Album Benefiting Tucson Tragedy Victims Southern Arizona Musicians Come Together To Care for Victims of 1/8/11 Shooting

Can We Get Together is a 2 CD set compilation album.

The diversity of the music on this album may surprise you. No matter who you are there is probably a song on this album you will really like. But what might be more surprising is when you consider, every single one of these musicians, sound engineers, producers, and everyone else involved are Southern Arizonans who donated their time and creativity for one single purpose, to raise money for the victims of the January 8th shooting through the Tucson Together Fund.

During National Crime Victims’ Rights week, 26 diverse musical groups representing 117 artists along with numerous producers and studios joined together to commemorate the release of Can We Get Together? – a benefit album that supports the victims of the January 8th shooting. Countless families had their lives altered forever, and today the Tucson music community has united to support these victims.

“We are so honored to take part in something that will help some of the lives that were affected,” said Danielle Crosby of Compose the Octave. “Our thoughts and prayers have been with the victims and their families since that awful day.”

Members of the Tucson Girls Chorus, grades 9th through 12th, sang on both the title track and their own performance “Puddles,” a song dedicated to the memory of Christina Green. “The Tucson Girls Chorus is proud to represent youth and be the sounding voice of girls just like Christina Green,” said choral director Marcela Molina. The song Puddles is a reference to the quote “I hope you jump in rain puddles” from the 9/11 baby’s book Faces of Hope featuring Christina Green.

The need to do something positive was not isolated, and the effects of January 8th reached out across race, religion, politics, or anything that would divide Arizona. The most diverse group of musicians across southern Arizona chose to lead by example and help their community. The genres on this album span from hip hop to folk, classical to reggae, big band jazz assembly to mariachi, and country to rap. Many of the artists wrote their songs in direct response to the tragedy.

“Once we heard the news… some of us cried, some of us were angry,” said Rush Urbalejo of the punk rock band Wax 78. “Then a wonderful thing happened. We began to realize that as diverse as Tucson is, we are all part of this community.  We began to come together for a single cause – helping those that were affected by the tragedy.”

The net proceeds from the album go to benefit the Tucson Together Fund, the only officially sanctioned fund established to assist victims, families, and witnesses of the January 8th tragedy. Can We Get Together? can be purchased online at Amazon.com, on iTunes, or at various locations around Tucson.

“It is my sincere desire that when people listen to the music on this CD, they will remember those who were lost. And just as a melody is not forgotten after the music ceases, neither will these lives be forgotten,” said classical guitarist David Rose.

The views and expressions of these artists are their own, and not shared by the other artist. Some of this music was written and recorded within days and as an immediate reactions to what happened January 8th 2011 in their own views. Other artists looked through back catalogs of unreleased music and picked what they felt what the most appropriate unreleased performances. While no artist speaks for anyone else, we have all come together to say we can peacefully speak our minds respectfully, and give a voice to our community.