News Release
From: Michael Groetsch
Re: Release of a musical CD and DVD “I Can Still Hear the Music” to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Bay St. Louis and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Date: June 2015
As a young boy, I had the privilege of spending all the early summers of my life in Bay St. Louis. I bonded so deeply with the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a child, that I still feel an emotional rush when I visit. To me, Bay St. Louis is more then a place. It is an old friend. Even at the age of 66, I feel excitement whenever I turn onto North Beach Blvd. from Highway 90 and witness her beauty. While my body lives in New Orleans, my soul lives in the Bay.
In late June, my co-writer and vocalist, Dan Rivers, will release a 10- song CD that was produced in Nashville titled “I Can Still Hear the Music.” The lead song in the CD that goes by the same title is a trilogy that covers a 60-year evolution of Bay St. Louis in less than 7- minutes. The first part of the trilogy (Harry Chapin style) begins in 1954 and shares the joy of a young boy who spends the summers of his childhood at a small family cottage near the beach. The second segment covers the heartbreaking destruction of the quaint town by the horrific winds and surging waters of Hurricane Katrina. The City of Bay St. Louis was considered as ground zero of what became known as a hundred-year storm. The last part focuses on the remarkable recovery of a town that most believed would never rise from the devastation of the greatest natural disaster in American history. In essence, the song pulls the listener through the mood spectrum of joy, pain, and elation.
In addition, Dan Rivers and I have produced a DVD of the featured song that accompanies the 10-song CD. I have spent many of my weekends traveling to the Bay working on the video version of “I Can Still Hear the Music” and needless to say, when we photographed what is commonly known as “Steps to Nowhere” I cried.
As an author that has worked on many writing projects, I cannot adequately express the excitement that I have had working on this project. I am also overjoyed to have the ability to share with others, particularly the people of Bay St. Louis, a CD and DVD that will touch their hearts.