David LaMotte, One of the Real Good Guys

[As promised, today’s post is by Barbie Dockstader Angell; she discusses her friend,  musician/writer/activist David LaMottte—including a great interview in the video below. That’s David in the photo to the right with Barbie’s own “Little Man.”]

I first met David LaMotte at Kinko’s, where I was working in 2000 in Asheville, NC. Most people who come in are stressed & hurried, but I could tell immediately that the smiling customer patiently waiting for me was not “most people.”

By the time he & I finished up with his project, I had his brand new album, Corners, in my hand; a gift from my appreciative customer. I put the cd in the stereo when I got home from work and I didn’t listen to much else for the next month. When I’d go sit somewhere with my discman & headphones to work on my writing, that cd was my first choice for the next year.

I was still quite new to Asheville when I met David, and he quickly became a friend. We have shared a great many wonderful times and some sad ones through these last 12 years, and always he has been ready with that same patient smile, willing to wait a moment so that we can both be completely involved in the conversation.

If you’ve met me in real-life, then I’ve already told you about David LaMotte. I am just that type of girl. There are a handful of writers, musicians and businesses that I seem to bring up in conversation all the time and he is most certainly one of them. Because aside from being a brilliant singer/songwriter & musician, he is also a children’s book author, humanitarian and founder of a nonprofit organization called PEG which builds schools in Guatemala. It seems like he does everything except moderate a Nobel Peace Prize nomination committee....oh wait, I’m wrong, he does that too.

If you think that I’m putting David on a pedestal, you would be wrong. I’m just incredibly proud of my friend because he saw that he could effect change as a full-time touring musician. As a performer myself, I can assure you that the spotlight’s glow can cause people to look up to the person on the stage. There’s an even greater responsibility there when some of those faces in the audience belong to children or anyone who is still searching for the person that they wish to become. And so I’m proud that David took that knowledge and ran forward, constantly finding new ways to improve the lives of the people in the world around him. Not as a man on a pedestal looking down, but as one who is doing the heavy lifting side by side with his community.

The video below is my first interview for an organization called Lingua Musica. We talk with artists about more than just their music, but what they are doing offstage as well. I was thrilled when David said he would be a part of our endeavor and taken in as always by the power of his words.

Underneath the video, you’ll see the link for his Kickstarter project. His goal has been funded for his new book, White Flour, but you can still use that link to pre-order this fun and inspiring story. If you’re unfamiliar with the subject, White Flour is the true story of the day the kkk came to Knoxville, TN to march....and were defeated with humor by a group of clowns. In addition, it happens to be my favorite poem of all time....and that’s saying quite a bit.




Here's the link Barbie promised to David LaMotte's "White Flour" Kickstarter project. Please consider pre-ordering the book & supporting this wonderful artist's important message!