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AHN Interview:
Sandy Leon Vest, singer/songwriter
"Music gives me a reason to get up in the morning, to work out, to eat the right food, to stay healthy and strong... Writing and playing music are how I carve my way out of the darkness." --Sandy Leon Vest
Sandy Leon Vest
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Sandy Leon Vest is a singer/songwriter and political activist who has overcome much adversity to bring her music to the world. During her first performance at age six, she was paralyzed by a stage fright which plagued her for many years. Overtime, her confidence grew, and in her twenties, she taught herself guitar. Later she met and married her husband James Vest, and together they formed the band Leon Vest. They have produced several CD¹s including So Blue and their most recent recording, Leon Vest: Alive by Request.
In August of 2001, Sandy's life took a surprising turn, as she explains, "I was diagnosed with a sub-type of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma considered 'clinically terminal' (because it rarely responds favorably to chemotherapy). Still, I am an optimist and have made it my mission to prove that statistics do not always tell the story of the person. In December 2004, my husband and songwriting partner James Vest was diagnosed with Leukemia -- also currently considered an incurable hematological cancer. Today our primary source of hope and inspiration is each other, our band and the music we write and play together. We both hope and believe we can save our lives through the performance, recording and subsequent sales of our original music."
Danny: How has music has been a healing catalyst for you, particularly in coping with cancer?
Sandy: Music gives me a reason to get up in the morning, to work out, to eat the right food, to stay healthy and strong. It is my primary motivation in life. I think if it wasn't for my music, my world might be very dark indeed. Writing and playing music are how I carve my way out of the darkness.
Nirvana for me is looking out at an audience of smiling faces when we're doing a show -- this is as happy as I ever need to be. I love that we create music that makes people smile.
Danny Hobson: How has having Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma impacted your music?
Sandy Leon Vest: Having a form of cancer that is considered both "incurable" and "terminal" (clinically speaking), has impacted my songwriting in ways I could not have imagined before my diagnosis. These days I write a lot about death -- not in a morbid way, but about living with it and how liberating it is to surrender everything you thought you were for who you really are.
I need to say, though, that when my husband was diagnosed with Leukemia only three years after my diagnosis, the music took still another leap -- I will say with no false modesty that our music has become truly magical.
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Danny: You and your husband have produced a recent CD, called So Blue. Tell me about the music on this CD.
Leon Vest's CD, So Blue is available
at CDBaby.com or at the Healing
Arts Store in Stinson Beach, CA.
415-868-9305.
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Sandy: So Blue is one of many recordings Leon Vest has made, but it was the first one we actually had produced professionally and made into a "product," if you will. The band on So Blue is so diverse, with roots in R&B, Funk, and Pop, which makes the music a unique musical hybrid. Our guitar player, Garth Webber, used to play with Miles Davis, so that should tell you something about the quality of the music.
The songs on So Blue are very personal...a lot of it is about family and relationships. They are all love songs, but not necessarily romantic love. One song called City of the Angels is kind of a tear-jerker about my dad. There's another song called, If Wishes Were Horses, which is one of my personal favorites -- some might say it is political. I'm basically a diehard idealist. People often say they think the songs on So Blue are sad. They're a lot about the pain and beauty of just trying to get along...in a family...and with humanity in general.
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Danny: You were instrumental in the creation of a page on the CD Baby web site of CDs by musicians with cancer and terminal illness at cdbaby.com/flavor/cancer. Can you tell me what inspired you to contact CD Baby and encourage them to do this?
Sandy: I thought it was really important to include our story with our "product," because the story was an important part of the music. So I convinced Derek Sivers at CD Baby to create an entire section of their website dedicated to artists with terminal illnesses. I never thought they'd actually do it...I was just "turning over stones." That's kind of my job, and I've learned to do it methodically without attachment to the result. I think I'm going to talk to them more though, because it's currently set up so it feels to me like it's saying, "these people are sick, so you really should buy their CD," and what I was after was more along the lines of, "these people have an amazing story and it's part of their musical magic." Also, if you click on the very first one at the top of the page, you find out she's dead, so...the idea may need some refining.
Danny: What advice do you have for other artists who are coping with life-threatening illness?
 Sandy: I think everyone's process is so personal and so unique. My own process has been excruciating at times, exhilarating at others. I have found out so much about myself, the ways I am fearless and the ways I am not so brave. I guess I would say, never be afraid to look deep into yourself for answers. That's easy to say, but it's the hardest thing in the world to actually do. I think when one is truly fearless, one finds out everything one needs to know -- because it's all there, but most people are afraid to look that deep because they are afraid of what they might find in there. I was afraid, but then I figured out that I was only afraid because I was judging myself according to values that were imposed on me from a culture I don't particularly admire anyway.
I'm thinking about writing a book called, something like, "Cancer for Dummies." It's sort of like an AA 12-step program, and the first step is that you have to really want to be alive. That might sound like a no-brainer, but it's actually very deep. I would submit that the will to live -- or lack of it -- is at the core of all "dis-ease."
Danny: What are you most excited about right now with your music?
Sandy: Writing from a completely different perspective...taking still another approach to our music. The new album is already "old" to me because I have a million new songs in my head, and Jim and I are in the process of taking it all to a whole new level. That's what excites me...always keeping it new, giving voice to the changes inside myself without fear of the results.
To learn more about Sandy and her band, Leon Vest, please visit www.cdbaby.com/cd/leonvest or contact sandyleonvest@yahoo.com
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FEATURED BOOK:
The Healing Power of Sound: Recovery from Life-Threatening Illness Using Sound, Voice, and Music
By Mitchell Gaynor, MD
 "If somebody had told me when I was a medical student in Dallas, Texas, that one day I would be teaching my patients to use singing bowls to heal themselves, I would have thought he or she was crazy. Yet today, only fifteen years later, prominently displayed in my consultation room at the renowned Strang Cancer Prevention Center, where I am Director of Oncology and Integrative Medicine, is a beautiful ten-inch quartz crystal bowl, which plays a key role in my busy practice of oncology and internal medicine. Although I once prescribed only the traditional remedies for the treatment of cancer and other ailments, I no longer see a contradiction between chanting and chemotherapy, between visualization and radiation. In fact, just the opposite: I openly advocate for what has come to be known as holistic medicine." -Mitchell Gaynor
This book is a fabulous resource on using sound to heal the body. Oncologist Mitchell Gaynor has seen firsthand how working with sound helps his cancer patients heal. Filled with anecdotes, reports on research, a historical look at the power of sound healing, and exercises -- this book provides a comprehensive view of how to use music to heal the body and mind. It would be particularly useful for those in the medical profession wishing to institute a more holistic approach to healing. It would also be most helpful for anyone looking for alternative ways to heal from illness, revitalize the body and mind, or reduce stress.
Published by Shambhala in 1999, this 261 page softcover book sells for $14.95. Click here to order through Amazon.com.
To learn more about Dr. Gaynor's work, please visit his web site at www.gaynoroncology.com.
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FEATURED AUDIO RESOURCE:
Healing Yourself with Your Own Voice
By Don Campbell
"Ancient cultures listened to the human voice as the link between the inner and outer psyches. The voice was viewed not only as an instrument of self-expression, but also as a powerful means of self-alignment. Healing Yourself With Your Own Voice is about rediscovering the natural power of the human voice and its role in establishing a balanced, healthful life. Through a series of step-by-step exercises, Don Campbell demonstrates how different sounds affect the brain and the body. Exercises focus on alignment of mind, body, and voice; an 'inner massage.'"
This 60 minute program was produced by Sounds True for $10.95 as real audio or MP3. Click here to learn more.
Click here to visit Don Campbell's web site on sound healing and "The Mozart Effect."
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FEATURED AUDIO RESOURCE:
Self Healing with Sound and Music
By Andrew Weil, MD and Kimba Arem
 "Sound therapy has been found effective in treating a surprising range of health challenges including heart disease, arthritis, stress, emphysema, and more. On Self-Healing with Sound and Music, bestselling author and physician Dr. Andrew Weil teams up with sound therapist Kimba Arem to offer listeners a powerful new tool for healing on two CDs. On CD One, Dr. Weil discusses the latest in medical research that demonstrates how music heals the body and mind, while Kimba Arem teaches breathing and vocalization techniques for harnessing this potential. CD Two gives listeners just the music: a complete 'sound journey' into expanded states of consciousness optimized for healing -- listeners experience 'prescription strength music' with the power to influence every system of the body. Useful for relaxation, meditation, bodywork, or creative endeavors, Self-Healing with Sound and Music features didjeridoo, Native American and Celtic flutes, Tibetan and crystal bowls, keyboards, and voice.
This 2-1/2 hour long CD set is available through Sounds True.
To learn more about Andrew Weil, please visit www.drweil.com and to learn more about Kimba Arem, please visit www.heartherapy.com.
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AHN SPECIAL FEATURE:
Hurricane Resources
The October issue of AHN News included a list of links offering examples of how artists and arts organizations can and are engaged in helping bring relief to those affected by Huricane Katrina (and now Rita and Wilma too). Below are a couple additions to that list. If you have other suggestions, please email them to me at ahn@artheals.org. Thank you.
The Community Arts Network Blog
 www.communityarts.net/blog/index.php
The Community Arts Network (CAN) launched their blog earlier than scheduled in order to have a forum for dialoguing about current events like Hurricane Katrina. Although their blog covers Community Arts in all of its richness, recent posts include hurricane related information such as pledging and funding, a report by a FEMA phone helpline volunteer, and more.
Katrina Artists Trust Fund
www.camh.org/kat.html
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston has announced the launch of the Katrina Artists Trust (KAT), a grant-making trust to provide financial support for visual artists in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Click here to read the Hurricane Resources listed on the October AHN News.
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READERS RESPOND
Please send us your thoughts and feedback on this issue of AHN News.
Was this issue of AHN News helpful and how?
Do you know other resources about music and healing?
Are there other topics you would like to see addressed in AHN News?
Please send your comments, ideas, and feedback to ahn@artheals.org.
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