On Christmas in the Northwest 9, the incredibly talented singer Catherine Hessler sings the rhetorical question, "How Many Angels, are singing you name?" 

Like all of the singer/songwriters who donate the use of their songs to the Christmas in the Northwest CD project, Catherine is one of the angels who makes Christmas in the Northwest possible.  After all, the less money we spend, and the more money we take in – the more money we have left to fund uncompensated care at Northwest Children's Hospitals.

And that got me thinking about the series of albums and CDs that we've released, and asking "How many angels are singing our name?"

The list is pretty extensive, and it comes equally from the creative and business community. 

The generosity of our Title Sponsor, RBC Dain Rauscher, makes the project possible.  But it's more than just money that they bring to the party.  The "angels" at RBC Dain Rauscher bring their hearts and souls to the many Christmas in the Northwest events we produce during the holidays along with much needed cash.

It's hard to find another Northwest institution that is as blessed with so many "Big Name" musical contributors like Dave Matthews Band, Steve Miller Band, Heart, Kenny G, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Pete Droge, Kevin Thornton formerly of Color Me Badd and Tingstad & Rumbel to name a few.  All of these artists have one thing in common. When we've approached them directly asking for their participation – they all said an enthusiastic YES and worked with their management teams and record labels to make their participation a reality.

Our "angels" include big media corporations.  These titans of the broadcast world are often beaten up in the public eye, but they are made up of incredibly caring individuals who offer their support.  These "angels" include Belo Broadcasting, Sandusky Radio, Hearst Corporation, Clear Channel Radio and Horizon Broadcasting.  Without their generous collaboration the public would never know about this project – and the CDs would languish on store shelves.

We can't forget the "angels" who constantly update our website with very little compensation, Ann Rhodes our incredible art director who has designed all but two of our CD covers, Rick Donovan who generously shot our cover photos this year and Kevin Veatch who makes sure the CDs arrive at our fulfillment house right on schedule.  And the folks at the Green Room who year after year make sure the CDs get out to retail in the right quantities, and right on time.

This reminds me of our wonderful retail "angels".  They carry the Christmas in the Northwest CDs as a community service.  The margins we offer are laughable compared to other items stores sell – especially during the busy holiday season.  But our retail partners believe in our Northwest community and they give generously, with a smile. 

The "angels" who make up the Board of Directors of Children's Music Fund, Inc., the entity which produces the CD compilation set direction and offer incredible guidance.  From the financial insight we get from Irv Karl, to the PR expertise of Scott Janzen, Donna James incredible mental Rolodex, Nathan Marion's extensive indie contacts and past support from Edith Hilliard; we are blessed with incredible "angels" focused on helping sick kids.

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a city of angels to produce a project of this magnitude.  I can't thank Katie Freeze enough for writing such an incredible song, and allowing us to include it in our compilation this year.

We hope you enjoy Christmas in the Northwest 9. And after buying the CD, consider yourself an "angel". Be sure to thank yourself for joining with the many "angels" who focus on providing medical care to all children regardless of their ability to pay.

Happy Holidays,

Steve

Our recording business was located on 6^th Avenue between Bell and Battery streets in downtown Seattle.  We had started with about 1200 square feet in the bowels of the former Atlantic Richfield building then renamed the 6^th and Battery Building.  The site we chose was a no-brainer.  It was on the ground floor.  It was a long and narrow space with windows only at the very back.  So we wouldn't have to do extreme construction to keep the noise in or out of our studio. 

Our next-door neighbor was an occult bookstore.  By 1981 our business was booming and the owner of that bookstore decided not to renew her lease, which allowed us to grow.  That new studio was much nicer than our first.  A well-known acoustic architect named Jeff Cooper designed studio A (as we called it).  The studio featured a large "live" room with variable acoustics, a floating isolation booth with huge angled sliding doors, and a beautiful Yamaha grand piano.  But studios don't make music.  For that you need talent.

Steven Ray Allen and his then partner David Maddux had just started a company called AM Music Productions, and they began producing jingles out of our beautiful new Studio A.  We did a lot of jingles together in those days for clients like Millstone Coffee, The Bon Marche Stores, Shucks Auto Supply, Car Toys and more.

Steven and David had pulled together some of the most talented vocalists ever to sing in Seattle.  One of those singers was a very young and beautiful woman named Brenda Kutz.  Back in the early to mid-eighties it seemed as though every business needed a jingle.  So it was no wonder that Brenda was at the studio every day.  I'd run into Brenda in the lobby or we'd chat when there was a break in the singing action.

One day during one of those breaks, I mentioned to Steven and Brenda that Debbie and I wanted to produce a Christmas record to benefit Children's Hospital.  We had this concept of a Northwest Christmas LP that would feature Northwest singers and songwriters. It would be an album filled with original tunes along with holiday favorites.  What we needed was an anchor song for the project, something uniquely Northwest.

About a week later Brenda walked into my office and asked me to come out from behind my desk and follow her.  I wasn't exactly sure why I was summoned, but together we ambled into a very empty Studio A.  She sat down at that beautiful Yamaha grand piano, and started to play something I'd never heard before. The intro was beautiful – it quickly filled the room – and proved to be just a tease for what was to follow.

Brenda started singing.

The wind may not blow

Might not even snow

But there's nothing like Christmas

Right here at home

May not be white

Might be a rainy night

But there's nothing like sharing

The sounds and the sights of

Christmas in the Northwest

It's a gift that we can share

Christmas in the Northwest

Is a Child's answered prayer

Take away the presents

And you still will have a tree

Because Christmas in the Northwest

Is a gift God wrapped in green

Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to Brenda sing that song for the very first time.  When she was done singing it took me a few minutes to react.  She had seemingly knocked the wind out of me.  The song was so beautiful, so well written.  It was so right!

My next step was to run into Steven's office, grab him and have Brenda play and sing her song again.  There was so much electricity in the air at that moment that I'm surprised the room didn't blow up!

Steven offered to arrange the song, and ended up producing it as well.  All of the musicians Steven contacted to play on the session donated their time and we donated the studio time. We even convinced the German manufacturing giant AGFA to donate the recording tape.  Those few small steps launched a Northwest holiday tradition.

Each year when I hear Brenda sing Christmas in the Northwest on the radio for the first time, my eyes still well up with tears.  They are tears of joy and appreciation.  That song brings back great memories of that one incredible moment where Brenda's talent and compassion brought to life that beautiful Studio A.

My wife Debbie and I released the first Christmas in the Northwest record album in 1985.  That was 21 short years ago.  Time flies when you're having fun.  Really!

We started working on the album in 1983 when our daughter Alex turned 4 years old. Two years had passed since she had contracted E. coli.  Actually the doctors never uttered the phrase E.coli.  We didn't hear that word until many years later – during that OTHER famous E. coli scare. 

Alex's bout with E. coli wasn't famous.  But it was painful.

And like in that other famous outbreak, this E. coli came to her through the courtesy of an undercooked fast food burger.

The diagnosis from our pediatrician Dr. Sandra Griffith was Hemolytic (HEE-mo-LIT-ik) uremic (yoo-REE-mik) syndrome, or HUS, which causes sudden, short-term kidney failure in children.  Most cases of HUS occur after an infection of the digestive system by E. coli bacterium, which can be found in all kinds of foods when they are contaminated.  HUS develops when the bacteria lodged in the digestive system make toxins that enter the bloodstream and start to destroy red blood cells. In severe cases, this acute kidney failure may require several sessions of dialysis to temporarily take over the kidneys' job of filtering wastes from the blood.

Thank God, Alex never faced that ordeal, though if she had, I'm sure she wouldn't remember.  In fact she doesn't remember much about her E. coli episode – except the weekly, then monthly trips to the hospital for blood draws and then ice cream.  But Debbie and I remember it well.

We vividly remember taking Alex to the doctor after her flu symptoms didn't get better.  When she became listless, and pale. When she would no longer eat, or drink – or even sit up. We remember Dr. Griffith telling us to rush Alex immediately from her office to Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle.  She would meet us there.

In 1981 there was no Internet.  Medical research was done in labs and medical libraries by studying journals and consulting texts.  Dr. Griffith arrived quickly and visited with Alex and us, conferred with her colleagues at Children's and then hunkered down for an in Children's medical library.  At about 12:30 in the morning, Dr. Griffith came to Alex's room to let us know that her extensive research had confirmed her gut feeling.  That Alex had HUS.

Alex didn't sleep much that first night in the hospital. Nor did we.  That "we" includes Dr. Griffith; I don't think she even went home that night.

She and the doctors and nurses and lab technicians – everyone involved in Alex's care offered her very personal attention.  And Debbie and I, two very young "freaked out" parents found comfort in the treatment afforded to our daughter and to us.

Alex checked out of Children's on Thanksgiving Day in 1981.  She was weak, and pale, but on the mend. 

It was a scary time for our family.  But it was also a time of comfort because of Dr. Griffith, and the very caring staff at Children's Hospital.  When Debbie and I could find some quiet time alone (Alex and her brother Daniel kept us both pretty busy) we would reminisce about our young family's encounter.  We would marvel at the dedication and perseverance of our pediatrician, and the gentle treatment we all experienced.  We wanted to give back, but weren't sure how.

Then one day we hit on it.  We owned a recording studio after all, and knew a lot of musicians.  And I've never been afraid to pick up the phone and ask for help.  So we rounded up our old and new musician friends and set out on a fund raising journey that is now in it's 21^st year, marked by the release of Christmas in the Northwest 9.

Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Happy Holidays,

Steve