It's All About The Kids!

It's very rare that I get serious here on the blog, so I'll do my best here. 

Some of my best memories, and I know I'm not alone here, are of waking up on Christmas morning. I remember not being able to sleep the night before, I remember running and waking my parents up way too early in the morning.

I remember opening presents, specifically I remember getting my first guitar (I can't play it, but I still love that giant dust collector in my guest room). That was an awesome Christmas.

I know I'm not alone here. This is something that most of us share, a joy that most of us get each year.

Key word: Most.

There are so many families that aren't going to be able to pull Christmas gifts off this year. More now than ever, there are families that must choose heating their home, or getting the bare essentials instead of things for the tree.

Of course, having a roof over our heads, a warm home and food on the table is more than enough to be thankful for right now. 

However, it's so nice, especially for the kids, to have just a little bit extra on Christmas morning.

I bring this all up because there's a local music engineer and recording studio owner who is doing his best, and using his talents to give as much as possible back to families who could use just a little help to make their children's Christmas a bit brighter.

"The idea was born out of the understanding that the Christmas time, the holiday time can be either the happiest or the saddest time of year."

That's a quote Jim Stafford gave me during our interview for this story. He owns Eclipse Recording Studio in St. Augustine. He just finished his album "Happy Holidays From The Heart." It's a collection of original and traditional Christmas and Hannukah songs written and performed by local musicians as well as a couple national acts.

He does all this for free. Any money that comes in for the CDs, all of it, goes to the Empty Stocking Fund.

As a musician myself (I play drums, like I said the guitar thing didn't work out), I can appreciate how much of a gift he is giving. I was in a band throughout high school and a little bit of college... and I remember researching costs to make a demo CD for our group.

A lot of places prices were in the $300-$400 and hour range. 

Well, I'm not sure what Stafford's rates are... but he spends 16-18 hours a day working on this album each year, and it's a project he works on year 'round.

Stafford is driven. He's seen friends struggle this time of year, when, as he says, "All emotions are amplified."

And there's no point to even ask about the money he's giving up in order to make these albums.

"The reward is very simple. When you wake up on Christmas morning knowing someone has a smile on their face who probably wouldn't have, that's tremendous."

"You got St. Nick and then you've got St. Jim."

That's from singer/song writer David "Eli" Grimes. He's from right outside of St. Augustine, in fact you can click here for a story I did with him in the past.

Eli is one of the artists who helped out with the CD. He wrote and recorded "A Special Christmas Memory" for the album.

"I just think about who's getting helped out every time I listen to it," Grimes said.

So here's where you can get a copy of the CD, these are all stores in the St. Augustine area:

Music Matters
High Tide Gallery
Simple Gestures
Panache
Sea Bridge Landing
The St. Augustine Record (newspaper)

You can also go to the Eclipse Recording Studio or call to buy a copy (904)794-1872.

Finally, I've got a box of about 50 of these on my desk at the First Coast News station in downtown Jacksonville... you can come by and ask for me or email me lewisturner@firstcoastnews.com and I'll be glad to hook you up. They're $15, but remember, every dime is helping out a little kid have a special Christmas memory.

Here's the video story I did with them that aired on Wednesday.



Thanks for anything you can do...
Lewis