Back in 2010, artist/composer Letha Rodman Melchior was diagnosed with breast cancer and melanoma. She’s been fighting like hell to beat them since, but the drug trials needed to get better aren’t covered by her insurance. Her husband, guitarist/composer Dan Melchior, quit his day job so he could do whatever he could to take care of her — certainly a difficult decision for an independent artist. Somehow, Dan still found a bit of time to make music, and on September 11, he’ll release The Backward Path on Northern Spy. He’s dedicated this album to Letha, and all profits from the first pressing will help pay for her medical treatments.
The songs on The Backward Path are quieter and more sentimental than most of Dan’s previous work, and he enlisted the help of a few friends: C. Spencer Yeh on violin; Haley L. Fohr (Circuit Des Yeux) on vocals; Anthony Allman on keyboards; Ela Orleans on vocals, keyboards, and guitar; and Sam Hillmer (a.k.a. Diamond Terrifier) on saxophone. You can order the record right here, and you can also send donations directly to Letha via The Letha Melchior Rodman Cancer Fund. You can make tax-deductible donations to Northern Spy’s sister company, Jump Arts. All funds will help Letha pay her medical bills.
Letha made a video for “Night Comes In,” a single off The Backward Path. It shows a bit of her life with Dan and their parakeet Glen in North Carolina. You can keep up with Letha’s progress on her blog.
The Backward Path tracklist:
01. S.P 1
02. Night Comes In
03. S.P 2
04. All The Clocks
05. S.P 3
06. S.P 4
07. I Have Known The Emptiness
08. S.P 5
09. Dark Age Tail Spin
10. S.P 6
11. Waves
12. S.P 7
13. No End
• Dan Melchior: http://danmelchior.net
• Northern Spy: http://northern-spy.com
