July 16, 2025 • 25 mins
Join host Lynn Hoffman for this classic replay with Pete Griffin, the CEO of the great organization Musicians on Call. Pete shares stories about the healing power of music and the mission of MOC.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Music Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I think that's one of the interesting things about music
is it's so ever president in our lives that we
almost take it for granted. But there's so much research
out there that shows that the reason it's so present
is because it really is helping us heal.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I'm Len Hoffman, and welcome to another episode of the
Music Saved Me podcast, the podcast that explores the healing
powers of music. If you love this podcast, please share
it with your friends. Thank you so much. Also, if
you like us, you're really gonna love Taking a Walk.
The podcast hosted by my good friend Buzz Night. It's
also about music and the history of music, and he
(00:39):
has some great guests on, so you definitely want to
check that out. Today, I get to speak with Pete Griffin,
the president and CEO of Musicians on Call. This tremendous
organization nationally supports patients by exposing them to the healing
powers of music.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
We are proud.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Supporters of Musicians on Call and we welcome you, Pete
Griffin to Music Saved Me. Thank you so much for
being here. It's a pleasure to have you and to
talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Man no Lynn, it's great to be on here and
talking with you, and I love listening to the podcast myself.
There's so many great stories that you all have shared
and the connections that these great artists have the healing
and so it's right at the alley of what we do.
And so I'm grateful for the support of the podcast
and I love listening to it.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Thank you so much. Well, you know a lot of
people who work with your organization have also come on
this show to talk about the great work that you do.
So it's nice to have the man himself come to
the table and share with us exactly all the incredible
things that you do. But first I want to ask
you in the beginning, what was the point in your
life that really connected you so deeply to music that
(01:44):
you would want to create an organization like this.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, it's one of those things I would say that
didn't There wasn't a moment I would that I would
reflect on. It was more I eventually came to a
realization of how many time in my life music was
something that was by my side for something good or
something bad, and that it really was the soundtrack and
(02:12):
you know, not to be you know, too spot on
with it, but like it was a soundtrack to my life.
It was the good moments, the bad moments. It was
always there. And you know, I realized that over time
as I started to reflect on it. But then as
I dug into it more and more, I was seeing
that it wasn't just a feeling. It wasn't just one
(02:33):
of those things that by chance, music was beside me
and others during these times. But there was a lot
of science and research that went into why that was
the case, and that it wasn't just something that was happening,
but it is something that we were looking for, that
I was looking for to help me get through tough times.
(02:54):
And I think that's one of the interesting things about
music is it's so ever present in our lives that
we almost take it for granted. But there's so much
research oucture that shows that the reason it's so present
is because it really is helping us heal. It really is,
you know, helping us bring back memories when we're feeling down,
(03:14):
or making us feel happy, or even you know, in
a scientific way, helping our bodies heal and deal with
stress and pain and everything else. So for me, I
don't know that I could reflect on one specific moment
but it really was something that in hindsight, I realized
it's been by my side literally since day one. My
earliest memories are, you know, being three years old, I think,
(03:39):
and I say three or four years old because actually
we moved homes just after I was that age, and
I can remember those moments, so I know it had
to be that age because we're stolen the home that
I'm thinking of, and we'd be singing, you know, Kenny
Rodgers songs or Dolly Parton or Willie Nelson, and I
just tell them my earliest memories how to do to music.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
It's incredible that you can remember that far back. I
think maybe I can get to maybe six or seven,
but three is impressive.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I think it had to be three or four because
I remember in the living room, and this is actually funny,
my mom would play like a Willie Nelson record and
she would have us hold our nose and sing it.
So we had Kavon nasally sound like Willie Nelson. So
I'm sure she got a kick out of it. But
that's that's why I remember it so specifically. That's increating.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, it's interesting throughout all of the interviews that
we've done here on the show. There is definitely a
very strong through line of most everyone I've talked to you, musicians,
artists like that harkened back to what their parents exposed
them to musically, that stuck with them in some way,
shape or form.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I mean, honestly, like I you know, a lot of
my memories as a kid, you know, were just us
very like humbly sitting on the floor with the record
player and listening to these songs and uh learning the
words and maybe my folks like explaining behind them. You know,
my mom was very much like a folk woodstock, you
(05:12):
know era person growing up, so she had a lot
of connection to those types of songs, and it was
just it was like education, entertainment and fun all wrapped
up in the one.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's right. And then eventually you would end up starting
your career. I think you had mentioned at MTV Networks.
Is that correct? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
It was. It was right after college and I was
you know, I interned it at Sony Music, at the
record label, and then I was able to get a
job at MTV, which in two thousand was like, man,
that was the dream job. I mean, that was the
biggest It was the biggest company in the world, the
biggest media brand in the world, the most recognized brand
in the world. I mean, it was everything back then,
(05:52):
and so to be able to work at that company
was a real dream and I you know, I spent them,
you know, the better part of a decade there afterwards.
And so I really got to be a part of
MTV during it's it's peak era, and as part of that,
really got exposed to some of the best and brightest
people I've ever worked with, and really to be part
(06:16):
of something that was, you know, socially significant and really
brought music to people, you know, in a way that
at that time was just un rival.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And now did that have anything to do with why
you decided or was it part of your journey that
led you to musicians on call?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It was, I mean, there was there's there's a longer
story I guess to how that happened, but I think
you know to so, yes, I'd be more specific about it.
You know, I I loved working at MTV. It was
it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I worked with
some of the best people and it was truly like
an amazing moment for me in every way personally, professionally
(06:56):
and all that, But one of the things I realized
as I as I got older is that a lot
of I really desire to work at MTV to begin
with had to do with the fact that I actually,
you know, was bullied a lot as a kid, and
that I think I realized as I got older afterwards
(07:19):
that it was like a lot of decisions I made
was really trying to seem cool, or to have a
great job, or to you know, show people that I
made it or I was worth it, or those types
of things. And even though it worked out well for
me at MTV because I really did love it, the
motivation I think was very different in hindsight as to
why I wanted to do those things. But as I
(07:42):
got older, I realized that those that feeling of coolness
was fading quickly, and even though I was at a
place that was fantastic and cool and everyone loved, I
really found myself unhappy And it took a while to
figure it out, but I think once I did, I
(08:02):
realized that, you know what, I needed to stop doing
things to you know, prove myself to other people, but
actually needed to focus on the things that really made
me happy. At my core. And what I realized is,
in a little time I had outside of work, what
I was doing was I was volunteering in New York City.
I was volunteering on human rights campaigns. I was volunteering
(08:25):
at the Museum in Natural History. I was, you know,
volunteering at a shelter. I was doing all these things.
And I was like, that was really what was bringing
me joy in life. And so I said to myself, gosh,
you know, why am I not doing that full time?
Like why is that the thing I do on the side.
And I actually went into work and I resigned and
I said, listen, I can't do this anymore. I explained why,
(08:48):
and then three months later, MTV hired me back, but
to this time work on social causes and to manage
the social cause work on MTV. And basically the message was,
you did a great job in marketing and advertising and
helping to get people to buy the products that were
on our network. Maybe you can use those skills to
(09:09):
help our audience actually get involved in these social causes
that are affecting their life. And so that was really
the moment that I kind of transitioned into this philanthropic
mindset full time, and you know, I had a couple
other stops along the way before Musicians on Call, but
then once I came to Musicians on Call in twenty fourteen,
(09:30):
it was just like this like mental homecoming where I
felt like, gosh, all the things that I enjoyed and
loved and cared about were all, you know, in one
place in the work that we do here at Musicians
on Call. So really, I know that was a bit
of a long winded answer. That's kind of the story
of how I ended up here.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
No, it wasn't long, and it's fascinating, and interestingly enough,
I'm a fellow bullied child as well with something to prove,
so I completely understand. I think my thing it's more
not that it's about me, but it was more about
whatever I did, I had to achieve it to the
highest level. But that does become very unfulfilling after a while,
(10:09):
because once you get there, what's next? On that note,
tell our audience about the mission of Musicians on Call
and just all about all the great stuff you do,
because it really is, it's like some of the best
work you can do on the planet.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
I think, Yeah, I mean, and I could tell you, you know,
how it started. There's a the origin story really started
back in the early nineties. We have two co founders,
Michael Salmon and the Big Tuari, and the two of
them had had loved ones that were hospitalized and ended
up passing, and they really were affected by it. And
(10:45):
both of them worked in the music industry and they
wanted to do something that really leveraged their relationships and
music to help people. And so they got some musicians
together and brought them to Memorials Cuttering in New York
City where their loved ones had been treated, and they
put on a concert and the lobby for caregivers and
(11:07):
patients and their family members, and they had the first
artist was actually win in Marsalis, you know, a great
jazz musician, and it was amazing. And they ended up
doing it a couple more times and had these great
lobby performances and everyone would come down and filled the
lobby and it was just this really transformative experience for
everyone listening to this great music in the hospital. During
(11:29):
one of the visits, a nurse came up to them
and said, listen, you know, this is all fantastic, but
there's a lot of patients that are up in their
beds that we can't bring down here. Is there any
way you'd bring a musician to play, you know, in
their room at their bedside, And that was really the
idea that started Musicians on Call. We officially started in
nineteen ninety nine. But our mission is that we bring
(11:51):
music to the bedside of patients, their family members and caregivers.
So you're really not going to see us in the lobby.
What we're doing is we're bringing musicians that are literally
going room to room and playing these one on one
performances for patients. And that could be any type of patient.
I mean, we play for kids, adults, veterans, people in
(12:11):
hospice care, seniors, people that are having surgery, people that
are battling cancer, you name it. We play for every
type of person. We go to the We have partnerships
with hospitals all across the country and we try to
get to them every single week with musicians, and the
hospital tells us, you know where to go and what
rooms to visit, and then our volunteers literally go room
(12:35):
to room and play for people. And it really is
a transformative experience. I think it's easy, as I describe it,
to understand what we do. But when you actually see
it happen, you realize, like, gosh, this is this is
a game changer. This is really changing people's lives and
changing people's day in a way that medicine can't. It's
(12:56):
really healing their souls and healing their minds on top
of the physical benefits of it. So it's it's really
amazing and gosh, I just feel so lucky to be
part of a group of team, a team and a
group of people and volunteers that get to do this
every day.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
It is it's a very special thing. And music, well,
we just had on a I believe he was a
neuroscientist or he studied neuroscience, but there is actual evidence
that that is actually healing. I mean, physiologically, things are
connecting in the brain and it's it's true. It's not
just some well you hear music, you get happy. It
(13:35):
really does affect us, as you have witnessed. Could you
share two with us some of the experiences you've had
that stand out to you as far as what you're describing.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I mean, you know again, you can only imagine
that I've got a thousand a thousand stories to share
and I'll try to, you know, think of some that
are that are more recent. There's just so many, I really,
you know, as I was reflecting on twenty twenty four,
there was just so many great moments we had. But
one of my favorites was we got to go to
(14:10):
a couple of hospitals with Noah Khan, who is absolutely
crushing it, you know, as a musician and is well
loved and I think he gets a lot of respect
and love from the people that listen to his music
because he's very like forthcoming and honest about mental health
(14:30):
and health and all these things, and people just have
such a great bond and connection to him. So we
were in a hospital, I want to say it was
in Denver, and or maybe it was it was actually
was in Denver. I think it was in Denver, but
we were in a hospital with him and he was
going room to room and it was just absolutely unbelievable
(14:51):
the reaction that people had to him. It was actually
one of the biggest, like rock star reactions I've ever
seen in a hospital. I think because his music is
so healing that it connection that I think people had
to his music was very like tangible in a hospital setting.
But we went into this this young girl's room, and
I can I can share a little bit of detail
about her because she consented us to share that otherwise
(15:15):
I couldn't. But she was a teenage girl who's in
the hospital. He goes into a room and you know,
she just bursts out in tears. It's she's he is
her favorite artist in the world, and she's in there
battling something. And you know, he comes in there and
sits next to her and just starts taking song requests
(15:35):
for her, and it's like, can you can you imagine
what it would be like to have your favorite artist
in the world like sitting next to you while you're
going through a really hard time and and them asking me, like,
what do you want me to play next? And so
he did and they sang together and she sang along
with them, and I think he did like two or
three songs for her, and then we walked out of
the room. And for me, like, I see that all
(15:59):
the time, I really do, and it's beautiful and every
time it's beautiful, and I feel so privileged to be
able to be part of that moment. But I see
it often. And so as we're walking out of the
room and getting ready to go to the next room.
I think he walked in the next room and one
of the caregivers came out to me or you grabbed
me in the hallway and said, gosh, you know you're
(16:19):
not gonna you're not going to believe like how special
that was for that girl. And I said to her, well, yeah,
I know, I was. You know, I was like, I know,
we're so happy to be able to do this. Say
not that I gave her like a generic answer, but
I was just very like, yeah, I mean, we're happy
to be able to do this. I'm grateful that we
were here today. And she's like, no, you don't understand.
Like this this girl like not only is that her
(16:41):
favorite artist, but about two hours ago she received a
diagnosis that she probably wasn't going to survive. And you
sit there and you're like, oh, it just it breaks
your heart number one. But then number two, you think
about the fact that, like you were there for what will,
unfortunately and probably be the greatest moment of her life.
(17:01):
And you know, the artists that are so generous to
spend their time and create music that people connect with
are able to provide a happy moment for people that
are literally going through the worst time of their entire life.
And while she was, you know, crying and singing with him,
she was also laughing and smiling and having joy. And
(17:23):
if you think about that, it's like, in even the
darkest moment of her life, that music and that artist
we're able to bring her joy. And it just changes
you when you experience stuff like that, but it also
motivates you to just want to do so much of
it and do more of it. And from a business perspective,
I just think of moments like that, I'm like, God, like,
(17:44):
how do we reach more people? How do we get
to more places? Like? We have to do more of this,
because if we can create more moments like that, then
it's all worth it. And so that's that's a recent
moment that I think really stuck in my mind.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
It's just it sums it all up so beautifully without
summing it up, because it's just one of so many
stories you've actually performed.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I believe it.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I saw it on the website for over a million people.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Yeah, we're approaching one point three million people that we've
played for through these performances, And honestly, like, in one sense,
I'm proud of that for sure. I mean, I think
that probably makes us the largest most impactful music charity
in the entire world. In the other sense, there's over
(18:36):
thirty million people that are hospitalized every year in just
the United States, So we're the biggest in the world probably,
and we're just barely scratching the surface of it. And
so I think in that sense, it's also very motivating
that we've got to figure out how we could do
more of this, and we are, but it's what keeps
(18:59):
us energize and keeps us going. It's like, we're proud
of what we've been able to do, but we also know,
like goodness, we can there's a lot more people that
can benefit from what we do, and let's think differently
about how we do it so that we can reach
more people.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, we need to clone more Pete Griffins. But speaking
of people who want to be involved, we loved our
previous guest, Sam Hollander. Just amazing writer who's pretty He's
written how many hit songs in his lifetime and he's
still so young, it's incredible, and the stories that he's told.
But he also plays an important role with musicians on
(19:36):
call can you tell us a little bit about what
Sam does with the organization?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yeah, I mean, listen, Sam. Sam's a genius. I love
that guy. He is actually one of our board members.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
He could be a comedian too, by the way, naturally, not.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Just a musician, but a comedian writer. He's a funny
guy for sure. I actually met Sam gosh Abby it's
almost twenty years ago, which is crazy, when he was
working on one of my best friend's bands album and
so they were recording with him, and I've stayed in
touch with them through the years. But he's been involved
(20:14):
with us for a number of years and the way
that he helps us is just fantastic. He's put together,
you know, concerts for us. You know, he put together
a concert for caregivers for us where we do like
a free concert for just for caregivers, so that we
could get them together and thank them for all they
do for us, and just the way there for us
to show gratitude to caregivers. And he's like, yeah, I'll
(20:36):
bring some you know, artist friends of mine to perform
at it. Well, that's great. The only thing is when
Sam brings his artist friends, you know, he brought train
and he brought Johnny Resnick from Gooo Dolls, and he
brought I mean, you know, the guys from Oar and
(20:56):
the Bengals, and I mean, you have a whole lineup.
I was like, oh my gosh, this is insane. But
that's like the people that he rolls with because he's
such a low respected songwriter. But the thing that I
really loved that we've done recently Sam is last year
we had these two young girls that are cancer survivors
(21:17):
that we were working with an organization called Hyundai Hope
on Wheels and these two girls are ambassadors for that
organization that really does a lot of work in pediatric
cancer research. Anyway, we got these girls together with Sam
and this amazing songwriter and artist Jax who has a
huge following on social media and is just a really
(21:39):
genius I think songwriter and performer. But they got them
all in a room and they actually wrote an original
song with these two little girls about their experience battling cancer.
And so they used their songwriting skills to help these
girls really, you know, share what the experience was like,
the highs and the lows and the challenges, and honestly,
(22:00):
the resulting song was so good. It's like radio quality,
Like you could play it on iHeart and people would think, like,
it's just a great it's just a great song.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Can they hear it now if they go online?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, oh yeah it's online now do you know?
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Sorry, got your right on the spot now?
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah, I know. Hoope Lights the way. Hope Lights is
the name of it. But yeah, I think it's on
all the streaming platforms and everything now. But it's it's
it's fantastic. But anyway, so you think about a guy
that's written so many number one songs for artists and
that you know, he's able to take the time to
spend I mean, it was a day, it was a
full day with these little girls to help them share
(22:39):
their story, and it just it's just wonderful that there's
people like that that will, you know, share their talents
to help people heal through music.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
It sounds like Sam is expanding the role that musicians
on Call plays, which is exciting because you're looking of
ways to expand it to a larger audience always, which
is obviously key when you're when you're help people and
you want to do good in the world. So that's
pretty exciting stuff. I could talk to you all day.
(23:08):
Is there any other thing that you wanted to impart
on our listeners about what you do about musicians on call.
If there's any way that anyone listening now has a
way of helping you expand your footprint in the world
or to get involved in some way.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, for sure. And actually this is this is one
of the most important parts of it all, which is
we need volunteers. We need volunteers all across the country
to do our program. Now, the very cool thing about
this is that we have two types of volunteers that
go into the hospital every day. We have our volunteer musicians,
(23:47):
which you know, on any given day could be someone
you know, super famous, or it could be an incredibly
talented local professional musician. But then we also have what
we call volunteer and these are non musicians. These are
typically people that are either music lovers or just really
want to give back to their community. And these people
(24:08):
get trained at a specific hospital in their community, and
they're the ones that tape the musician room to room,
so they kind of act as a moderator for the visit.
So a guide might you know, check in with the
nursing station. They might say here's the rooms to go to,
and then they would lead the musician around and they
would knock on the door and say, hey, I'm Pete
from Musicians on Call. Would you'd like to hear a
(24:28):
song today? Engage with the patient, and then if they
say yes, then bring the musician in. So it's a
really cool thing because there's not a lot of music
charities where as a non musician you could actually be
really intimately involved. So if you love music, if you're
listening to this podcast, obviously you're you're right in the
sweet spot of the type of people we would want
involved with us. There's opportunities in communities all across the country.
(24:52):
All you have to do is go to our website
Musicians on Call dot org slash volunteer, and the entire
onboarding and training process us to volunteer with us happens online,
so it's super easy, you know, just go online, and
we'd love to have people as part of this amazing
work that we're doing.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Pete Griffin Musicians on Call, thank you for everything you're
doing and thank you so much for being on Music
saved me and it was wonderful to meet you and
I look forward to working with you in the future.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah, LNDA, it's such a pleasure. Your voice in itself
soothes me when I listen to this program, and so
you've got some healing powers yourself. But it's a pleasure
to be on and I'm grateful for the work that
you and Buzz are doing to you know, really shine
a light on the power of music and healing. So
thank you for that.
Music Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I think that's one of the interesting things about music
is it's so ever president in our lives that we
almost take it for granted. But there's so much research
out there that shows that the reason it's so present
is because it really is helping us heal.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I'm Len Hoffman, and welcome to another episode of the
Music Saved Me podcast, the podcast that explores the healing
powers of music. If you love this podcast, please share
it with your friends. Thank you so much. Also, if
you like us, you're really gonna love Taking a Walk.
The podcast hosted by my good friend Buzz Night. It's
also about music and the history of music, and he
(00:39):
has some great guests on, so you definitely want to
check that out. Today, I get to speak with Pete Griffin,
the president and CEO of Musicians on Call. This tremendous
organization nationally supports patients by exposing them to the healing
powers of music.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
We are proud.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Supporters of Musicians on Call and we welcome you, Pete
Griffin to Music Saved Me. Thank you so much for
being here. It's a pleasure to have you and to
talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Man no Lynn, it's great to be on here and
talking with you, and I love listening to the podcast myself.
There's so many great stories that you all have shared
and the connections that these great artists have the healing
and so it's right at the alley of what we do.
And so I'm grateful for the support of the podcast
and I love listening to it.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Thank you so much. Well, you know a lot of
people who work with your organization have also come on
this show to talk about the great work that you do.
So it's nice to have the man himself come to
the table and share with us exactly all the incredible
things that you do. But first I want to ask
you in the beginning, what was the point in your
life that really connected you so deeply to music that
(01:44):
you would want to create an organization like this.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, it's one of those things I would say that
didn't There wasn't a moment I would that I would
reflect on. It was more I eventually came to a
realization of how many time in my life music was
something that was by my side for something good or
something bad, and that it really was the soundtrack and
(02:12):
you know, not to be you know, too spot on
with it, but like it was a soundtrack to my life.
It was the good moments, the bad moments. It was
always there. And you know, I realized that over time
as I started to reflect on it. But then as
I dug into it more and more, I was seeing
that it wasn't just a feeling. It wasn't just one
(02:33):
of those things that by chance, music was beside me
and others during these times. But there was a lot
of science and research that went into why that was
the case, and that it wasn't just something that was happening,
but it is something that we were looking for, that
I was looking for to help me get through tough times.
(02:54):
And I think that's one of the interesting things about
music is it's so ever present in our lives that
we almost take it for granted. But there's so much
research oucture that shows that the reason it's so present
is because it really is helping us heal. It really is,
you know, helping us bring back memories when we're feeling down,
(03:14):
or making us feel happy, or even you know, in
a scientific way, helping our bodies heal and deal with
stress and pain and everything else. So for me, I
don't know that I could reflect on one specific moment
but it really was something that in hindsight, I realized
it's been by my side literally since day one. My
earliest memories are, you know, being three years old, I think,
(03:39):
and I say three or four years old because actually
we moved homes just after I was that age, and
I can remember those moments, so I know it had
to be that age because we're stolen the home that
I'm thinking of, and we'd be singing, you know, Kenny
Rodgers songs or Dolly Parton or Willie Nelson, and I
just tell them my earliest memories how to do to music.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
It's incredible that you can remember that far back. I
think maybe I can get to maybe six or seven,
but three is impressive.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I think it had to be three or four because
I remember in the living room, and this is actually funny,
my mom would play like a Willie Nelson record and
she would have us hold our nose and sing it.
So we had Kavon nasally sound like Willie Nelson. So
I'm sure she got a kick out of it. But
that's that's why I remember it so specifically. That's increating.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, it's interesting throughout all of the interviews that
we've done here on the show. There is definitely a
very strong through line of most everyone I've talked to you, musicians,
artists like that harkened back to what their parents exposed
them to musically, that stuck with them in some way,
shape or form.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I mean, honestly, like I you know, a lot of
my memories as a kid, you know, were just us
very like humbly sitting on the floor with the record
player and listening to these songs and uh learning the
words and maybe my folks like explaining behind them. You know,
my mom was very much like a folk woodstock, you
(05:12):
know era person growing up, so she had a lot
of connection to those types of songs, and it was
just it was like education, entertainment and fun all wrapped
up in the one.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's right. And then eventually you would end up starting
your career. I think you had mentioned at MTV Networks.
Is that correct? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
It was. It was right after college and I was
you know, I interned it at Sony Music, at the
record label, and then I was able to get a
job at MTV, which in two thousand was like, man,
that was the dream job. I mean, that was the
biggest It was the biggest company in the world, the
biggest media brand in the world, the most recognized brand
in the world. I mean, it was everything back then,
(05:52):
and so to be able to work at that company
was a real dream and I you know, I spent them,
you know, the better part of a decade there afterwards.
And so I really got to be a part of
MTV during it's it's peak era, and as part of that,
really got exposed to some of the best and brightest
people I've ever worked with, and really to be part
(06:16):
of something that was, you know, socially significant and really
brought music to people, you know, in a way that
at that time was just un rival.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And now did that have anything to do with why
you decided or was it part of your journey that
led you to musicians on call?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It was, I mean, there was there's there's a longer
story I guess to how that happened, but I think
you know to so, yes, I'd be more specific about it.
You know, I I loved working at MTV. It was
it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I worked with
some of the best people and it was truly like
an amazing moment for me in every way personally, professionally
(06:56):
and all that, But one of the things I realized
as I as I got older is that a lot
of I really desire to work at MTV to begin
with had to do with the fact that I actually,
you know, was bullied a lot as a kid, and
that I think I realized as I got older afterwards
(07:19):
that it was like a lot of decisions I made
was really trying to seem cool, or to have a
great job, or to you know, show people that I
made it or I was worth it, or those types
of things. And even though it worked out well for
me at MTV because I really did love it, the
motivation I think was very different in hindsight as to
why I wanted to do those things. But as I
(07:42):
got older, I realized that those that feeling of coolness
was fading quickly, and even though I was at a
place that was fantastic and cool and everyone loved, I
really found myself unhappy And it took a while to
figure it out, but I think once I did, I
(08:02):
realized that, you know what, I needed to stop doing
things to you know, prove myself to other people, but
actually needed to focus on the things that really made
me happy. At my core. And what I realized is,
in a little time I had outside of work, what
I was doing was I was volunteering in New York City.
I was volunteering on human rights campaigns. I was volunteering
(08:25):
at the Museum in Natural History. I was, you know,
volunteering at a shelter. I was doing all these things.
And I was like, that was really what was bringing
me joy in life. And so I said to myself, gosh,
you know, why am I not doing that full time?
Like why is that the thing I do on the side.
And I actually went into work and I resigned and
I said, listen, I can't do this anymore. I explained why,
(08:48):
and then three months later, MTV hired me back, but
to this time work on social causes and to manage
the social cause work on MTV. And basically the message was,
you did a great job in marketing and advertising and
helping to get people to buy the products that were
on our network. Maybe you can use those skills to
(09:09):
help our audience actually get involved in these social causes
that are affecting their life. And so that was really
the moment that I kind of transitioned into this philanthropic
mindset full time, and you know, I had a couple
other stops along the way before Musicians on Call, but
then once I came to Musicians on Call in twenty fourteen,
(09:30):
it was just like this like mental homecoming where I
felt like, gosh, all the things that I enjoyed and
loved and cared about were all, you know, in one
place in the work that we do here at Musicians
on Call. So really, I know that was a bit
of a long winded answer. That's kind of the story
of how I ended up here.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
No, it wasn't long, and it's fascinating, and interestingly enough,
I'm a fellow bullied child as well with something to prove,
so I completely understand. I think my thing it's more
not that it's about me, but it was more about
whatever I did, I had to achieve it to the
highest level. But that does become very unfulfilling after a while,
(10:09):
because once you get there, what's next? On that note,
tell our audience about the mission of Musicians on Call
and just all about all the great stuff you do,
because it really is, it's like some of the best
work you can do on the planet.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
I think, Yeah, I mean, and I could tell you, you know,
how it started. There's a the origin story really started
back in the early nineties. We have two co founders,
Michael Salmon and the Big Tuari, and the two of
them had had loved ones that were hospitalized and ended
up passing, and they really were affected by it. And
(10:45):
both of them worked in the music industry and they
wanted to do something that really leveraged their relationships and
music to help people. And so they got some musicians
together and brought them to Memorials Cuttering in New York
City where their loved ones had been treated, and they
put on a concert and the lobby for caregivers and
(11:07):
patients and their family members, and they had the first
artist was actually win in Marsalis, you know, a great
jazz musician, and it was amazing. And they ended up
doing it a couple more times and had these great
lobby performances and everyone would come down and filled the
lobby and it was just this really transformative experience for
everyone listening to this great music in the hospital. During
(11:29):
one of the visits, a nurse came up to them
and said, listen, you know, this is all fantastic, but
there's a lot of patients that are up in their
beds that we can't bring down here. Is there any
way you'd bring a musician to play, you know, in
their room at their bedside, And that was really the
idea that started Musicians on Call. We officially started in
nineteen ninety nine. But our mission is that we bring
(11:51):
music to the bedside of patients, their family members and caregivers.
So you're really not going to see us in the lobby.
What we're doing is we're bringing musicians that are literally
going room to room and playing these one on one
performances for patients. And that could be any type of patient.
I mean, we play for kids, adults, veterans, people in
(12:11):
hospice care, seniors, people that are having surgery, people that
are battling cancer, you name it. We play for every
type of person. We go to the We have partnerships
with hospitals all across the country and we try to
get to them every single week with musicians, and the
hospital tells us, you know where to go and what
rooms to visit, and then our volunteers literally go room
(12:35):
to room and play for people. And it really is
a transformative experience. I think it's easy, as I describe it,
to understand what we do. But when you actually see
it happen, you realize, like, gosh, this is this is
a game changer. This is really changing people's lives and
changing people's day in a way that medicine can't. It's
(12:56):
really healing their souls and healing their minds on top
of the physical benefits of it. So it's it's really
amazing and gosh, I just feel so lucky to be
part of a group of team, a team and a
group of people and volunteers that get to do this
every day.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
It is it's a very special thing. And music, well,
we just had on a I believe he was a
neuroscientist or he studied neuroscience, but there is actual evidence
that that is actually healing. I mean, physiologically, things are
connecting in the brain and it's it's true. It's not
just some well you hear music, you get happy. It
(13:35):
really does affect us, as you have witnessed. Could you
share two with us some of the experiences you've had
that stand out to you as far as what you're describing.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I mean, you know again, you can only imagine
that I've got a thousand a thousand stories to share
and I'll try to, you know, think of some that
are that are more recent. There's just so many, I really,
you know, as I was reflecting on twenty twenty four,
there was just so many great moments we had. But
one of my favorites was we got to go to
(14:10):
a couple of hospitals with Noah Khan, who is absolutely
crushing it, you know, as a musician and is well
loved and I think he gets a lot of respect
and love from the people that listen to his music
because he's very like forthcoming and honest about mental health
(14:30):
and health and all these things, and people just have
such a great bond and connection to him. So we
were in a hospital, I want to say it was
in Denver, and or maybe it was it was actually
was in Denver. I think it was in Denver, but
we were in a hospital with him and he was
going room to room and it was just absolutely unbelievable
(14:51):
the reaction that people had to him. It was actually
one of the biggest, like rock star reactions I've ever
seen in a hospital. I think because his music is
so healing that it connection that I think people had
to his music was very like tangible in a hospital setting.
But we went into this this young girl's room, and
I can I can share a little bit of detail
about her because she consented us to share that otherwise
(15:15):
I couldn't. But she was a teenage girl who's in
the hospital. He goes into a room and you know,
she just bursts out in tears. It's she's he is
her favorite artist in the world, and she's in there
battling something. And you know, he comes in there and
sits next to her and just starts taking song requests
(15:35):
for her, and it's like, can you can you imagine
what it would be like to have your favorite artist
in the world like sitting next to you while you're
going through a really hard time and and them asking me, like,
what do you want me to play next? And so
he did and they sang together and she sang along
with them, and I think he did like two or
three songs for her, and then we walked out of
the room. And for me, like, I see that all
(15:59):
the time, I really do, and it's beautiful and every
time it's beautiful, and I feel so privileged to be
able to be part of that moment. But I see
it often. And so as we're walking out of the
room and getting ready to go to the next room.
I think he walked in the next room and one
of the caregivers came out to me or you grabbed
me in the hallway and said, gosh, you know you're
(16:19):
not gonna you're not going to believe like how special
that was for that girl. And I said to her, well, yeah,
I know, I was. You know, I was like, I know,
we're so happy to be able to do this. Say
not that I gave her like a generic answer, but
I was just very like, yeah, I mean, we're happy
to be able to do this. I'm grateful that we
were here today. And she's like, no, you don't understand.
Like this this girl like not only is that her
(16:41):
favorite artist, but about two hours ago she received a
diagnosis that she probably wasn't going to survive. And you
sit there and you're like, oh, it just it breaks
your heart number one. But then number two, you think
about the fact that, like you were there for what will,
unfortunately and probably be the greatest moment of her life.
(17:01):
And you know, the artists that are so generous to
spend their time and create music that people connect with
are able to provide a happy moment for people that
are literally going through the worst time of their entire life.
And while she was, you know, crying and singing with him,
she was also laughing and smiling and having joy. And
(17:23):
if you think about that, it's like, in even the
darkest moment of her life, that music and that artist
we're able to bring her joy. And it just changes
you when you experience stuff like that, but it also
motivates you to just want to do so much of
it and do more of it. And from a business perspective,
I just think of moments like that, I'm like, God, like,
(17:44):
how do we reach more people? How do we get
to more places? Like? We have to do more of this,
because if we can create more moments like that, then
it's all worth it. And so that's that's a recent
moment that I think really stuck in my mind.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
It's just it sums it all up so beautifully without
summing it up, because it's just one of so many
stories you've actually performed.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I believe it.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I saw it on the website for over a million people.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Yeah, we're approaching one point three million people that we've
played for through these performances, And honestly, like, in one sense,
I'm proud of that for sure. I mean, I think
that probably makes us the largest most impactful music charity
in the entire world. In the other sense, there's over
(18:36):
thirty million people that are hospitalized every year in just
the United States, So we're the biggest in the world probably,
and we're just barely scratching the surface of it. And
so I think in that sense, it's also very motivating
that we've got to figure out how we could do
more of this, and we are, but it's what keeps
(18:59):
us energize and keeps us going. It's like, we're proud
of what we've been able to do, but we also know,
like goodness, we can there's a lot more people that
can benefit from what we do, and let's think differently
about how we do it so that we can reach
more people.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, we need to clone more Pete Griffins. But speaking
of people who want to be involved, we loved our
previous guest, Sam Hollander. Just amazing writer who's pretty He's
written how many hit songs in his lifetime and he's
still so young, it's incredible, and the stories that he's told.
But he also plays an important role with musicians on
(19:36):
call can you tell us a little bit about what
Sam does with the organization?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yeah, I mean, listen, Sam. Sam's a genius. I love
that guy. He is actually one of our board members.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
He could be a comedian too, by the way, naturally, not.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Just a musician, but a comedian writer. He's a funny
guy for sure. I actually met Sam gosh Abby it's
almost twenty years ago, which is crazy, when he was
working on one of my best friend's bands album and
so they were recording with him, and I've stayed in
touch with them through the years. But he's been involved
(20:14):
with us for a number of years and the way
that he helps us is just fantastic. He's put together,
you know, concerts for us. You know, he put together
a concert for caregivers for us where we do like
a free concert for just for caregivers, so that we
could get them together and thank them for all they
do for us, and just the way there for us
to show gratitude to caregivers. And he's like, yeah, I'll
(20:36):
bring some you know, artist friends of mine to perform
at it. Well, that's great. The only thing is when
Sam brings his artist friends, you know, he brought train
and he brought Johnny Resnick from Gooo Dolls, and he
brought I mean, you know, the guys from Oar and
(20:56):
the Bengals, and I mean, you have a whole lineup.
I was like, oh my gosh, this is insane. But
that's like the people that he rolls with because he's
such a low respected songwriter. But the thing that I
really loved that we've done recently Sam is last year
we had these two young girls that are cancer survivors
(21:17):
that we were working with an organization called Hyundai Hope
on Wheels and these two girls are ambassadors for that
organization that really does a lot of work in pediatric
cancer research. Anyway, we got these girls together with Sam
and this amazing songwriter and artist Jax who has a
huge following on social media and is just a really
(21:39):
genius I think songwriter and performer. But they got them
all in a room and they actually wrote an original
song with these two little girls about their experience battling cancer.
And so they used their songwriting skills to help these
girls really, you know, share what the experience was like,
the highs and the lows and the challenges, and honestly,
(22:00):
the resulting song was so good. It's like radio quality,
Like you could play it on iHeart and people would think, like,
it's just a great it's just a great song.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Can they hear it now if they go online?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, oh yeah it's online now do you know?
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Sorry, got your right on the spot now?
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah, I know. Hoope Lights the way. Hope Lights is
the name of it. But yeah, I think it's on
all the streaming platforms and everything now. But it's it's
it's fantastic. But anyway, so you think about a guy
that's written so many number one songs for artists and
that you know, he's able to take the time to
spend I mean, it was a day, it was a
full day with these little girls to help them share
(22:39):
their story, and it just it's just wonderful that there's
people like that that will, you know, share their talents
to help people heal through music.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
It sounds like Sam is expanding the role that musicians
on Call plays, which is exciting because you're looking of
ways to expand it to a larger audience always, which
is obviously key when you're when you're help people and
you want to do good in the world. So that's
pretty exciting stuff. I could talk to you all day.
(23:08):
Is there any other thing that you wanted to impart
on our listeners about what you do about musicians on call.
If there's any way that anyone listening now has a
way of helping you expand your footprint in the world
or to get involved in some way.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, for sure. And actually this is this is one
of the most important parts of it all, which is
we need volunteers. We need volunteers all across the country
to do our program. Now, the very cool thing about
this is that we have two types of volunteers that
go into the hospital every day. We have our volunteer musicians,
(23:47):
which you know, on any given day could be someone
you know, super famous, or it could be an incredibly
talented local professional musician. But then we also have what
we call volunteer and these are non musicians. These are
typically people that are either music lovers or just really
want to give back to their community. And these people
(24:08):
get trained at a specific hospital in their community, and
they're the ones that tape the musician room to room,
so they kind of act as a moderator for the visit.
So a guide might you know, check in with the
nursing station. They might say here's the rooms to go to,
and then they would lead the musician around and they
would knock on the door and say, hey, I'm Pete
from Musicians on Call. Would you'd like to hear a
(24:28):
song today? Engage with the patient, and then if they
say yes, then bring the musician in. So it's a
really cool thing because there's not a lot of music
charities where as a non musician you could actually be
really intimately involved. So if you love music, if you're
listening to this podcast, obviously you're you're right in the
sweet spot of the type of people we would want
involved with us. There's opportunities in communities all across the country.
(24:52):
All you have to do is go to our website
Musicians on Call dot org slash volunteer, and the entire
onboarding and training process us to volunteer with us happens online,
so it's super easy, you know, just go online, and
we'd love to have people as part of this amazing
work that we're doing.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Pete Griffin Musicians on Call, thank you for everything you're
doing and thank you so much for being on Music
saved me and it was wonderful to meet you and
I look forward to working with you in the future.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah, LNDA, it's such a pleasure. Your voice in itself
soothes me when I listen to this program, and so
you've got some healing powers yourself. But it's a pleasure
to be on and I'm grateful for the work that
you and Buzz are doing to you know, really shine
a light on the power of music and healing. So
thank you for that.
Host
Lynn Hoffman
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