Dear Friends,

On March 9, 2008 I lost my love of four years, Scott Beal, after he waged a brutal battle with a congenital condition, Polycystic Kidney Disease, for the better part of two years. Throughout the worst times of this bewildering and painful time he impressed so many with his grace and remarkable humor, never making his troubles his identity. Most were shocked to believe he'd really gone. Sadly he never made it to the transplant.

In his wake he left a stream of artists, writers, poets, musicians and friends whom he believed in and supported. He moved to New York City at long last from a small town in Lincolnton NC in March of 2004 to expand his already pulsing company "Gaff Music" in an attempt to keep interesting and hand-picked musics circulating in the small but insistent world of indie labels. In his short time here, he made a lot of friends and contacts and also fought a difficult battle trying to sustain a label's needs without corporate level monies to sustain him. He gave everything he had in the effort, and those who knew his heart and motives understood this and we will always love him for it, and see him as a knowledgeable and treasurable music lover and promoter.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in his memory please send your contribution to:
PKD Foundation 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 400 Kansas City, MO 64114-3367

I am hoping to have a memorial gathering/concert in his memory at some future time, when I'm feeling more assembled. I'd like to keep his "salon" going as a tribute to those who got him and were able to love the unique and open-hearted way he walked in t his world.

And, I'm not the only one who thinks so, to quote: "Scott Beal had a really pure love for music. More than most music lovers do. He could get into good music so far that nothing else could reach him, and he would do and did do anything in his power to bring good musicians together. He risked everything for that, and he made some beautiful music happen, and he gave all he owned to do it. In the end, that’s what we’ll remember." Madison Smartt Bell (author)

I as well as many others, will always have great cause to feel this world a better place for having known and loved him in it. Here are some links to articles others wrote about him:

http://www.indyweekblogs.com/scan/tip-o-the-hat/a-quiet-sort-of-muse-rip-scott-beal/

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/index.php?title=for_absent_friends_scott_beal&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1