roll to begin Marcus was super cute, rolling over to his long time girl-friend Breezy and sneakily putting the new leather cowboy hat he was wearing on to her head and then giving her a little kiss It was nearly 9 p.m. by the time Mike took the stage as the second-to-last performer in the line-up. Marcus was getting pretty tired by that point but perked right up as the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived. As Mike played a song on the piano, I helped Marcus, Breezy and Devon around to the side of the stage. I explained “Ok guys, lets just kind of hang out over here while Mike plays…” Mike then grabbed his guitar and said he was happy to have some new friends here tonight and he wanted to play some songs for his new buddy Marcus. He started into a medley of some of Marcus’ favorite songs as I was still helping Devon up the ramp on the side of the stage. Then I looked over and saw, to my surprise, that Marcus had decided to roll himself right out to the center of the stage and grab the microphone. Mike was surprised too, but just got a big smile on his face and rolled with it. Marcus looked like a total rock star as he started singing his heart out- I think the crowd was a little taken off guard too, but everybody loved it. Then Marcus grabbed his cowboy hat, threw it down on the stage, and really rocked out. It was an amazing thing to witness. I loved how it wasn’t a part of the plan for Marcus to grab the microphone and sing, but he saw his opportunity and didn’t hesitate for one second to seize the moment. Words cannot describe how incredible it all was… Then to top it all off Mike gave Marcus his guitar (which he had decorated with rock and roll stickers of Guns N Roses and Nirvana logos, etc) for Marcus to keep and take home after the show. Mike was as blown away as I was by Marcus’ rockin’ performance. Traditionally, giving someone your guitar is the biggest compliment one musician can give to another, and what an incredibly nice thing that was for Mike to do. Marcus held on to that guitar so tight the whole ride home. In addition, it was fun to see him already re-playing the events of the night in his mind and analyzing his performance. He said, “Brad- is it ok that I closed my eyes while I was singing?” I said, “Heck yeah, dude- you looked awesome and you were amazing!” Marcus’ one regret was that he was wondering if he should have ripped his shirt off during the song Paradise City like he had seen Axl Rose do on TV - that may have been a little too wild for the low-key Public Radio fundraising concert crowd, I'm kinda glad we didn't go quite that far. But the night came off so incredibly, it couldn't have went any better if we had planned it all out. And, really, its best that way- Our job is not to plan out every little thing in people’s lives, but rather to give people a little help and try to create some opportunities and encourage them to take it to their full potential. EPIC stands for Empowering People, Inspiring Capabilities and I can hardly think of anything more empowering and inspiring than seeing Marcus seize the opportunity to take center stage, grab the microphone and live out his rock star dream. It was an outpouring of pure joy, pure excitement and pure rock and roll. As we left the stage all the vendors were coming up to us offering us free food and stuff like we were celebrities. For days afterwards, Marcus has been telling everyone he meets about how he sang on stage, with a huge smile and gushing with pride… The whole thing was truly EPIC. We just want to give a huge Thank You to Michael Galletti for helping to make an unforgettable night and Congratulations to Marcus- You are a rock star!
- Brad Johnson
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