Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare Article by Susie Campbell

In my desire to be a supporter of our local music community, I became a member of SSBA, a KNKX sustaining member, and a donor/supporter of SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare).

I learned about SMASH last November when I attended a KNKX Connects event at the Blue Mouse Theater in Tacoma. Stephanie Anne Johnson and Jeff Fielder performed. In addition to being a performing musician, Stephanie is the host of The Grooveyard program on KNKX, a mix of Soul-Jazz and Blues, at 1:00pm on Saturdays. During the performance at the Blue Mouse they and Jeff talked about SMASH and the services they provide to musicians, including themselves. After the concert I looked into SMASH and found that it was a perfect fit for me to combine philanthropy with my love of music. I then became a supporter and donor. What surprises me is how few people in the South Sound have heard of SMASH. I’ve been working on spreading the word.

For this article I spoke with Stephanie Johnson about their experience with SMASH. Asked how they heard about SMASH, they replied that they were asked to perform at the 2021 annual SMASH benefit concert held at the Moore theater. It had an impressive lineup of local to international touring musicians including Dave Matthews, and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) among many others. After that they attended an informational meeting and was impressed at the number of popular Seattle musicians in the crowd who were affiliated with SMASH. This is what “tipped the scales” for them and prompted them to become a member.

Stephanie received help in acquiring professional ear protection. These specialty devices can cost thousands of dollars. From start to finish, Stephanie felt treated “like a person. Some people think that being a working musician isn’t a viable field of work. Being treated like a human being is very important. I feel good working with the SMASH people.”

Like most working musicians, Stephanie wears multiple hats to make ends meet. In addition to performing and hosting The Grooveyard at KNKX, they do Sunday singing at affirming churches in the area, and earn income from sales of music and memberships to their Patreon account. In this way they can “pay the rent and get my teeth cleaned. I’m am pretty blessed to be a professional musician.”

I also reached out to SMASH with a few questions. Thank you to Nikki Barron and Karina Kaiwi for your informative replies.

1. Who started SMASH and why?
   • Ian Moore, a long-time touring and recording artist originally from Austin, TX, considered himself lucky that his music career had allowed him to provide for his family. Like many musicians, money was often tight, causing his access to healthcare to take a backseat to expenses like rent and food. However, while living in Austin, Moore had access to a safety net called the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). This resource allowed him to focus on his life and career without sacrificing his health. When he moved to Vashon Island, he no longer qualified for HAAM and discovered nothing like it in the region. In 2016 he teamed up with Jacqueline Ryall, a long-time friend, music supporter, attorney, and Gates Foundation employee, to figure out how to bring something similar to the Pacific Northwest. They became the founding members of SMASH and recruited a dedicated group of music and nonprofit industry professionals, community leaders, and friends to make it a reality.
2. SMASH was originally intended to serve Seattle musicians, hence Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare. Now that you serve musicians in King, Snohomish, Pierce, Mason, Kitsap, and Thurston counties, why don’t you call it MASH?
   • The name change to “MASH” seems obvious, but when we decided to increase our service area, we opted to keep “SMASH” because it’s more than just geography—it’s about the spirit of Seattle’s music scene. Ask any local musician; our music scene is more than simply a scene; it’s a community. So, the “S” serves as a reminder of that.
3. Free health care?! What’s the catch?
   • Actually, there is one catch—musicians have to keep making great music!  It’s free to be a member of SMASH, and musicians can still qualify even if they have insurance. Our goal is to lower barriers to access to healthcare services as much as possible. A big part of that is alleviating musicians’ stress when it comes to paying for services. Some services have a small co-pay; for example, custom earplugs have a $25 fee for members, which was implemented to help motivate members to pick them up after their appointments. Shout out to our financial supporters, and awesome providers who donate their time. We couldn’t provide these services without them.
4. The South Sound has a vibrant music community including many talented musicians and bands, and a loyal fanbase. How is SMASH working to expand into this area?
   • SMASH recognizes the incredible talent and tight-knit music community in the South Sound, and we’re committed to expanding our reach there. We’re doing this by partnering with providers in the South Sound; shout out to Dr. Kunal, who is providing dental services to our members in Puyallup! We’ve got big plans to continue outreach to providers in the area to increase access to more services in the South Sound. Also, many of our services are not geographically constricted. For example, our mental health program has a telehealth option, and an option for us to pay their preferred mental health provider directly. If we don’t have a provider in an easy-to-access location for members, we can support musicians with transportation costs to get to Seattle. However, it’s uncommon that we can’t find something that works for members close to home.

• Email: SMASH@SMASHSeattle.org
  Phone: 206.495.1285
  Address: PO Box 60204 Seattle, WA 98160

https://www.smashseattle.org/sound-society