Almost as great a writer as he is pianist, Brad Mehldau once argued that music, while itself politically neutral, mute and indifferent , attaches freely to ideologies, causes, and polemics. Witness the staggering number of left-leaning rockers who have had to ask Donald Trump to stop deploying their hits at rallies. Music can be enlisted to support almost anything. This powerful quality, a valence and emotional bio-availability, helps explain why music is such a vital part of political history, of the state and of the resistance.
Without saying anything, music activates and potentiates causes, social purpose, and all modes of human connection. This mysterious power lies at the heart of Hope Rocks, the Saugerties-based organization that for half a decade has used the catharsis and joy of rock music to combat addiction and suicide among young populations, hosting a yearly festival that draws thousand and conducting year-round outreach and education.
The year of Covid has created a unique set of problems for Hope Rocks. It has dramatically reduced access to the tonic of music while immeasurably enriching the conditions for the growth of despair, leading to a crisis-level uptick in addiction and suicide. Founder and executive director Joe Defino, however, fully embodies the hope in the organization’s name. To hear him speak of this difficult year is to grasp the depth of his commitment and his unwavering faith.
John Burdick: Why did you found Hope Rocks?
Joe Defino: I am a teacher. I love music. I love exploring boundaries of possibility. Hope Rocks is an outgrowth of Morse Rocks. Morse Rocks, a music festival I created around 2012, was designed to give young artists a chance to perform in a real festival with professional touring artists. As a teacher, I saw the need to develop an authentic experience for young musicians, poets, visual and performance artists to have an opportunity to share their talents in an environment outside of a traditional school talent or art show.
Many of these young people did not have the same opportunities as provided in athletics or academics but had talents which needed nurturing. They also faced the additional stigma of being outsiders. Often, these kids found themselves entering a dark world which, as we know, is unforgiving and potentially deadly. Morse Rocks was created to give opportunity in an authentic festival with the ability to talk and share with professionals allowing for networking to take place and their art to grow.
In 2016, after attending my eighth former student’s funeral due to suicide or overdose, I was haunted by the reality that we are living in a time where despair is becoming the victor. These young kids, for whom I saw such great futures, had their lives cut short due to failures on our part. Somehow along the line, we forgot to show the extraordinary power of hope. We did not provide solutions based upon possibility, patience, perseverance and understanding. Hope Rocks was inspired by this devastation.
We took the Morse Rocks model and boldly expanded it to a free two-day music, arts, and activity festival completely devoted to the idea of breaking down stereotypes, providing a safe and supportive environment complete with support services, counseling, guest speakers, food and great live music. We would call this Hope Rocks. We believe it was the first of its kind festival in the United States.
We had no money, little expertise, and a whole lot of nerve, and we were off and running on an event that cost us nearly $30,000 to produce. Through the generosity and faith of donors and supporters who were on board with the idea of bringing this to reality, in August 2017, we had 3300 people witness this first festival.
From there it continued to grow into many other programs and events.
JB: While Hope Reach is a truly multifaceted initiative, the music festival is its centerpiece and main ritual. How have you dealt without it this year?
JD: The Hope Rocks Festival is our centerpiece, and like everyone else in the world we had to find ways to adapt to the limitations, restrictions and protocols ordained by the pandemic. We created new ways to reach people virtually such as a series of streaming programs called Hope Rocks Recovery, a virtual telethon “Hope Heals,” and reaching out through PSAs and advertisements. Covid is teaching us many things about the critical need for connection, as well as the power of perseverance and optimism. In all, 2020 did not go as we had planned, but the adversity brought us to new understanding and greater outreach.
The festival will remain our centerpiece when in-person socialization returns, and we are excited for that prospect, but we are now able to grow our “arsenal” of programs and activities with a wider audience through what we have learned and experienced as a result of the Covid lockdowns. There is no substitute for person-to person connection, and that will remain our primary objective when creating events.
JB: While Covid largely curbed live music, it had the exact opposite effect on addiction and suicide. How have you stayed engaged, what kind of programs have you been able to maintain this year?
JD: We have so much work to do. The pandemic has illuminated and accelerated the need to address this growing epidemic. As a father, teacher and community member, the uncertainty, panic, anxiety, and fears caused by the pandemic and social unrest is palpable. Hope is hard to find.
As an organization committed to demonstrating that hope is possible, even in the darkest times, we have had to continually remind ourselves that these are the days when we need to be most visible. These are the days when we need to provide the most support. We needed to be extra-bold in our initiatives despite a lack of resources and expertise to demonstrate hope is alive and well, even in times of total chaos. We have said many times, to think we can be a positive force of change in the lives of those who cannot see anything but despair is a testimony to our ignorance and arrogance. We need to keep trying, we need to keep relevant.
At the beginning of 2020, we had events scheduled for every month of the year, after February, every one was canceled due to the virus. However, we worked to stay connected with extra efforts on social media, the development of streaming programming, public service announcements, email campaigns and virtual programming. None of this was on our radar as we entered 2020.
JB: Where do we go from here?
JD: As we continue to see anxiety, fear and doubt as part of our mainstream society, we need to offer possibility for recovery and discovery of self and connectedness in community as a solution. Our events, programs and activities will continue to use the lessons learned by social isolation and the bombardment of the negativity and uncertainty on our society in general as a guidepost to keep us focused on the simple necessity of reinforcing one’s self-worth and strength. The message we need to continue to share is: We are strong enough, and we are deserving of another chance. We have a potential that is far greater than we could imagine. We are worthwhile.
Hope lives in adversity. It is right here. All we have to do is change our perspective. It is easy to have hope when the sun is shining and we have money in our pocket. It is in the darkness and loneliness that we need to be reminded that the sun will soon be rising, just hang in. Hope will show you things about yourself you never knew to exist. Hope costs nothing.
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