Here are some latest news articles printed about The Rescue Annies:
1/22/08 The Lowell Sun article: When medicine and music collide
http://www.lowellsun.com//ci_8044333
When medicine and music collide
By Hiroko Sato, hsato@lowellsun.com
Article Last Updated: 01/23/2008 09:36:08 AM EST
PEPPERELL -- James Fetterolf and his fellow paramedics were trying to lift a man in a diabetic coma one wintry day several years ago when he felt something burning his hand, which was wedged between the patient's body and the bed.
He quickly peeled off layers of sheets and discovered a hot plate.
The kitchen gadget, hot enough to cook pancakes on, was the man's only defense against the dropping temperature, Fetterolf said. With no money to buy heating oil, the man wrapped himself up with blankets and plugged in the hot plate.
It's a stark reality of life that Fetterolf sees often while responding to medical calls in Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill as a paramedic for Trinity EMS.
As oil prices skyrocketed this winter, Fetterolf started seeing more seniors wrapping their feet with plastic shopping bags.
He decided to do something about it. He organized "Music for Oil," a concert to raise money for fuel assistance.
"If you have an idea, you can make it true," says Fetterolf, a Pepperell resident.
He and his band, The Rescue Annies, are ready to rock 'n' roll at Lawrence Library in Pepperell on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., to help local seniors who need fuel assistance.
The band -- named after Annie, the dummy that is used to train people in CPR -- will play some of the 40 songs that Fetterolf has written about the world of paramedics.
While listening to "Cathlab Runnin'," an up-tempo song about heart attacks, and "Sweet Senility," a rockabilly-style song about the upside of life with Alzheimer's disease, those in attendance will have a chance to enjoy the tunes Fetterolf created to laugh off things that scare him, while at the same time celebrating the lives of the patients he sees.
The 39-year-old Pennsylvania native worked many years as a product manager for a digital video-editing software company in California. He moved to Groton in 1999 to work for a high-tech company in the area, but he felt something was missing in life. He said he became an EMT to "face fear" about catastrophic events involving death, such as drowning, choking and heart attacks.
One month into his part-time EMT job with Patriot Ambulance of Lawrence, he was laid off from his full-time job amid the post-Sept. 11 dot-com crisis. He and his wife moved to Pepperell, and he became a full-time EMT after receiving additional training at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.
The more training he received, the less he became fearful of life-or-death situations.
He also began to see happiness and humor in his patients' lives. He would bring in his favorite guitar to work to sing about it. He never thought his fellow paramedics would like the songs.
Fetterolf teamed up with Mike Loce, his teacher at Music Academy of Chelmsford, and other academy musicians to create his first music CD, Shocks, Meds & Rock-n-roll.
Band members include Gavin Paddock, an instructor at Music Academy; Cam Tanguay, an employee at the school; Jeff Williams, a recording engineer who owns Blue Leopard Audio in Dracut; Williams' acquaintance, Wendy Mittelstadt, and Williams' daughter, Casey Williams. Fetterolf's sons, TJ, 10, and Andrew, 7, provided some vocals on the CD.
The CD's intro is a simulated dispatch call for a drowning incident on the Merrimack River, recorded by Doug Habecker, a dispatcher for Trinity EMS.
The CD has four songs, including "Bone Bank 401K," a humorous take on osteoporosis. The CD also comes with a glossary of medical terms.
Sharon Mercurio, director of the Pepperell Council on Aging, said Fetterolf's initiative couldn't be more timely. She has received about 30 new applications for federal and state fuel assistance, but she believes there are many who don't meet the income threshold and are afraid to ask for help.
Joe Diamond, executive director of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, said the amount of federal assistance per household has remained the same for the past 20 years. Because of that, the assistance covers only between one-third and one-half of the demand.
The Rescue Annies will donate half the proceeds from the sales of their $10 CD at the concert to Pepperell Aid from Community to Home, or PACH, a nonprofit agency formed by churches and residents in Pepperell and the Council on Aging. The organization will distribute the money to those needing fuel assistance. The concert will also include T-shirt sales and raffles.
Fetterolf, who is studying at St. Joseph School of Nursing in Nashua to become a registered nurse, said he believes in giving back to the community. If the fundraiser proves successful, he is interested in doing the same in Chelmsford and Lowell, where some band members work.
Those interested in making donations to Pepperell Aid from Community to Home should contact Mercurio at (978) 433-0326. For more information about The Rescue Annies, visit www.therescueannies.com and www.myspace.com/therescueanniesmusic.
Cathlab Runnin'
Triple-double-decker and a biggie fry.
I'm going to super-size my life until I die.
I got 10 over 10 sub-sternal chest pain,
Cuz' there's a milkshake pumping through my veins.
My cholesterol is bustin' through the roof.
I've lived a full life and that's the proof.
With heparin flushin' and nitro drippin',
Pump me full of morphine until I'm day trippin'.
Well, sirens blare, lights flare,
Cars split and people stare.
Medics tell me jokes to ease the stress,
But nothing feels right in this hospital dress
Cathlab runnin'.
We're open for business 24 hours a day.
Cathlab runnin'.
Just a quick little intervention and you're on your way.
Yeah, here comes the lecture, I've heard it all before.
The good life is over now, off to the health-food store.
Ice cream, bacon and Bar-B-Que's no more.
Another stent and that'll make that four.
Doc says, "You've got to exercise."
Well, you should have seen the look in my eyes.
Workin' out ain't easy for a man of my size.
How can I do sit-ups when I can't see my thighs?
Well I got my cardiologist on speed dial.
He says, "How's it going, buddy," with a wry smile.
Man, I can't eat tofu ... it tastes like bile.
It's steak I want and I want a pile.
This is the big one, doc -- I just know this time.
After all we've been through and I've been just fine.
But if I'm going to go, I want a steak and some wine.
He said, "OK, your grill or mine?"
Copyright © James Fetterolf 2006
1/18/08 The Pepperell Free Press article: Unique Music for Oil concert
http://www.nashobapublishing.com//ci_8009075
Unique 'Music for Oil' benefit set for Jan. 26
By Don Eriksson
Article Launched: 01/18/2008 11:14:17 AM EST
Staff Writer
PEPPERELL -- Lawrence Library will host a unique benefit concert -- "Music for Oil" -- later this month.
The benefit is being put on by Groton Street resident James Fetterolf and his band, The Rescue Annies, on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Fetterolf and The Rescue Annies recently recorded an album featuring original "medical rock" music called "Shocks, Meds and Rock-n-Roll." (Visit www.therescueannies.com or www.myspace.com/therescueanniesmusic).
"Yes, I said 'medical rock,'" Fetterolf said. "My goals were to learn the music recording business and just have fun. There is no better way to learn than to just do it. I wrote about what I experienced in the field as paramedic."
The goal of the benefit is to raise money (by donating half of the album sale proceeds, plus donations) to buy home heating oil for those in need in Pepperell, while having fun promoting the concept album and, he said, "To promote our local community as one that supports its own."
Fetterolf said he's been looking for
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years for a unique way to give back to the town, then was prompted by the distressed people he's encountered as a medic. He's been on calls where people are putting hot plates under their bed covers to stay warm, wrapping dozens of plastic grocery bags around their feet as insulation or using clear plastic tape to seal up broken windows to cut down the drafts.
"Then, when I come home and get hit with my massive oil bill, I start to complain about the ever-increasing cost. But soon I feel guilty because I can scrape up the dollars or work extra shifts to pay for it. At least I'm young enough to work and have my health," he said.
"Many of the people with home heating problems are elderly. Many have major health issues or simply don't have the money after food, medications and mortgage to pay for heat," he said.
The idea for the benefit came while he was driving home from work, listening to a radio segment about the cost of heat.
"You wake up and realize you may have it bad but others have it worse," he said. "Those 'others' live right in your own town. If I can help at least one person with at least one payment of oil, that's tangible music for oil."
Fetterolf has worked as an EMS for eight years, currently as a paramedic for Trinity EMS Inc., serving Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill. He is one "short" semester away from completing his RN ("Trust me, it can't come any faster") at St. Joseph School of Nursing in Nashua, N.H.
He also has 10 years experience in the high-tech industry, focusing on video editing software and hardware, HDTV and Internet video meetings, while living on both coasts.
"Ironically, I've found emergency medical service more relaxing than the high-tech corporate world," Fetterolf said. "I've played guitar since I was a kid and have only gone seriously into writing and recording within the last two years. EMS has given me ample material to write about."
The Rescue Annies began in the back of an ambulance in Haverhill last April. Members include Mike Loce (guitar) and Gavin Paddock (drums) from the Music Academy of Chelmsford; Berklee School of Music recording professor Jeff Williams; and fiddle player Wendy Mittlestadt.
The album begins seriously with a dispatch call, hits hard and sweetens near the end, he said. Most songs have a sense of humor and all have a compassionate twist, delivered with "traditional rock song" rhythms and harmonies, "the kind you'd hum along with in the car and want to play loud," Fetterolf said.
Fetterolf doesn't want to be "preachy or hokey," and has intended each song to be original and slightly educational.
"And, if you're in health care, you'll have a good chuckle. Today, fellow EMTs toss me ideas all the time or say 'watch out, Jim may write a song about that.' I just keep a notepad handy and soak it all in," he said.
Song titles simplify difficult concepts -- for example, the history of the CPR Annie doll ("Annie, Are You OK?"), osteoporosis ("Bone Bank 401k"), senility ("Sweet Senility") and cardiac catheterizations ("Cathlab Runnin'").
"In fact, I pride myself on having the only album I know with a glossary," Fetterolf said.
"On a grander scheme, it seems that if you value your town you should try to give something back to it not just tax money," he said. "Giving my time and art seems a fair trade of value for a few bucks that could help a local citizen stay warm."
