Rally for Ron Hynes: God Speed, God Bless, God Damn

It was evident from the words and reception at the Rebecca Cohn on September 26^th that the Man of a Thousand Songs is also the man who has touched a thousand hearts. 

Playing to a sold out audience, some of this region’s best songwriters joined together to celebrate Ron’s music and to help raise money for him as he undergoes treatment for throat cancer. 

 

The event was hosted by the wonderfully talented Cathy Jones and featured performances by Dave Gunning, Lennie Gallant, Catherine MacLellan, JP Cormier, Charlie A’Court , The Rhapsody Quintet, Stephen Fearing, Laura Smith, Cory Tetford and Bruce Guthro. The house band consisted of Kim Dunn (piano), Allie Bennett (bass) and Keith Mullins (drums).  There were also stories from author Donna Morrissey, radio personality Eric MacEwan, and a message from Ron delivered by his manager Lynn Horne.  In his message, Ron thanked all for their support, joked that he always knew he would one day sell out the Cohn, and ended his message with "God speed, God bless...and God Damn". 

 

That ending really summed up the evening for me.

 

Godspeed (the music)

 

The musical portion of the show was a mixture of Ron's songs and original songs by the performers.  The night started with the Prince of Pictou, Dave Gunning, doing an impeccable impression of Ron as he told the story of how he ended up co-writing “Hard Working Hands” with Ron. Following that song, Dave played his own “These Hands” to an appreciative crowd.

The remainder of the show went off expertly.  Lennie Gallant's performance of Godspeed, a song written about fellow Islander Gene MacLellan, was eerily Ron-like.  It was clear that this song held special meaning for Lennie.  There was a surprise performance by Catherine MacLellan.  Catherine performed 1962 wonderfully and made it her own.  As I was listening, I kept thinking that she should record the song.  Charlie A'Court performed Up Here I Can Fly, a song he had written with Ron.  I was blown away by his performance of this song, which is on his new album.   JP Cormier, a fabulous musician, performed Blood & Bones.  The Rhapsody Quintet did a medley of songs, including St. John's Waltz and Sonny's Dream.  Stephen Fearing performed my favourite Ron Hynes song, Killer Cab, and accompanied Laura Smith on the "song of the night" - her haunting rendition of Dry.  Laura's voice, enunciation and pacing made you feel the pain, agony and difficulty of rehab and detox.  Cory Tetford, who engineered "Standing In Line In The Rain", and whose reverence of Ron was evident, sang a great rendition of Shine Like Diamonds.  Cory followed this up with dynamic performance of Grace, a song from his 1999 CD of the same name.  Playing the piano, Cory's voice boomed over the audience as he showed why he is one of Newfoundland's most talented musicians.  Bruce Guthro, accompanied by his son Dylan, performed Man of a Thousand Songs and led the complete cast, and the audience, in singing Sonny's Dream - a perfect finale to a perfect musical evening.

My favourite performances of the evening were by Catherine MacLellan, Laura Smith, Cory Tetford and Lennie Gallant.  For me, Ron's music has always been about feeling and emotion; and putting the listener into the song.  Those performers renditions of Ron's songs seemed to come from within and evoked the same feeling and emotion when sung by Ron himself.

The emotional element of Ron's songs is why Killer Cab and St. John's Waltz are two of my favourites.  Every time I listen to Killer Cab, I am in the that cab - travelling from downtown St. John's, through Shea Heights and on to Blackhead.  For me, this is where the person is dropped off before the cab heads back downtown.  I doubt that is the route Ron envisioned, but that is the route that vividly plays in my mind each time I hear the song.   St. John's Waltz, brings me home to downtown St. John's, looking at the Battery, Cabot Tower, Fort Amherst, and the Bascillica.  It then takes me to the house where I grew up, surrounded by family and childhood friends.  

God Bless (the stories)

Each performer had a personal story of their encounters with this interesting character. 

 

Cathy Jones beamed, and laughed, as she told stories of Ron the musician, Ron the actor and Ron the man. Her love and affection for her friend of 30 years was evident throughout the evening. Donna Morrissey related a hilarious story of how she found out Ron had used her poem, Blood & Bones, as the lyrics for a song.  Eric MacEwan related his own personal battle with cancer and his many encounters with Ron.    

 

Many of the musical performers have toured, played festivals or written with Ron.  From Dave Gunning's "this is the song we are going to write together", to JP's story of trying (unsuccessfully) to complain about Sonny's Dream, with a straight face - and receiving a very Ron-like reaction: "give us a smoke", the stories flowed like wine.  They gave the audience an insight into the life of this musical genius.  And all of the stories revealed the story-tellers affection for Ron.

 

God Damn (The Cancer)

 

Not lost in this evening of great music and story-telling was the reason everyone was there.  Ron was recently diagnosed with, and is undergoing treatment for, throat cancer. 

 

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada.  Most everyone has been touched by cancer in their lives, whether battling the disease themselves or watching a loved one courageously fight.  When your body fights against you, you fight back.   It is not easy, it is not pretty and you need a team of family, friends and medical practitioners to help along the way. 

 

Coupled with having to battle cancer on a daily basis is the fact that a musician generally does not have a steady income.  If they don't play, they don't eat.  The money raised is undoubtedly needed.  

 

To those who have who donated their time to perform or help out at this event, or one of the other benefit shows, the fans give our thanks.  

 

To Ron, we say "Godspeed, God Bless...and God Damn". 

 



Guitar being auctioned at Benefit

All the preformers singing Sonny's Dream





 

The below is taken from the promo section of Ron's website - http://www.hynesite.org/hynesphotos.htm.  This message from one of Newfoundland's most successful songwriters, Alan Doyle, shows the respect musicians have for Ron.  Alan is playing at the St. John's "Rally for Ron".
 

(originally printed in the SAC Newsletter)