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Hi, my name is Mark Dakota. I wanted to let everyone know why we put up SoldierWall, so here’s the story. It really starts with the song Soldier. I wrote the song one night, after watching a television show about the Soldiers in Iraq and their families back home. I instantly saw a human side to the situation that hadn’t fully hit me before this. I was very grateful and humbled by what these men and woman and their families sacrifice for all of us. I was driving to the store and still thinking about what I had seen. When I pulled into the Wal Mart parking lot (not a plug, just happened to be Wal Mart) I grabbed my guitar from the back seat of my truck, and began to play. I’m not kidding when I say the song pretty much wrote itself at that point. Usually I would write songs from my perspective, this was one of the first songs I truly wrote, trying to walk in the shoes of another.. I knew I couldn’t know exactly what it would be like without experiencing it first hand. However I do know we’re all human and have common hopes, fears, and emotions, so I just did the best I could.
After the song was finished, I instantly had a sense that it wasn’t really mine, it wasn’t for me. Although I wrote it, the inspiration came from the lives of others. I felt this song was meant to serve a purpose. I was hoping the song would do a little to let men and women in the military and their families know there are people out there that deeply respect, and appreciate them. I also had the hope it would connect with people out there that may not normally take the time to stop and really think about everything that’s at stake.
Right away a few friends volunteered to help me record the song. I owe a great thanks to Phill Warner (bass, backing vocals) Miguel Barrera (drums), Brad Barth (owner of audio voyage studios), Steve Johnson (engineer) and Josh Beaman (engineer).
We started in the studio. We were actually working on a whole album, and laboring over every song, however this one just worked itself out really fast, and was done before all the others.
I knew two things, one I wanted this song to be out in the world, and two I never wanted to make a cent from it. Unlike my past musical endeavors, where I was pursuing a commercial career along side my artistic career, I had no desire for that with Soldier. So before our album was even done, I got on Myspace and decided to put Soldier up, let anyone download it for free, and I committed that any and all royalties ever made from Soldier would be donated to the families of Soldiers that didn’t make it home, and after a soldier wrote to me and explained another area where there is great need, I also decided the royalties would be donated to disabled veterans. This commitment has and always will stand.
I put the song up on Myspace and was immediately nervous. I was worried that Soldiers or their families would hear it and tell me I didn’t get it, and the song had not been done properly. The exact opposite happened. I wrote to a few Soldiers and asked them to check it out. Right away they wrote back to me, thanking me and telling me they really felt the song and genuinely loved it! I found this extremely humbling, because I was the one that was grateful to them. Within the first few days I suddenly began getting more and more people visiting the Myspace page, and writing to me, letting me know they really liked the song, and were passing it on to others. I made many friends in this period of time, and am continuing to make new friends daily. I also learned a lot about the reality behind what we see in the news. I found a great deal of perspective in the words of all these men and women and their families. I’m very thankful for this.
One day I opened an email from a woman telling me the song meant a lot to her and her family, and attached was a picture of her brother in law. He had been killed in action. I opened the image. I could see in his eyes a rare intensity and honor. Tears began to fall, and everything that was happening with Soldier, combined with this image, had a powerful effect on me. The reality was right there, and I couldn’t turn away. At this point I knew I had to do something to connect images of these men and women, and the song. I knew this combination would impact others as it did me. I wanted people to feel what I was feeling. Especially people like me that had basically been informed by television, and news papers, yet had no first hand experience. In addition my gratitude only grew, and I also wanted to find a way to honor and give strong thanks to all the men and women serving in our nations armed forces.
I decided to make a slide show, to play along with Soldier on my web page. I put up a bulletin asking if anyone had pictures, and I received so many, that I knew I had a problem. Soldier is only three and a half minutes long, I couldn’t get ever picture in. I made the slide show with the first pictures I received, however I knew I was going to need to find another way. Finally I had the idea for SoldierWall, I could picture it right away, and it would allow anyone to post pictures of anyone that has served in the U.S. military past or present, while the music played. It was a simple idea, except for the fact that I don’t know how to write the code for websites.
I had the idea in mind for awhile, yet hadn’t really figured out how to build it. I knew I didn’t have the money to hire a programmer, so I just kept it in mind. Then one day I was telling my friend John Campbell about the idea, and right away he offered to help me make the site. I worked up a demo of how it would look, and he took it from there. He spent a lot of time working on the site, and was very patient as we tested it and finally completed the page. I owe a great thanks to John for all he has done and his continued help.
We put the page up on a Saturday night at 11pm, I sent out a bulletin on Myspace, and well here we are two days later, and there are over 200 images, and the site has already had over 1,500 unique visitors. Our hope is that SoldierWall will be passed on to everyone that has a computer and that the people that may not always take the time to stop and think about our militaries men and women and their families, will stop, and will remember there are real people and families behind all the news stories. In addition I hope the Men and Women that currently serve, or have served in our armed forces, and their families, will know there are many people that are extremely thankful for their sacrifice, and will never take any of their courage and commitment for granted.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark Dakota
p.s. SoldierWall is a work in progress so if you have any thoughts, ideas, or questions please feel free to write me at MarkDakotaMusic@yahoo.com
We try to get to the point and just play what we feel ........................................ My friend Jon and I created this site SoldierWall.com, it's to say thank you and to remember the men and women that so bravely serve our country. Anyone can post a picture and message, please pass it on!
***** I wrote the song Soldier after watching a television show about the soldiers in Iraq and their families. I was thinking about how hard it is for the soldiers, and was overwhelmed with gratitude. This song basically wrote itself at that point. I hope you download it and pass it on. I don't ever want to make a cent from this song. We live our lives every day, still in a country with freedom and privilege that is second to none. If this song helps people remember that there are men and women at this very moment laying their lives on the line with no questions asked to protect that, then this song will have served it's purpose. If this song is ever heard by a soldier and lets them know that there are people back home that care and think about them every day, then this song will have served it's purpose. I am in the studio finishing my album, however this song couldn't wait, so here it is take it, tell someone, show someone, and listen to it so you don't ever forget. When this song is released on my record all of the royalties from this song will be donated to the families of soldiers that did not make it home, and disabled veterans. If anyone including the record label tries to persuade me otherwise, they will no longer work with me. -6/3/06 Finally got the album done and pressed, somehow one month always seems to turn into five when it comes to recording. I have met a ton of great people here on Myspace. Thank you for all your support, and thank you for helping me pass Soldier on. I hope you enjoy the music, you can download all four songs on my page for free. In addition, the most important thing to me is that people can hear and pass on the song Soldier. It will always be free, you can download it here or email me if that doesn't work and I will send you an MP3. Soldier is on my album and as I wrote above, ALL royalties from that song will always be donated to the families of soldiers, and disabled veterans. To the left I listed a few charities I have found, I would like to find a few more, so if you have one in mind please let me know. Thanks, Mark
