Bluegrass CD seeks to help area citizens, DOC-UP

Atlanta musician Kathy Reed was somewhat familiar with Dalton from her husband’s tales and her occasional visits, but she knew her work was cut out when she decided to write a song to raise money for the city’s laid-off mill workers.

“Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go From Here,” a result of several weeks of research and several hours of writing, is the title song on a CD that will be released Friday to raise money for the Dalton Organization of Churches United for People (DOC-UP), a multidenominational charity supported by about 25 Whitfield churches. Reed’s bluegrass tune incorporates the story of Dalton’s journey from thriving, blue collar city to its more recent status as an economically declining town with an unemployment rate of more than 12 percent for the metro area, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.

“I just really have a fondness for the city,” said Reed, who has performed at Pentz Street Station and the Dalton Little Theatre on several occasions. “It’s just like the community is coming together in a really strong way to support each other and get each other through some really tough times.”

Event coordinator Paul Byrum, a supply chain coordinator at Mohawk Industries, said Friday’s CD release party is designed to draw attention to Bluegrass Bands and Helping Hands’ effort to sell 800 of the $15 CDs. “Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go From Here” features Reed’s tune along with 17 others. A bluegrass and gospel music concert is planned for September.

Byrum said the organization hopes to raise $10,000. The CD release party and September concert are underwritten by several sponsors. All the proceeds from CD sales and the upcoming concert go to DOC-UP, Byrum said.

There were 1,600 families last year who received assistance from DOC-UP, volunteers with the organization said, and that number is on a pace to increase by 20 percent this year.

Tom Brown, a guitar and banjo player with local bluegrass band Spatial Effects, organized the CD project. He said his connections through the International Bluegrass Music Association and various performances gave him access to dozens of artists, many of whom were glad to pitch in. Dalton’s floorcovering industry reaches so deep into the area’s economy that even those who don’t work directly for a mill feel the effects when the companies lay off workers or close down, he said.

Brown said there are tracks on the CD from several artists who live in Dalton or have North Georgia ties. They include Spatial Effects, Earl Brackin, Noah Collins, Randall Franks and Glen Fletcher.

Byrum said he hopes the projects will help area families who need assistance, some of whom used to be his coworkers. He said “Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go From Here” is getting air play on Internet radio station World Wide Bluegrass as well as on several regional radio stations.

Reed said her research for the song included reading articles in The Daily Citizen about Dalton’s unemployment rate as well as researching the town’s history. Her husband, Craig Henderson, was a lawyer who handled workers’ compensation cases, and his work often took him to Dalton. Reed said she picked up the lingo of the floorcovering industry by listening to her husband relaying stories about his job.

“Every line in it is something that came out of that research,” she said.

Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go from Here (a Song for Dalton)

Oh why did they close the carpet mills down?

These are tough times in Dalton now

What will the tufters and the creelers do

If they can’t find a job in town?

Oh where (oh where) will we go from here?

Where will we go from here?

Where will we find some peace of mind?

Heaven knows where we’ll go from here.

Some folks say it’ll never be the same

In our Blue Ridge Mountain town

The machines are idle now and so are we

The devil’s got a new playground

Chorus

From Peacock Alley down on Highway 41

Our people have known all along

Family, faith, and honest work

Make the fabric that holds us strong

Chorus

Oh where (oh where) will we go from here?

Where will we go from here?

I know we will find some peace of mind,

‘Cause Heaven knows where we’ll go from here.

Yes, Heaven knows where we’ll go from here.

[LEAD INSTRUMENT BLUEGRASS ENDING]

CD release party

When: Friday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Pentz Street and Pentz Street Station. In case of rain, performances will be moved to the first level of the parking deck at King Street and Pentz Street.

Performances: RightPath Bluegrass Gospel Band on Pentz Street at 7 p.m., Earl Brackin inside Pentz Street Station at 7 p.m., Kathy Reed with Redwing at 8 p.m. on Pentz Street, Noah Collins inside Pentz Street Station at 8 p.m. Bluegrass musicians are invited to an open jam following the concerts.

Other activities: Children’s games, door prize giveaways

Admission: Free admission and registration for door prizes. The public is invited to bring lawn chairs.

CD: “Heaven Knows Where We’ll Go From Here” by Bluegrass Bands and Helping Hands, $15

Web site: www.bluegrassbandshelpinghands.com

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