Information Beans: Musician Rides Amtrak for Charity

From Chicago to Memphis, one man is raising money for charity with his guitar and a train ticket.

David Kav, a musician from Chicago, said he boarded the Amtrak in Chicago on Tuesday and began his Writing The Rails tour. He will be performing in various cities in Illinois en route to his final destination in Memphis, Tenn., he said.

Kav said he is raising money through his shows and all money would go towards the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital. He said he hopes the tour will be the first of many and he will be able to raise money for other charities.

“Every town we are looking into helping out a charity,” Kav said. “What appealed to us about St. Jude’s was its pediatric care. Anything about children has always tugged on my heartstrings.”

Leah Jones, owner of Natiiv Arts and Media, said Kav is one of her clients. She said when she first met with Kav, she had a one-on-one brainstorming session with him and suggested the tour.

“We were sitting there, and I said, ‘you know I see you and your guitar on a train,” Jones said.

Jones said Kav thought about it and decided to start planning the tour over the summer. She said Amtrak chose not to sponsor the event, but the tour may convince Amtrak to sponsor future tours. New artists would be used for other tours in order to reach out to more charities, she said.

Theresa Carter, a Chicago native who runs thelocaltourist.com, is documenting the event with photos and video for the event’s Web site.

“A trip like this, it needs to be documented,” Carter said.

Carter said Amtrak has been very cooperative with the event. She said she feels pressure to do her job well so the event can be repeated for a different charity.

“If I do a good job at recording this, documenting it and creating excitement then (Amtrak) is more likely to sponsor future tours,” Carter said.

Kav said his journey kicked off at Maui Wowi, a coffee shop in Chicago. He said he performed on Tuesday at the Aroma Café in Champaign and performed yesterday at Mac’s Uptowner Cellar in Charleston. He will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Longbranch Coffeehouse.

Kav said he would end his tour on Saturday in Memphis at the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon, where he will be playing along the route of the race. He said he would hold a private concert on Sunday for patients of St. Judes’s and their parents. Kav said he has had to adapt to different environments during his tour. While the vibe was more upbeat in Chicago, he said it was much more subdued in Champaign because students were studying for finals. Also, he had hoped to perform on the train rides, but he did not feel the mood was right.

“I just go with the flow,” Kav said. “And so far the flow has not called me to play on the train just yet. But that may change.”

Apart from receiving recognition, Kav said he would use the Writing the Rails experience to inspire songs for his next album. In addition, he said he hopes the experience will allow him to make some human connections.

“I’m looking to get something I didn’t expect,” Kav said. “And so far that’s what I’m getting.”