Why I'm releasing City of Roses

City of Roses is ready for download. Here is the link. It will also be available on iTunes and Amazon and such, soon....

https://www.timothyjcrosby.com/my-songs

But I also want to say a few things.

When we had our fire in December, all we could think was how grateful we were to survive. We lost a lot – all our clothes and furniture, but we also saved a lot, including our lives. It really was a pretty close call. As a former firefighter who has seen many house fires as well as studied their dynamics, I know we were very lucky. By the time we knew what was happening, flames had already climbed up the outside of the house and were licking at our bedroom window, not but a foot or two from our heads, and smoke was filling our bedroom. A few more minutes might have been all we had left.

But we survived, saved my guitars, as well as Epiphany’s writings and other valuables. And if that wasn’t enough reason to give thanks, our friends gave us many more. Their love, caring and generosity is amazing. I hope we’ve thanked everyone. We certainly tried to.

But when it was all said and done, the fact is we lost our house. The 1890s structure is heavily damaged. And even though the insurance has worked out about as well as can be expected, we were not well-insured. Not even adequately insured.

Our intention is to rebuild, pouring every bit of insurance money we received into that effort while only minimally replacing furniture and clothing. But it still won’t be enough. So we face some challenges ahead.

That’s why I thought about releasing “City of Roses” specifically as a fund-raising effort. And because it's a fund-raiser, it's priced, you know, kind of like those overpriced chocolates and candles your kids are asked to hock for school every year.

We could have simply started a Go Fund Me or whatever, as many people have suggested. But I wanted to at least be able to give you something tangible for your generosity. So yeah..it’s not priced like a normal download. But it’s meant as a fund-raiser. And it did cost me something to record it.

So I felt like I should explain that to you.

“City of Roses” is a bittersweet ode to my hometown of Pana. I’m hoping if you live there or have any connection or knowledge of it, you’ll be motivated to buy it. And really, if you know small towns at all, you’ll be able to relate to this song.

I'll soon be making a music video to go with it, too.

Also, there’s a fund-raiser planned IN PANA coming up. More on that and the date, later. It will include good food, great music and lots of friendly people. If you’re available, we’d love to see you.

Either way, from the bottom of my and Epiphany’s heart, we thank you for your support during this difficult time.

Tim