Can We Get Together

Can We Get Together
Compilation album by various artists
Released	March 14, 2011 (2011-03-14)
Length	2:15:04
Language	English/Spanish
Label	CoSeismic Records
Producer	Robert W. Current, Ph.D.
Singles from Can We Get Together
"Ken I Go Fishin'" Released: March 1, 2011 (2011-03-01)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
iTunes Store	[1]
Cross Rhythms	[2]
Amazon.com	[3]

Can We Get Together^[4][5] is a charity compilation album was the creative vision of University of Arizona law student Robert Current in a reaction to the 2011 Tucson shooting where Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, but the benefit was to go to the other victims that didn't have insurance, with proceeds to Homicide Survivors, of Tucson, AZ. The album featured local Tucson bands such as Seashell Radio. A collaborative project between 117 Southern Arizona musicians, plus various local Tucson studios, engineers, and producers. The album was released through the iTunes Store, Amazon.com and in a double CD with national distribution on March 14, 2011 through unknown indie label CoSeismic Records.,^[6] later that year the concept was taken by "Luz de Vid".  also featuring Seashell Radio out of town acts like Jimmy Eat World.

The album features a wide range of music from University of Arizona music professors performing classical works, to local Tucson bands performing styles including Rap, Hip-Hop, Punk Rock, Christian, Blues, Big Band Swing, Reggae, Folk, Adult Contemporary, and Mariachi music. Many of the artists had a close personal connection to the 2011 Tucson shooting, and several songs were written specifically about the 2011 Tucson shooting.^[5]

Studios in Southern Arizona that contributed time listed in the liner notes include Audio Confusion Studios, Billy Joseph Productions, Black Scorpion and Far Out Musicians, Chukshon Recording Studio, Daveguitar Sound, Delicious Delicious, Draco Studios, Gary Ray Recordings, Jack Miller Productions, JTG Studio, Live Sound at Crowder Hall at University of Arizona, Live Sound at Pima Community College Recital Hall, Luna Studios, Next Door Studios, OG7 Studios, The Den Studios, The University of Arizona School of Music, Wavelab, and Wet Kitchen Studios.

Reception

The country music single “Ken I Go Fishin'” a shorter version of the album version of the song by the Chip Ritter Band was released two weeks before the album on March 1, 2011 to promote then the upcoming album.

Local media attention for Can We Get Together was very high in Tucson receiving praise for its charitable purpose and large scale accomplishment based entirely locally without outside funding.^{[7][8][9][10]} Local media included comments such as "Punk rock bands and sentimental tribute albums don't normally go hand in hand, but Wax 78 is no typical punk band" and went on to say "In a move that belies the punk genre's reputation for hard-edged nihilism, Wax 78 joined 25 other musical groups to form the album "Can We Get Together?" which will raise money for victims of the shooting".^[7]

However, the album did not receive wide acknowledgment outside of Tucson, and what few international reviews can be found state it was a slightly above average commercial release, for example Cross Rhythms gave it only 7 of 10 stars saying the title track was “rather dull and repetitive effort” and after praising several songs, Cross Rhythms noted “some of the tracks are of little more than demo quality but with handsomely designed packaging and such a worthy cause it is easy to overlook a few damp squibs.”^[2]

With local attention building, the small indie album was quickly and completely eclipsed by Songs for Japan a charity iTunes released 11 days later on March 25, 2011 which highlighted a larger tragedy affecting more people and featuring internationally known artists and promoted by the music industry's "big four" record labels (EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner) featuring 8 more songs (38 vs. 30) and sold for less than half the price. Ironically, the "Can We Get Together" album's first track on disk two unfortunately features a song titled “Tsunami” by SeaShell Radio that was performed live at a vigil the night of the 2011 Tucson shooting^[11] written before long before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Track listing

The album features 30 tracks.^[1][3]

References