Pine Cone Records
https://pineconerecords.com

For Immediate Release
May 6, 2024

For more information:
Contact: Scott K Fish, 207-458-7185 
scottkfish@gmail.com

Maine Musicians Memorialize Lewiston Shooting in Song

TURNER, ME — “Private Person,” a new song by Maine musicians Jason J. Carey and Scott K Fish, tells the story of the October 2023 Lewiston, ME mass shootings by Robert Card, imagining how history might have changed if just one of several authorities had heeded the warnings and calls to help the troubled Card.

“Card referred to himself as a ‘private person.’ The night Card went on his rampage, we had already been working several months on a video documentary about mental illness, particularly about the difficulty getting sufferers proper help, because of the nature of the illness, and the lack of available resources,” said Carey.

The Lewiston shooting tragedy was an awful demonstration of the worst aspects of mental illness.

A man in denial clearly in need of help
Family and friends pleading with authorities to help the man
Authorities ignoring or dismissing the calls for help
And finally, the man reaching a mental breaking point

After absorbing news stories laced with quotes from victims’ family members, Card’s family, law enforcement officials, military personnel, elected officials, and the general public – Fish and Carey responded to the shooting through song.

“Private Person” imagines what conversations might have gone through the shooter’s head, as well as conversations about what went wrong, and how we could have done better, taking place in Lewiston and Statewide.

Fish said, “Someone with mental illness often doesn’t know they’re ill. That’s part of what makes sufferers tough to help.”

“Add to that a shortage of trained mental health professionals, a lack of mental health facilities. We basically ask our neighbors with mental illness to fend for themselves,” said Carey.

“Private Person” makes clear that doing nothing is neither a strategy nor an option.

How many times should someone have to ask for help before help is given?

Carey and Fish hope “Private Person” will help persuade people to consider the wisdom, the humanity, the decency, of providing a helping hand to individuals grappling with mental illness.

Private Person is available at: https://pineconerecords.com/privateperson