‘Heat Is Where The Heart Is’ : Dreamcatchers Make Music For A Great Cause

Growing up hearing that we live in the greatest country in the world, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that not everyone has it as good as you. Especially when you grow up in a house where there’s always food on the table, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and gifts under the tree at Christmas for you to open. You might’ve heard about families in need at church on Sunday, or you’d see those folks standing in front of Krogers ringing the bell and your mom or dad would give you some quarters to put in their red bucket. Yeah, maybe some kids didn’t have as nice of clothes or as new of shoes at school, but they still had the roof over their heads, right? They still had some food on the table, right? A warm house to go to after school, right?

We’re the greatest country in the world, right?

At the end of a year where a lot of us have lost faith in that statement, I think it’s time to renew that faith. Lets end 2017 with a story filled with hope and warmth. Literally. Enter the Dreamcatchers.

What is the Dreamcatchers? Well it’s a charitable organization founded by Ft. Wayne residents Zoe
Martin and Jason Davis. The idea behind this organization is to give heat to those families that don’t have it in their homes this winter. How did this all come about? Zoe Martin, a big-hearted bartender and mom to three young kids has a truly special connection to Dreamcatchers.  After a long night working at a local music venue Martin came home and went to bed, only to wake from a surreal dream. According to Martin, ““In my dream, all these musicians I’d come to admire were recording an album of kid’s music. So I asked them why. They told me they were making music to buy heaters for kids with cold feet, whose parents need a little help.” With just that little egging on from the ether of dreams Martin quickly jumped into action. “I’d already messaged four of the musicians before I even got out of bed”, says Martin. She continued, “One of them was my neighbor, Jason Davis, who teaches music to kids and has a state-of-the-art recording studio in his home. I continued messaging musicians, and every person I contacted gave me a resounding ‘yes.’”

So what did these local musicians say yes to, you ask? They said yes to HEAT IS WHERE THE HEART IS. HEAT is an album of children’s songs performed by local musicians and recorded at Jason Davis’ Off The Cuff recording studios in Fort Wayne. Dreamcatchers will use the proceeds from CD sales to purchase heaters for local families. SCAN(Stop Child Abuse & Neglect) will help Dreamcatchers distribute heaters and identify families most in need. Who took the time to contribute? Local musicians featured on the album include Felix Moxter, Lyndsy Rae Porter, The Lurking Corpses, Joe of Left Lane Cruiser, Sankofa, Bart Helms, Hope Arthur, George Gardner, Jess Thrower, John Ptak, C. Ray Harvey, Pete Dio and Kendra Johnson. The album also features backup vocals by several Fort Wayne children.

This is a community effort. It started as a dream which was shared to friends which became a call to action which then turned into art. That art will go towards warming homes that otherwise might not be warm.

So where do you get this album with a cause? Where else but at an awesome album release party of course. The album release party will be held on Saturday, Dec. 16, from 4-6 pm at Neat Neat Neat Records and Music (1836 S. Calhoun St., Ft. Wayne, 46802). According to Dreamcatchers, “The event is family-friendly and open to all ages. Release party guests can listen to the album, purchase a CD, offer a donation to Dreamcatchers, or enjoy food from Bravas and complimentary cake. Local musicians featured on the album will perform live, and be available to chat with guests and demonstrate their instruments to kids.” If for some reason you can’t make it to the album release show but you want to help out and buy the CD, then just head over to http://www.heatiswheretheheartis.com/ and buy a copy online. If you’re a local business and would like to be a sponsor then email Dreamcatchers at dreamcatchersfw@gmail.com and find out how you can make a difference in someone’s life.

Zoe Martin has high hopes for the Dreamcatchers organization. “If the generosity I’ve seen so far is any indication, this community has some of the warmest hearts around,” says Martin. “With help from the community, we can say the same for a few more teeny, tiny toes.”

Get out to NNN Records on December 16th at 4pm and pick up a copy of HEAT IS WHERE THE HEART IS and enjoy a great show for a great cause.