Noah, media, thank you pj and fans
We wanted to reach out to everyone here in the 10c forum and the band to let people know how deeply we are committed to staying present with the specialness of what happened for our family and everyone who was there in Quebec City with our son Noah even as the sea of media grabbed this story. Seems the news cycle was ready for a dose of good news as apparently him jamming out with the band has spread like a wave all around the world. For most people it probably isn't even a blip on the radar, but in our world it has been quite a surreal week! People keep sending me links to how it is spreading and we have been getting contacted by so many different media outlets we can't keep up. There are so many layers of what this was for us, and we can tell it was a special and meaningful thing for the band and everyone who was there that night, and even in the face of the news freight train, we are holding the sacredness close to our hearts and letting the deeper layers unfold and wash over us again and again. So very grateful.
Noah feels like on a surface level this is such a joyful story full of light and love in a sea of dark news, so we have agreed to talk about it and let him talk about it with a few select news outlets, but we have also turned down more than we can count. Most of what is headed out into the world is just what was picked up from social media in the days after the show before we were even aware of what was happening, and we had zero control. It is really hard to see things in print like "Noah's mom emailed Vedder to ask that they play the song with him" and all sorts of nonsense like that. The AP story was the worst with some of those funky details...and of course that is the one that got picked up by most places. We have to let the false content wash off our backs, but it is hard not to worry that people think we are the ones somehow distorting it. The heart of it all still does come through even in the articles that have a funny angle to them and for that we are thankful. We know people understand how things get distorted and told wrong, but we wanted to reach out to share where we are at with it and how we are handling it as gracefully as we can and with so much gratefulness for last Thursday night.
We were aware that the story had picked up traction just from social media, which makes sense as it was so crazy special for everyone there, but I was totally caught off-guard on Monday morning when the phone rang and it was a newspaper. I didn't recognize the number but figured it was another parent from our carpool. Nope! Noah's Dad and I feel like we are fumbling when we try to talk about it...as it was so meaningful and awesome that there aren't really even words to describe what happened and how it felt. We are doing our best. And Noah is enjoying sharing the story the best he can as well, it is very sweet and fun to watch him share his experience and surely it is instilling joy and hope in people as it goes out into the world. He also knows how difficult it is to find words for such strong emotion and meaning so we are letting him know it is fine to fumble too. He did some sweet interviews with local tv stations who did a decent job helping the story come back around to the heart of things, and for that we are thankful. We are directing people to the Vitalogy Foundation, as part of our story is how much we love and respect PJ for all they do to make a positive difference in the world. We are happy to see Noah's quote front and center in a few of the news reports: "That experience was such a great honor. Pearl Jam's music means so much to me and my family but so does what they do to make the world a better place. I hope more people listen to their music and check out their Vitalogy Foundation (www.pearljam.com/activism/vitalogy-foundation) where they raise money and give it away to good causes." Noah has some fundraising ideas we will support him to follow through with in the coming weeks to pay it all forward and give back. We are keeping it all as heart and soul centered as we can as much as is in our hands in terms of the media and the story. Things have calmed down today, and we are thankful that as a family we seem to have navigated the initial frenzy and supported the story to roll out like a wave bringing joy to people, while still holding the sacredness close at heart.
The funny thing is that we were having an absolutely amazing experience even before Sad unfolded...basking in the love of the friends we made in the GA line, sharing the camping out experience and PJ community with Noah, the amazing set-list they unfolded, and watching Noah rock out so hard dancing and singing and having the time of his life. Ironically they played the song I have always wanted to hear live, but since I had never been big on requests, I had never posted about it. You Are. Rocked my world. So deep and healing. Shawn and I and our best friend who was with us were having the best concert of our lives, and to get to share that with Noah...just so fun and special. Little did we know what the universe had in store.
There is one more thing I want to share here in the forum specifically. It is what Noah told one of the reporters who was drilling him about "how it felt" and "how he was able to handle it so well in front of 20,000 people" etc etc. He said something along the lines of that the band was so loving to him it made it easy to relax and have fun. But then he also said that he had met so many people in the days leading up to the show and they had all been so amazing and welcoming to him, he knew that there was so much love in the room that even if he messed up noone would think any less of him. And he said he could feel the love and joy on the stage go out like a wave over everyone and the bit he could see of people's faces in the bright lights was like love looking back at him so he knew he could relax and rock out and no matter what it would be ok. To hear this spontaneously come out of your kid's mouth...again...there are no words. Thank you to everyone that was there that night for reflecting such love and joy, and to everyone who has sent us messages of support and kindness. PJ is the best band in the world, and they also have the best fans in the world.
See you at Fenway!
With love and gratitude,
Sarah
Noah feels like on a surface level this is such a joyful story full of light and love in a sea of dark news, so we have agreed to talk about it and let him talk about it with a few select news outlets, but we have also turned down more than we can count. Most of what is headed out into the world is just what was picked up from social media in the days after the show before we were even aware of what was happening, and we had zero control. It is really hard to see things in print like "Noah's mom emailed Vedder to ask that they play the song with him" and all sorts of nonsense like that. The AP story was the worst with some of those funky details...and of course that is the one that got picked up by most places. We have to let the false content wash off our backs, but it is hard not to worry that people think we are the ones somehow distorting it. The heart of it all still does come through even in the articles that have a funny angle to them and for that we are thankful. We know people understand how things get distorted and told wrong, but we wanted to reach out to share where we are at with it and how we are handling it as gracefully as we can and with so much gratefulness for last Thursday night.
We were aware that the story had picked up traction just from social media, which makes sense as it was so crazy special for everyone there, but I was totally caught off-guard on Monday morning when the phone rang and it was a newspaper. I didn't recognize the number but figured it was another parent from our carpool. Nope! Noah's Dad and I feel like we are fumbling when we try to talk about it...as it was so meaningful and awesome that there aren't really even words to describe what happened and how it felt. We are doing our best. And Noah is enjoying sharing the story the best he can as well, it is very sweet and fun to watch him share his experience and surely it is instilling joy and hope in people as it goes out into the world. He also knows how difficult it is to find words for such strong emotion and meaning so we are letting him know it is fine to fumble too. He did some sweet interviews with local tv stations who did a decent job helping the story come back around to the heart of things, and for that we are thankful. We are directing people to the Vitalogy Foundation, as part of our story is how much we love and respect PJ for all they do to make a positive difference in the world. We are happy to see Noah's quote front and center in a few of the news reports: "That experience was such a great honor. Pearl Jam's music means so much to me and my family but so does what they do to make the world a better place. I hope more people listen to their music and check out their Vitalogy Foundation (www.pearljam.com/activism/vitalogy-foundation) where they raise money and give it away to good causes." Noah has some fundraising ideas we will support him to follow through with in the coming weeks to pay it all forward and give back. We are keeping it all as heart and soul centered as we can as much as is in our hands in terms of the media and the story. Things have calmed down today, and we are thankful that as a family we seem to have navigated the initial frenzy and supported the story to roll out like a wave bringing joy to people, while still holding the sacredness close at heart.
The funny thing is that we were having an absolutely amazing experience even before Sad unfolded...basking in the love of the friends we made in the GA line, sharing the camping out experience and PJ community with Noah, the amazing set-list they unfolded, and watching Noah rock out so hard dancing and singing and having the time of his life. Ironically they played the song I have always wanted to hear live, but since I had never been big on requests, I had never posted about it. You Are. Rocked my world. So deep and healing. Shawn and I and our best friend who was with us were having the best concert of our lives, and to get to share that with Noah...just so fun and special. Little did we know what the universe had in store.
There is one more thing I want to share here in the forum specifically. It is what Noah told one of the reporters who was drilling him about "how it felt" and "how he was able to handle it so well in front of 20,000 people" etc etc. He said something along the lines of that the band was so loving to him it made it easy to relax and have fun. But then he also said that he had met so many people in the days leading up to the show and they had all been so amazing and welcoming to him, he knew that there was so much love in the room that even if he messed up noone would think any less of him. And he said he could feel the love and joy on the stage go out like a wave over everyone and the bit he could see of people's faces in the bright lights was like love looking back at him so he knew he could relax and rock out and no matter what it would be ok. To hear this spontaneously come out of your kid's mouth...again...there are no words. Thank you to everyone that was there that night for reflecting such love and joy, and to everyone who has sent us messages of support and kindness. PJ is the best band in the world, and they also have the best fans in the world.
See you at Fenway!
With love and gratitude,
Sarah
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This is just beyond awesome! I've been showing the video of Noah on stage to all my friends. "This is the reason I love this band," I tell them. I was not at the show but in all honesty, this might be my absolute favorite moment of any PJ concert ever. So happy for your son and the magical night your family experienced! And his words above - with everything going on in the world today, it is so extremely uplifting and hopeful that such a young mind can express those thoughts! Your son has a very bright future ahead of him!
this is a huge statement and we do not take it lightly...wow. no words to describe what it feels like to hear our kiddo was a part of someone's fav pj moment. and the hope you refer to...it is all just so full of goodness. heart is overflowing...again and again...with all of this. thank you!