October 17 2000 - Jacquielynn Floyd - The Dallas Morning News
The sound system was lousy at Jeanie Perkins’ gig Monday morning. The gymnasium-sized hall was much too big for the few dozen folks in the audience, one or two of whom kept looking anxiously toward the kitchen, their thoughts clearly straying toward lunch.
But a few minutes into the show, Jeanie had their attention, and before the end they were singing along. It was a live illustration of the irresistible appeal -- and the soothing medicine -- of music.
A.R.T.S. for People (the cumbersome acronym is for Artistic, Recreational & Therapeutic Services) uses interactive arts, dancing and music to bolster the mental and physical health of the groups it serves.
The group provides music and dance therapists and live performers for retirees, psychiatric patients, troubled kids, battered families, sometimes getting a response that no amount of talking or counseling can evoke.
"It’s a way to relate to people, to get them outside themselves," said A.R.T.S. executive director Tom Geddie, who led me on a whirlwind tour of events and performers Monday.
Fund-raiser on tap
He wants to generate some enthusiasm for the organization’s annual fund-raiser Thursday, a gala at the Sons of Hermann Hall starring Brave Combo (a Denton band, I can personally attest, that can cure what ails you).
If you have doubts about the A.R.T.S. mission, think back to the last time you thought you were about to go stark raving bonkers in a traffic jam and one of your favorite tunes came on. Didn’t it soothe your savage breast?
Our first stop was the Central Branch YWCA, where Karen Riccarde played the Celtic fiddle for a senior citizens’ "Young at Heart" community club. Karen usually plays pubs and bars with a Dallas Irish band, but she performs for A.R.T.S. on the side.
"When I first started, I went to a facility where there was a gentleman in a wheelchair who was almost catatonic," she said. "You couldn’t see anything in his eyes at all."
But as Karen played zippy Irish and Scottish folk tunes, the man’s foot moved -- just a little -- tapping along with the music. It was a breakthrough for both of them.
The Young at Heart club, of course, is a pretty energetic group, but I sensed a little skepticism in the audience. Irish music?
By the third song, there were converts. A tiny woman in the third row with enormous pearl earrings and a strong resemblance to that "where’s-the-beef" lady from the TV commercials was so overcome that she pumped her fists at the end of every tune like a mosh-pit groupie at an Aerosmith concert.
Next we went to see Jeanie play for another seniors’ group in North Dallas. She picked music to tickle their memories, old standards and Broadway show tunes, and obligingly took requests.
Called to attention
It was a mostly attentive audience, but I noticed an exception: A man in an ancient leisure suit, sitting alone at a table, stared straight ahead. He gave no indication that he heard a single note.
But while I wasn’t looking, somewhere between "Lazy River" and Edelweiss," he clicked into gear. When I spotted him again, he was applauding energetically.
Mr. Geddie took me to lunch with two others A.R.T.S. performers who elaborated on what I’d seen.
Michael Kenny, who is working toward a master’s degree in music therapy and uses music to reach emotionally disturbed children and mental patients, patiently explained how sound can alter the neural-firing patterns in the brain.
I was completely lost. Singer-guitarist Jessie Frank translated for me:
"It’s probably the best mood-altering non-narcotic in the world," he said.
Jeanie Perkins saw it her first day on the job, when the group sent her to play at a nursing home. The show didn’t register at all on an elderly Alzheimer’s patient, seemingly unconscious at the back of the room.
On the way out, Jeanie took his hand and thanked him anyway.
"He nodded," she said, still so moved and astonished that she tears up at the memory.
"He heard, after all."
Jacquielynn Floyd can be reached at 214-977-8065 and at jfloyd@dallasnews.com.