A Tribute to "Nebraska"

A buncha months ago, when the new normal felt temporary, I thought it would be fun to make a compilation with some artists & friends I play drums for/ worked with/ & admired over the years. Given the circumstances, loneliness, isolation, feeling & focus, Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska felt like an appropriate cipher for the moment. When I listen to the songs on Nebraska I think about justice & justification; the absence of the former and the ever-churning of the latter, as present as the tape hiss on the Tascam the record was performed on. I think about complicated lives lived by complicated people in complicated situations. I think about peace & fear & hope & a lack of options. I think about organizations like Toronto Overdose Prevention Society, Encampment Support Network, Foodshare Toronto. Organizations that very literally save the lives of communities, families & individuals that our governments, civic & federal, would rather forget about. I’d like to thank all the contributors who donated their time to feel what many of us have been feeling, connect with these songs & elevate them. At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe....

- Nick McKinlay July, 2020

Special thanks to Patrick Grant for the guidance & encouragement & to Chaddy Ann Newton for the cover art & Kristian Montano for mastering.

All proceeds will go to benefit the following grassroots organizations

Toronto Overdose Prevention Society
Toronto Overdose Prevention Society is a volunteer group of people who use drugs, frontline harm reduction workers, healthcare providers and allies who:
- Fight to stop drug related overdoses.
- Look out for the health and well-being of people who use drugs.
- Address the devastating impacts of the drug war.
- Advocate for an end to the prohibition of drugs and the criminalization of people who use them.
Their efforts are made through advocacy and direct actions

Encampment Support Network
Encampment Support Network (ESN) is not a charitable organization - they are an ad-hoc group of people trying to build community, support neighbours, advocate for better conditions in encampments and demand long term housing in Toronto. They are troubled by the fact that the City of Toronto does not provide basic humanitarian aid or proper housing options to those living outdoors, including allowing them to stay in their encampments.

Foodshare Toronto
Toronto FoodShare aims to centre food justice in their work by collaborating with and taking their cue from those most affected by poverty and food insecurity — Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, People with Disabilities. Their goal is to inspire long-term solutions for a food system where everyone has access to affordable, fresh, nutritious food. They reach over 260,000 people each year.