Joe Wilkinson – “Where the Wait Isn’t Long”

A few years ago, we talked with Joe Wilkinson about Basement Dreams as part of our serial retrospective of Neal Casal’s solo albums. Recently, Relix premiered a song Joe wrote about Neal, featuring the keys magician John Ginty, the angelic harmonies of Angie McKenna, and Chuck Wood on bass, Fredo Ortiz on drums, George Kapitanelis on electric upright bass and Ed Rainey on dobro. The multi-talented Deren Ney created the video animating many of Neal’s own photographs.

The song is beautiful and reflective, and shows the weight of the loss Neal’s friends still feel years later, as we know grief isn’t linear. I love the tiny nods to Neal’s lyrics, “best to believe,” and the phrase “your heart’s in the west” moved me deeply. The song hits close to home for both those who miss Neal, and those who find themselves out on the road, feeling worse for wear but unable to change. The musician’s life is not easy, and we need to take steps to make it more bearable.

The Neal Casal Music Foundation (NCMF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit donating musical instruments and lessons to students in New Jersey and New York state schools where Neal was born and raised, as well as making donations to much needed mental health organizations that support musicians in need. The foundation contributes to the Backline foundation, which helps musicians get the mental and physical healthcare they need, and it’s helped me personally.

Please consider making a donation to this amazing organization.