Musician/activist help keep music a global matter
Singer-songwriter announces
The Second Strings Project.

Merrick, NY, July 28, 1999: Singer/Songwriter, Darryl Purpose, and activist Kevin Deame announced the formation of The Second Strings Project, a campaign to collect and distribute used guitar strings to needy musicians throughout the world. This effort will help keep musical creativity alive in countries that might otherwise die.

Darryl and Kevin first met on the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, a cross-country trek in the late eighties. The walk would continue one year later in the former Soviet Union. "I had taken three guitars for the band to use while there, explains Purpose. After I saw what some of the folks there were playing on, I felt compelled to leave those guitars there in the hands of people that not only could play them better than I could, but had played their entire lives on instruments that we would consider fit for beginners. Their passion for the music transcended the instruments they played on. It was a remarkable thing to see, how these instruments left there made a huge difference in these peoples' lives."

Later, visiting with the campesinos in the hills above El Salvador, Purpose saw how they made a guitar work against all odds - using a pencil as the nut of their acoustic guitar, with carefully carved notches in the pencil for the strings to pass over. "It seems that people will do whatever they have to in order to have music in their lives."

It's in that spirit that Darryl and Kevin are asking for help to make it a little easier for some of these musicians. "I want to do something, and think it best to start with modest ambitions. My idea is for people to save their used guitar strings.

Many touring artists use a set of guitar strings for a few gigs and then change them, and throw them away. These strings are like gold in some places on this planet. Send them to me, and I'll get them into the right hands. Kevin makes many humanitarian trips to the very places I speak of."

Kevin explains, "I've been on about 15 trips mostly to Latin America (Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala), but also Russia, Latvia and Mali. I make a contact there and bring as much in the way of light, sterile medical supplies that I can carry. The strings would travel well being light and small, and as you know there are plenty of six string guitars out there with five stings on 'em."

While touring the US and the UK, Purpose will collect strings at his shows from those wishing to donate. His tour schedule, along with the project's continued progress may be accessed at www.darrylpurpose.com.

Strings may be sent to:
Kevin Deame
28 Ladd Road
Ellington CT 06029

Please only send full sets of guitar strings.
(we are only accepting guitar strings at this time)

Companies or individuals wishing to participate in The Second Strings Project are encouraged to contact Second String Project administrator Jackie Gaston at info@secondstringsproject.org.

Signs and posters for string collection boxes can be obtained from the downloads page of this site.