Change the World in Your Sleep

Close your eyes and picture our Boy in Brooklyn.

Concentrate your breathing and your inner power

The vertebrae is fusing come together as one

it surrounds the spinal chord in defense of harm

the hard bone becomes one and the gentle nerves and

signals from the brain to the body call and response

Everybody in the house say hey

Say Scotty Hard

Say let your backbone slip together like fingers to hold

the love in place and let the fire burn from brain to toe

Rise up and feel the power pushing the bones out of the

spinal column easing the swelling and trauma and repairing the delicate message network

Scott is the Network Master

Give him the power to control his own network

We can change the world in our sleep

Just think what we can do while we are awake.

Give generously to the Scotty Hard Trust

The Scotty Hard Trust
c/o Heesok Chang
970 Kent Ave #401
Brooklyn NY 11205

Some have asked about the address and who Heesok Chang is. Heesok is one of Scott's closest friends in New York for many years, and because of the severity of the accident Scott is effectively homeless for the time being. As per Scott's wishes, Heesok has agreed to make his home the address for the Trust.

For those that wish to wire transfer funds, the Trust bank account information will be available next week as will a paypal option.

Our Hearts Were Going Like Mad

... theres the mark of his teeth where he tried to bite the nurse O some parts still work like a charm like a guitar string humming screaming Jimi Jimi Jimi Are You Experienced yes getting stronger yes you control who can hurt you I wish for you Milty enough for two

what was the reason of this he said here I am now a pair of ragged claws pounding all week the wet nurse yes all swelled out I snapped up the flask till he got the doc to give me bourbon & belladonna light my stogie maggot its hard like my name harder than hard yes he is harder than the yes he said it was sweeter and thicker than cows but the booze had curdled the milt well hes beyond everything I declare somebody ought to put him in the budget if I only could remember the half of the things and write a book out of it the works of Master Dense yes and everyday another until wings take talks and Little Wing takes flight and Bird blows and Dizzy growls his cheeks exploding so much smoother his black shine his fingers dancing on the frets yes claws fusing joining rebuilding hard yes the walk by the clock like some kind of a big infant baby baby baby you lookin good babes chicks Harder than the rest O you got it you got yes O Lord I must stretch myself I wish he was here now... "...remember the sea the sea pacific to atlantic a world crimson sometimes like fire with hearts open and tears and the glorious sunsets and sexmob blowing the book launch pushing out the words and the notes yes and all the queer little shops of Soho and posters and dirt and subways over houses and a funky lunch in Williamsburg among the rosegardens and the old cars and taco vans and cactuses yes and The Statue of Liberty as a girl where I was hard of hearing hearing of the hard hardly hearing its so hard to hear and not help

shall I wear a red poppy and honor his touch of our hearts yes his rakish grin and his bourbon generosity and the blues but no

we must only think good thoughts yes the only thought yes the friend of all friends yes I asked him with my eyes to walk again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes did I really backflip off the Smilin Buddha stage like the Count Five recut for the punks yes our collars back then turned up past 11 Great Scot of the Snake Guitar and the SeerSucker Pony Hips yes first you move yes throw down to all the suckers hear my voice screaming perfume yes and my broken down heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes you can yes."

Hold Everything- Calling Dick Tracy!

Go ahead Joe. Joe Jitsu calling Dick Tracy- Come in. Operation postponed for tomorrow. On again for next Thursday- all fingers crossed. Legs crossed too at the moment. I passed on the message "Stop banging all the nurses and lay off the bourbon for a week."

BSG aka Scotty Hard aka The Mag is the ultimate friend. As I said before, quoting the beautiful Susan Fiedler, if they ever have a seminar for how to be a best friend, Scott would be giving it.

During my whirlwind weeklong pre-cardiac event tour of NYC in May, I was met at the airport by the mag, who stuffed me in a cab and drove me to a hot co-ed party at the Professor's pad. Met the Professor's Mrs., the Lovely Carrie, had some marvelous drinkskis, then grabbed a car to Blackbetty, where we closed it down for the first of many. Blah Blah Blah I know, I've told the story so many times. What I did not say was just how many people Mr Broadway Sol Goodman knows. He is Mr. Network.

Which is why so many friends are pulling for the Mag. We just happen to love him too. I find myself calling people everyday now, talking to so many old and dear friends. To paraphrase the words of the great Andy Graffitti, good friendships never die, but they sometimes go on hiatus. Or in the words of Lester B. Goodman, "Hiatus....is that what they call it when your friends don't call."

Well Hi-and-goodbye-Atus cuz the King of Kensington, the Hardest BopGun in the Hip Hop recording world, the Mega-Mag, Mr BSG needs every friend of his to call every friend they might have, take the 50/50, poll the audience, and generally, do whatever it takes, cuz we needs to raise the jake.

How much money is needed? Well, lets think about it..... US Medical bills, drugs ( and I mean the drugs you need to take, not the ones you may want to take) , lawyers, living expenses while he cannot work ( Hell, I'm not even sure he can sit up yet), rehab, wheel chairs or walking sticks,

moving expenses from his old apartment to a new accessible apartment, some kind of home care and/or ongoing medical help, lap dancers for visiting bloggers from Canada.....you get the picture.

The special needs Trust fund is being administered by the Professor, who is inscrutable and has volunteered to coordinate the payment of these many expenses, and whose wife is a lawyer, and some of his best friends in NY. This is legally administered trust fund.

Send your currencies payable to

"The Scotty Hard Trust"
c/o Professor Heesok Chang
970 Kent Ave #401
Brooklyn NY 11205

And while you're buying, don't forget to buy a round for the band.

Thoracic Regeneration

http://www.spinalinjury.net/html/_spinal_cord_101.html
Please consider making a donation to help keep this website online


Some basic questions and answers...


What is Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accident, gunshot, falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc.). The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning.

SCI is very different from back injuries such as ruptured disks, spinal stenosis or pinched nerves. A person can "break their back or neck" yet not sustain a spinal cord injury if only the bones around the spinal cord (the vertebrae) are damaged, but the spinal cord is not affected. In these situations, the individual may not experience paralysis after the bones are stabilized.

What is the spinal cord and the vertebra?

The spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to about the waist. The nerves that lie within the spinal cord are upper motor neurons (UMNs) and their function is to carry the messages back and forth from the brain to the spinal nerves along the spinal tract. The spinal nerves that branch out from the spinal cord to the other parts of the body are called lower motor neurons (LMNs). These spinal nerves exit and enter at each vertebral level and communicate with specific areas of the body. The sensory portions of the LMN carry messages about sensation from the skin and other body parts and organs to the brain. The motor portions of the LMN send messages from the brain to the various body parts to initiate actions such as muscle movement.

The spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves that carry nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of the body. The brain and the spinal cord constitute the Central Nervous System. Motor and sensory nerves outside the central nervous system constitute the Peripheral Nervous System, and another diffuse system of nerves that control involuntary functions such as blood pressure and temperature regulation are the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems.

The spinal cord is surrounded by rings of bone called vertebra. These bones constitute the spinal column (back bones). In general, the higher in the spinal column the injury occurs, the more dysfunction a person will experience. The vertebra are named according to their location. The eight vertebra in the neck are called the Cervical Vertebra. The top vertebra is called C-1, the next is C-2, etc. Cervical SCI's usually cause loss of function in the arms and legs, resulting in quadriplegia.

The twelve vertebra in the chest are called the Thoracic Vertebra. The first thoracic vertebra, T-1, is the vertebra where the top rib attaches. Injuries in the thoracic region usually affect the chest and the legs and result in paraplegia. (Please note Scott's injury is to the T5 vertebrae)

The vertebra in the lower back between the thoracic vertebra, where the ribs attach, and the pelvis (hip bone), are the Lumbar Vertebra. The sacral vertebra run from the Pelvis to the end of the spinal column. Injuries to the five Lumbar vertebra (L-1 thru L-5) and similarly to the five Sacral Vertebra (S-1 thru S-5) generally result in some loss of functioning in the hips and legs.

What are the effects of SCI?

The effects of SCI depend on the type of injury and the level of the injury. SCI can be divided into two types of injury - complete and incomplete. A complete injury means that there is no function below the level of the injury; no sensation and no voluntary movement. Both sides of the body are equally affected. An incomplete injury means that there is some functioning below the primary level of the injury. A person with an incomplete injury may be able to move one limb more than another, may be able to feel parts of the body that cannot be moved, or may have more functioning on one side of the body than the other. With the advances in acute treatment of SCI, incomplete injuries are becoming more common. The level of injury is very helpful in predicting what parts of the body might be affected by paralysis and loss of function.

Remember that in incomplete injuries there will be some variation in these prognoses. Cervical (neck) injuries usually result in quadriplegia. Injuries above the C-4 level may require a ventilator for the person to breathe. C-5 injuries often result in shoulder and biceps control, but no control at the wrist or hand. C-6 injuries generally yield wrist control, but no hand function. Individuals with C-7 and T-1 injuries can straighten their arms but still may have dexterity problems with the hand and fingers.

Injuries at the thoracic level and below result in paraplegia, with the hands not affected. At T-1 to T-8 there is most often control of the hands, but poor trunk control as the result of lack of abdominal muscle control. Lower T-injuries (T-9 to T-12) allow good truck control and good abdominal muscle control. Sitting balance is very good.

Lumbar and Sacral injuries yield decreasing control of the hip flexors and legs. Besides a loss of sensation or motor functioning, individuals with SCI also experience other changes. For example, they may experience dysfunction of the bowel and bladder,. Sexual functioning is frequently with SCI may have their fertility affected, while women's fertility is generally not affected. Very high injuries (C-1, C-2) can result in a loss of many involuntary functions including the ability to breathe, necessitating breathing aids such as mechanical ventilators or diaphragmatic pacemakers. Other effects of SCI may include low blood pressure, inability to regulate blood pressure effectively, reduced control of body temperature, inability to sweat below the level of injury, and chronic pain

How many people have SCI? Who are they?

Approximately 450,000 people live with SCI in the US. There are about 10,000 new SCI's every year; the majority of them (82%) involve males between the ages of 16-30. These injuries result from motor vehicle accidents (36%), violence (28.9%), or falls (21.2%).Quadriplegia is slightly more common than paraplegia.

Visualize like your life depends on it

I was at the chiropractor today. No ordinary bone cracker for this guy; it is not about the snap, crackle or the pop. I lie on the bench and he watches me breathe. He gently taps my tail bone and a spot near my neck. Breathe from here to here. Now feel that breath as it moves right before the lower back and slow it down, then make it more intense right at the base.

You see it is all about breath control and how we train and trick our brain into letting go, and relaxing the muscles we hold in place. Our spine and backbone shelters the original information highway- the spinal chord.

Hopefully, tomorrow, Scott will have a 4 and 1/2 hour surgery to stabilize his T5 vertebrae, which is shattered and impacting on his spinal chord. Right now his white blood count is high, so focus your prayers and thoughts on the white blood counts going down. He needs to fight off the infections that may be attacking the trauma or other areas of his body.

Besides this visualization, I want everybody who reads this to understand that Scott is going to need many kinds of support for many years to come. This is a marathon; pace yourself. Give what you can afford to give, and think about the power of giving even a small amount every month. Over time, it all adds up. We have the power to change the world in our sleep. Think what we can do while we are awake.

Scotty Hard Superstar

Long ago, and, oh, so far away

We fell in love with you before the second show.

Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear,

but you're not really here.

It's just the radio.

Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby?

You said you'd be coming back this way again baby.

Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.

We love you, we really do.

Loneliness is such a sad affair, and we can hardly wait to be with you again.

What to say, to make you come again?Come back to us again, and play your snake guitar.

Words and Music: Leon Russell & Bonnie Bramlett (with a few changes of pronouns, and substitution of snake for sad)

Profiles in Courage

My dog Max is a survivor. Here he is cuddled up on my daughter's bed with Toodles, our 6 month old black standard poodle puppy. Max is a schnauzer, and he looks like Tramp from the movie Lady and the Tramp.

We 'inherited" Max from my father in law; he came with the house.

Max had been a rescue dog, rescue from an abusive owner from when he was a puppy. They cut out his vocal chords to stop him from barking. It didn't work; he just barks with attitude.

In the old days, he would bark all day. Barking at the world, that's his job, we would joke. A few years ago, Max had a tumour on his rear leg that needed removal. A year ago, his buddy, my father in law died; Max waited for him at the top of the stairs for weeks.

This last year Max was my best buddy as we both recovered from our various injuries. Max had pulled his claw out from his paw, and licked at it until one vet decided to operate and remove the claw. Unfortunately it just got worse, and we went back to the country vet we love and he had to take off part of the paw. As the months went on, the paw still did not heal. We took him to a third vet for a consultation; they said it was probably cancer, and recommended a biopsy and removal of most of the paw. We went back to the country vet, who carved a bit more off the paw, and sent that out for tests. He said, it is probably nothing to worry about.

Well, the tests came back and it was cancerous. So more of the paw was removed.

About that time, we noticed a large lump on his rear leg ( where the first operation had taken place). We took him back to the vet, and they removed the lump.

People wonder why some people spend so much money on their animals. Well, they really become a part of the family. Max survived his paw injury, and his leg cancer, and both have healed nicely.

One day, I noticed him struggling to get up. He wobbled, and was walking in circles. His head was tilted, and he would not eat. Then he fell over and started convulsing. I took him back to the vet. We forcefed him some cat food, and he seemed to improve. We took him home and gave him raw meat for a while, which he loved. This happened a few more times, until we took him back to the vet, and he sadly informed us that Max had not had a stroke; he probably had a tumour on his brain, that pressed at different times, causing the strange behaviour and actions.

He said to take him home and love him, that's all you can do.

Now I carry him down the stairs, as he can't navigate that himself. The other night I carried him down the stairs and put him down so that he could do his business. Toodles, the poodle pup followed after him. It was pitch black out in the backyard, and I turned to go back up the stairs when I heard a splash.

Max had fallen in our pool. The water was ice cold, and he was in the deep end. I ran to his side and could see him flailing in the water, trying to right himself. I reached in and was able to grab his tail. I then grabbed a leg, and pulled him out of the water. Needless to say, he was in major shock, and struggled for a moment to get rid of the water in his body. As he wobbled, I scooped him up and held him close. My wife and daughter ran to get towels, and my wife held him and dried him, with a heating pad and towels that we kept warming up in the dryer. My daughter went on yahoo to ask her cyber community for their help ( she does this for most things). I called the country vet, who asked about the conditions, and then advised we give him brandy and water, keep him warm and dry. We did this, and after a short time, Max was ok again.

Today he is back on the job, sleeping on the job, as that is his job (when he isn't barking at the world). He inspires me with his survival skills, and his courage in pushing on.

SCOTTY UPDATE: Keep those prayers coming for Scotty, as he will have the first operation on Thursday. At that point, we may know more about what is to come. Survival and recovery from spinal chord injuries are determined by many factors; beyond the physical, the most important I understand is the will to carry on and the fight in the individual. Miracles do not happen overnight, but they do happen. Like Max, Scott is a survivor, who has made so many great friends all over the world. We are all pulling for him, visualizing that vertebrae fusing back together to protect the spinal chord.

Life Can Turn on a Dime

One thin dime. Chump change, as Scotty Hard and I used to say. Or was that Lucky Taylor? We've been cribbing from each other for so many years I forget who had the chicken and who had the eggs. One minute you're on the top of the world. The next, you are being pulled from a car with the jaws of life.

In other words, one minute you're an egg, and the next you're breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner.

One thin dime. Use it or lose it.

You can use them as a screwdriver in a pinch.

What is the measure of a man? I'm not speaking length or girth or even weight. What makes you and unmakes you? How close are you to the ones you love?

A whisper, a passing memory, the scent of figs and the ocean breeze. The salt on your skin, the smell of fear that seems almost electrical. That close. The kind of close you tell your only your closest friends and shrink.

I was talking to man the other day about my new mantra, which I can sum up as "Some people just are fucked - So don't let them rain on your parade (or piss on your blog, either.)

Learn to laugh and let go.

He said yeah that's o.k., but prefers the "Vegas model."

I said what's the "Vegas model?"

He said, Life is all managed risk.

Sometimes you are on a roll, sometimes you're the meat in the roll being eaten alive. The dealer can be the devil, or your best friend. Or just some guy making the rent.

He then quoted Frank Sinatra, "If you live your life like it's gonna be last day, then maybe it will".

I'm not certain that's really a Sinatra quote, or if I agree. Except to interject what my mother always said, "Everything in moderation."

I always put the emphasis on "everything", as opposed to moderation, being that everything is quantifiable, and moderation is lines in the sand. Let's not even talk about a windy day.

Speaking of sand, how about the Driftwood Theory? Does the wave crashing on a piece of wood in the surf, driving it into the turf have any emotions about the deal?

It's just life; sometimes the water is calm, sometimes it's choppy. Nothing personal.

What if the wood is a surfboard? What if, for argument sake, we put a surfer on the other side of the board?

Now let's say the ocean is a stolen car driven by three teenage drunks, and the piece of wood is a taxi at three in the morning, and the person in the taxi just happens to be your best friend coming home after working til 3 in the morning, probably on some artistic project, where he may not see any money for months on, if at all?

Life can turn on a dime. One thin dime.

Start saving those dimes, because the details of Scott's Trust Fund will be announced later this week, and we all know how big a wave the US medical system is.

"The surf is my alter, the wave is my prayer.

Down on blood beach, there ain't nobody there....." dense milt Rhythm Mission

Scotty Hard in Da House

When Scott left Vancouver in the later 80's to go to NY, I had very mixed emotions. On one hand, I was losing my best friend, my musical comrade and songwriting partner, but on the other hand, I was encouraging my best friend to find his dream.

Over the years, Scott has worked with many incredible talents as an engineer, and producer, including Chris Rock, Wu Tang Clan, Chris and Kate, Crash Test Dummies, Teo Macero, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Sex Mob,

Prince Paul, De La Soul, the Jungle Brothers, Ultramagnetic MC's, Jazzy Jay, DJ Mark the 45 King, Stetsasonic, Brand Nubian, Black Sheep, Louie Vega, Fat Joe, Stereo MC's, PM Dawn, Major Force Posse, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Michael Blake, Salif Keita, Vernon Reid, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and The Lifer's Group.

He joined the hip-hop group New Kingdom with Jason and Sebastian, recording a few discs and touring the country, and recorded two solo records, his debut solo appearance on The Return of Kill Dog E. (WSCD034), and Radical Reconstructive Surgery, featuring Matthew Shipp, John Medeski, William Parker, Nasheet Waits, DJ Olive and Mauricio Takara. A process heavy record that recomposes a heavily improvised session. Part of Thirsty Ear's "Blue Series", which pairs contemporary jazz improvisers with hip hop producers. Released October 10, 2006.

Clearly, this guy has been gettin' busy. Now the next chapter begins, and just like you would expect, Scott is positive and overwhelmed with the outpouring of love from so many friends and fans. We are all praying for you, (WORK HARD, PLAY HARD, SCOTTY HARD), trying to be as creative as we can in coming up with ideas on how to make money to help with the astronomical medical bills that are accruing.

My Best Man

Scotty Hard, aka, Broadway Sol Goodman, aka The Mag, aka My Best Man.

I searched high and low for this photo, which he sent me last year. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak to him today. He has topped my heart attack, and once again, captured the hearts and minds of a few generations of incredibly wonderful and cool people.

We are all pulling for you, brother, at this time.

29 years ago, this high school kid came up to me at an AKA gig at the laundromat with the Subhumans, with his brother Mike. We helped get him into the Commodore to see Captain Beefheart and AKA, even though he was under-age. And a few months down the road into one of those years, so many years ago, he became my musical writing partner, and best friend of all time. Which is not to belittle any of my other "best" friends, but Scotty Hard, as he became known later, was and is the guy that Susan Fiedler says should be giving the course on how to be a best friend.

Scott played with me in Rhythm Mission for 9 years and we formed the Jazzmanian Devils one night in Nancy Smith's apartment watching Creepshow (episode The Crate). We traveled across this great land many times in a cramped van with many other charmed musical icons.

Sgt. Dad and the KFC in Calgary, the night in the emergency room after Scott lay down on his hotel bed at the National, and cut his arm open on the broken glass left by the previous guest, the night in Regina when he forgot his gear at the club, Pony Hips- nickname he developed for magical way he danced across the stage playing the Snake Guitar, more booze consumed than one could humanly think possible, ( We called ourselves The Hardest Drinking Band in Show Business), and while, not technically true, the abuse was more than needed, and always what we wanted, the goodbye party we had for him in Vancouver when I had to let him go to NYC to pursue his dreams.....Like yesterday.

The day I finally convinced the love of my life to marry me there was only one choice to be my best man. My best man, my best buddy, was there for me. The day of the stag party must be told. We awoke in Whistler about 5 am by Madeleine Morris, who wanted to get back home, and had the car to take us there. Never mind that we had just got to sleep from a night of music and mayhem, when Mad wanted to go, she went. So we went too. And when we arrived in Vancouver, we got a call from the rest of the band saying that the keys to the Van were in Finn's coat, and well, Finn was now in Vancouver, so Scott and I had to drive back to Whistler to give the rest of the band the keys to get themselves and the gear home.

Now Scott could not drive in those days, so I drove the Le Baron with Scotty by my side back to Whistler, gave the maggots the keys and then we drove back. I kept nodding off from exhaustion, as Scott would try to keep me awake. We actually hit the curb coming around the bend in Stanley Park into Vancouver, which woke me up, and we arrived "safely" home. I then slept for a few hours, then got up to go to an Italian restaurant in East Van for the start of my stag. Highlights include the famous pictorial created by Michael Turner and Skully Goodman (Ike Eidsness) of Lester B, in various stages of flagrant indelecto, a cut and paste smear job that will never see the light of day. We proceeded to the Penthouse and then on to the back room of the Railway. I ended up on the roof of the Manhattan feeling fine, waking the next day to the dry heaves. The pain we endure prior to the bonds of holy matrimony.

Through it all, BSG-Scott, was by my side. In May we turned back the clock for a week, and he put me on the plane to Atlanta, where the heart attack I had started in NY, was diagnosed. My bad. A genetic accident waiting to happen, I didn't need the push, I would have found the way there no matter what. It was only a question of time. Needless to say, Scotty felt horrible that this had happened on his watch; I assured him from the start that there was no blame, only love.

He was, is, and will always be my best buddy and friend, and f- anyone who says different.

Work Hard Pray Hard Scotty Hard

WORK HARD

PRAY HARD

SCOTTY HARD

From the local papers:

H2 THE VANCOUVER SUN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008

Vancouver alternative music scene stalwart Scott Harding has
been partly paralysed in a car crash in New York.
Harding, 44, left a recording studio at about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 9 in a
cab. “They were driving about a block away from the studio and
they were totally t-boned by a car that ran a stop sign,” said Harding’s
friend Heesok Chang.
“It must have been going really fast because both cars were
totalled. They had to use the jaws of life to get Scott out of there.”
Harding was taken by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
He had suffered a broken collarbone, shoulder blade and rib,
and crushed the T5 vertebrae in his back, crushing his spinal chord.
“His back is broken essentially in the middle,” said Chang.
“So, he’s got no function below that, no movement.”
Harding will have surgery to repair the vertebrae Feb. 28. “The disc was fragmented and
some of the fragments are in the spinal column,” explained his mother, Shirley Harding.
“They’re going to operate and stabilize that area. The prognosis in the beginning was the grimmest it could be, but they really won’t know [how severe the injury is] until they get in there. And they won’t know til Scott’s been in rehab for awhile [if he will recover].
Look at Mike Harcourt — look at all the people who’ve had spinal cord injuries that have been told they’ll never walk again [and did].”

Harding was born in Calgary and moved to West Vancouver as a child. He played guitar with local alternative acts such as Rhythm Mission and the Jazzmanian Devils before moving to New York in 1989 to work as a recording engineer.
There he’s had a flourishing career as a producer and engineer, usually working with hip-hop or
jazz acts. He engineered and mixed Chris Rock’s Never Scared CD, which won a Grammy Award
for best comedy album. He also worked with acts like the Wu Tang Clan, Medeski Martin and Wood, Prince Paul, Michael Blake, Vernon Reid (of Living Colour fame), Leif Arntzen and the Crash Test Dummies. He has a green card to work in the United States but, according to
Chang, has no health insurance.

“What happens is that [American] hospitals will treat you; they have to give out medical treatment,” Chang said. “But he can’t be accepted into a rehab facility unless he’s got
health insurance. As you can imagine, the costs are catastrophic — $3,000 a day to be in the hospital, $2,000 a day for the rehab. I don’t even know if that’s counting all the drugs. I don’t know how much the surgical procedure is either.”
Three men were seen fleeing the car that caused the accident.
The car they were driving was reported stolen several hours after the accident.
Harding’s friends have hired a lawyer who is looking into the possibility of suing the cab company or the people who caused the accident, if they are found. They have also set up a bank account to help pay for his medical expenses, and are talking about doing a benefit
show in New York. Harding is fine mentally, and has been receiving a steady stream of
visitors since the accident. “He’s totally making jokes,” Chang said.
“The first night I was visiting him, his second night there, out of the blue he said ‘Alright! I’m ready for this to be over now! Can we go to a bar?’
“He’s so social, he’s had such a flood of visitors; we’ve had to really control it. [He’s in this]
gigantic hospital, Bellevue, one of the largest in the nation, and everyone knows him there,
because he has so many visitors.” “His spirits are incredible,”
says his mother.
“And he’s got this circle of friends . . . I have never seen or heard of anything like it in my
life. They have a roster so that 24 hours a day there’s somebody with him; he’s never been alone.
Th e y ’ re do i n g eve r y t h i n g : lawyers, investigators, bank accounts. All this wonderful love
that’s coming his way is just overwhelming. From all over the world.”
Friends of Harding who want to drop him a line or get updates on his condition can e-mail
scottyupdates@gmail.com.
jmackie@png.canwest.com 605-2126

Give it up for Scotty Hard!

Here is an update from Tony Maimone (ex-Pere Ubu, current friend of Scott Harding):

Surgery is scheduled for next Thursday.We saw Scotty tonight and he was animated and the same funny charming Scotty we all know and love.He had an extensive meeting with the neurosurgeons and the trauma team yesterday. They took time and showed Scott x rays and explained why it is such a long shot that he will ever walk again. Scotty is taking this like the champion he is.

He was talking about thinking last week, "something had to change"

Now tonight he is talking about being transfigured and looking forward to "getting strong and in shape and making music."Tom, Leif, and Heesok have been talking to lawyers and getting things tightened up..

We will hear more from them on Sunday.I just can't tell you how good it was to hear Scott tell the story about when he and Leif we're in college, someone asked Scott why he wasn't playing in the "stage band?" to which he replied"I can't get with those tweed jackets"

Amazing just so inspiring.

Give it up for Scotty Hard!

Please forward this to your friends who are not on this list yet.

Thanks,Tony

send my love to scotty

Letter from Michael Blake:


hi everyone
I'm sending this to the short list because i'm too tired to find the longlist.
I'm in tel aviv, it's warm and i play tonight. unfortunately i seem to have contracted walking pneumonia. i'm fighting it off pretty well. i may be at bellevue for my own reasons saturday after the flight home.
i had a short talk with nate chinen (NY Times) at newark airport as he was writing an article about musicians , healthcare, etc. I've attached it here. during our conversation i did mention scott's situation to him. perhaps i should have cleared it with scott first. but i think it's important that people know. i hope that means more support and more love for our friend. we may be able to utilize support, ideas, etc in response to the article.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/arts/music/21jazz.html?_r=1&ref=arts

I hope to be feeling better upon arrival. send my love to scotty

michael

My Best Buddy Scott

My best man, buddy, partner in crime, Devil #2, Scotty Hard was hit in a cab by three mindless drunks about three in the morning early this past Saturday Feb 16.

He is in hospital now with a shattered vertebrae, broken collar bone and ribs.

The drunks fled the scene, leaving the car they were driving.

We welcome all your prayers for Scott, as he faces the biggest challenges of his life. Having gone through so much in the past two years, I know how quickly life can change or be changed in a matter of seconds. I have also seen how lives can be changed in a miraculous way over much longer periods of time. Do the miracles take longer to develop, or is our vision too inaccurate to see the subtle changes that can also begin in a matter of seconds?

Please send your visions of Scott walking and running, and dancing with his guitar.

Dense