Route to Healing Steps to Healing
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December 11, 2017, Issue 580 Part Two: Route To Healing As detailed last week, the country community’s response in the days following the Route 91 Harvest festival evolved over the ensuing weeks and months. Country radio remained and remains a hub, though survivors have increasingly taken the task of healing and building community on themselves. “The biggest thing is the strength you see from listeners who were there,” says KKGO/Los Angeles Station Manager/PD Michael Levine. “There is an instant connection and people came together so quickly. So much strength has been found through this.” Social media played a big part. “After the first week we had mostly moved away from conversation about Las Vegas on the air,” Levine says. “Bringing up a Know Question: Pearl’s Garth Brooks celebrates his No. 1 tragic event is difficult. Some people want to move on, single “Ask Me How I Know” before the first of seven shows at some want to talk about it. So social media became the Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Saturday (12/9). Pictured (l-r) are songwriter Mitch Rossell, CRS’ Bill Mayne, Brooks and and outlet for ongoing interaction about the festival.” Gwendolyn’s Trisha Yearwood. Mental and emotional health expert Miles Adcox (see next story) applauds the direct connections afford- ed online. “Don’t wait on the counseling or mental Steps To Healing health community to facilitate, because often support Onsite CEO/Owner Miles Adcox sees the comes best peer-to-peer,” he says. “There will be country community’s response to Route 91 in a instances where counseling, therapy, help from a professional are very positive light. Adcox led a trauma discus- definitely called for, and I encourage and support that too.” sion in Nashville the week after the tragedy, United State: Some responses were a bit more old-school, as and he’s worked directly with many survivors. KFRG/Riverside PD Scott Ward recounts. “One of our contest regulars, He’ll also be a featured speaker at CRS 2018. “I’ve been really impressed with how the a good guy, one of the first things he did when he got home was come Miles Adcox down to the station and put a letter up in our lobby, which our GM industry stepped up in support of the people approved. It basically said, if you want to talk to somebody, call me.” who were lost and in support of each other,” he “That’s just one example of what we’ve seen over the past two says. “The Nashville mental health community stepped up and the months,” Ward continues. “There have been a lot of people com- counseling MGM pulled together was a huge effort.” ing together for fundraisers. You see them putting an arm around Going forward, Adcox says, “If I’m in a leadership role, I’m complete strangers.” going to lead by example and talk about my experience. We can “We see them in Vegas Strong Survivor shirts at our events,” says give people permission to talk about it, [not just] move on, wrap it KCYE/Las Vegas personality Ransom Garcia. up in a bow and say we’ve dealt with it.” “They want to talk and we listen. They go on Facebook and make Specifically, he points to three keys: connect, empathize and plans to get together. We have a close-knit country family.” The engage. “We all have a wide range of emotions,” he says. “Un- station has moved forward with weekly Monday and Thursday fortunately, we don’t really honor the ones that don’t feel good. night events at Gilley’s, featured 30 days of good news on-air and But the worst thing you can do in the grief or trauma recovery process is to disengage, disconnect, isolate, not talk about it. Every (continued on page 5) ©2017 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] December 11, 2017 Page 3 instinct you have may be to disconnect. It’s too overwhelming, the attempting to address the problem systemically, politically and emotions I’m feeling are too big, and I just need to box it up until through all the other channels, but there’s not much we can do. I’m ready to deal with it later. There’s actually some research to I don’t know that staying away from every risk is much different support people who debrief or talk about what they experienced from not driving on the interstate. We’re exposed. or how it’s impacting them early in the process versus those who “Now, if somebody has been extremely affected and is having don’t talk about it for years, and the emotional and physical im- panic attacks in crowds, they need to seek professional help. Don’t pact it has on them down the road is pretty substantial.” force yourself into an environment that adds more stress than value. Adcox urges anyone affected to be social and connect with others, But maybe we’re seeing so many people coming together from this even just one person. And those interactions don’t have to get into the event in such a loving and supportive way because music is medicine. worst memories of that day. “You don’t have to relive the details of It heals people. So don’t walk away from one of the most healing what happened,” he says. “As a matter of fact, that can actually work things on the planet. We’re going to have to gather for music to be against you. That’s one reason people shy away from [opening up]. It’s able to touch us in the same way.” –Wendy Newcomer like, ‘I can’t talk about it.’ Well, you don’t have to talk about everything you saw, and as a matter of fact it’s not really healthy.” Rather than dive into what happened, he suggests focusing Chart Chat on the associated emotions. “Explore and take inventory of what Congrats to Luke Bryan, Royce Riss- you feel even if it feels uncomfortable,” he says. “The only way I’ve er, Bobby Young, David Friedman and seen people genuinely willing to do that is if they have some sense the Capitol promotion team on landing this of empathy and grace on their process, and other people’s. We’re week’s No. 1 with “Light It Up.” The song all going to handle this differently based on other imprints in our is the first single from his new album What life, so a lot of people that saw this, they didn’t even have to be Makes You Country. Songwriters are Brad there for it to bring up other loss. Tursi and Bryan. “Understanding the emotions that are coming up actually low- And kudos to Byron Kennedy and the Luke Bryan ers your ambient stress level,” he continues. “Identifying and saying, Stoney Creek crew on notching 51 adds for ‘I’m feeling really sad today or I’m feeling really angry today’ – that Lindsay Ell’s “Criminal,” topping this week’s board. alone can do wonders versus not talking about it at all. “So connect, empathize and engage in self-care. People think of self- care as a spiritual practice like church, meditation or counseling, but it’s News & Notes way broader than that. It’s exercise, music, writing or taking a walk.” Rocking M Classic Country KVWF/Wichita flipped to That could even mean going to a concert. “Anywhere crowds all-Christmas. gather is exposed at this point, so there’s going to be a level of Moe Bandy’s autobiography, Lucky Me, will be released Jan. hyper-sensitivity for a lot of people,” Adcox says. “People are 26 and include a foreword written by former First Lady Barbara Bush. Preorder here. ©2017 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] December 11, 2017 Page 5 MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFE Sony/Nashville’s Ben Gallaher launched his 2017 Barbed Rebel Engine VP Carli McLaughlin discusses Tour today (12/11), marking his seventh consecutive year per- her most influential music: forming for inmates at correctional institutions in his home state of 1. VH1 Divas Live concert, 1998: A game- Pennsylvania. More info here. changer. As a New Yorker, my ears were Billy Yates’ Hit Songwriters in the Round will debut April 6 at untouched by country until I heard those three the Americana Theatre in Branson. Schedule and more info here. now-iconic words, “Let’s Go Girls.” That was it. I was determined to work in country music. Shania Part Two: Route To Healing Twain’s crossover success changed my course. Carli 2. Rosanne Cash, Avalon Theatre: (continued from page 1) McLaughlin Rosanne was on tour playing The List record added a Thankful Thursdays feature allowing listeners to call in and and when I found out the show was sold out, I figured it wasn’t express gratitude.” meant to be. Distraught to miss the chemistry of Rosanne and Adds KWNR/Las Vegas afternooner Big D, “Things are getting Jon Leventhal onstage, I checked for tickets the day of the show back to normal, although you really struggle with what normal is. to find out one ticket opened up ... in the front row. I drove the I’m not afraid to be out in my own city, but driving past Mandalay three hours and felt complete musical bliss. Bay is weird.” What’s not weird is the support being shown.