It’s one thing to be a creative quadruple threat (film actor, stage actor, television actor, musician); it’s another thing entirely to excel as a quadruple threat for the better part of 43 years. From multiple Tony nominations—and wins—to starring roles on Fame and Treme, Michael Cerveris may be best known for his versatility as a thespian, but he proves just as formidable behind the mic on his long-awaited sophomore solo album, Piety. His sonic pedigree is unsurprisingly impressive, having shared the stage with the likes of the Breeders, Bob Mould, Teenage Fanclub and Frank Black. Cerveris will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read his MAGNET Feedback.
Cerveris: I’m not much of a joiner. Never really have been. And telling me I need to support a particular cause is usually the surest way to make sure I probably won’t. Not that there aren’t loads of worthy causes—it just gets exhausting and hard to keep up with what you’re supposed to care about this month. Until, that is, it affects your life or people close to you. I think the first time I encountered multiple sclerosis was when I learned that a musician in a band I was on the road with had been diagnosed just before beginning the tour. His symptoms weren’t bad, but there were days when playing was excruciatingly painful for him. And long rides in a van and road food and the stress of touring is not conducive to living with MS. But his bandmates were champs, and he was determined not to let his diagnosis keep him from making music as long as he could. He was a hero in my mind.
A year or so later, I was asked to sing at a Sweet Relief Benefit in L.A. being hosted by Frank Black and Moon Zappa. Sweet Relief had been founded by Victoria Williams in 1993 when her own MS forced her to drop out of a tour with Neil Young. Her friends raised money for her medical expenses through releasing a tribute album of covers of her songs. She, in turn, used some of that money to found the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. It was an inspirational thing that I was part of that night.
And then some years later, MS struck even closer to home, in my family. And soon after, in one of my best childhood friends and then in another of my other close friends.
So I became a joiner, and I did my first MS Walk. I was a bit sheepish and shy at first as I sent emails out to ask for donations to support my walk. But I learned quickly that I didn’t need to be so shy about it. A heartening and sobering number of people wrote to send donations along with their stories of how MS had impacted their families, their friends, and their communities. Favorite teachers, aunts, mothers, friends, husbands, wives and children, all either taken or challenged mightily by this insidious disease. And person after person channeled their stories into action and gave whatever donation they could.
So on the day I showed up to actually, physically join in and stand together with thousands of other people who were walking for their own reasons but the same reasons, I had to choke back tears throughout the day. Not because of the dread of the disease or the suffering it causes, but because of the beauty and hope in seeing a mass of people making a symbolic gesture to help people they would never know. I always thought charity walks were kind of silly. Why not just write a check and send it in? But when I actually went, putting boots on the ground … I learned the infinite value of showing up. In a world where you can do most anything virtually, the value of being there has never been more clear.
So now I know the value of being there and taking literal steps. And now I am a joiner. I’m not going to tell you what you should show up for or that you have to be a joiner. But I will say that talking the talk is easy. And walking the walk means more than you’d think, and you don’t ever have to be shy about giving people a chance to be generous. Including yourself.
[As someone who has many people in his life with MS, I would like to thank Michael for all the fundraising he’s done over the years to combat this truly horrible disease. His next MS Walk is Sunday. You can, and should, sponsor him here. —Eric T. Miller, MAGNET editor-in-chief]
