Hi – Yep I’m still banned from seeing Chris until my cold departs. Apparently he has just had a nice morning of pancakes with friends & is in fine form. His walking is improving & he has had some nice musical moments with a friend singing ABBA songs with him last week.

Rob Martin

Hi Everyone – Yeah lots of people are excited about Jeff Mangum doing a track – well, me too. ‘On Avery Island’ is one of my all time faves -  the harrowing ‘Three Peaches’  and how it transitions to that great pop moment of ‘Naomi’ … remarkable, breathtaking stuff! I’m also really excited to hear Bill Callahan’s version of ‘Lapse’ – it’s gotta be beautiful, right? Tracks are rolling in daily here and it’s a wonderful thing.

We watched ‘Persepolis’ with Chris yesterday – Liesha did a magnificent job of reading out the sub-titles to Chris throughout the entire film to ensure he followed it. I’m thrilled that Chris is getting back into watching movies as I always loved hanging out & watching movies with him and he’d always have something interesting to play me.

We also sat on the back deck in the sun for a while & drank tea – it was a beautiful moment as the sun shone and John was on one side of Chris & Liesha was on the other, both taking care of him.

Chris is drawing a lot with his left hand & today responded in the affirmative when I asked if he would like some colored pens. I’m hopeful Chris will use painting as a creative outlet through his recovery.

Ron Merton

Hi All – Chris has had a meeting with his therapy team today. He’s getting more words back & can now stand unassisted albeit very briefly. Chris is in a good mood and his current favourite gags are pretending to be either catatonic or bursting into tears – still the attention seeker! He’s also getting quite good at drawing with his left hand.

We chatted with Chris about the MGMT show last night – their manager David said that they were still going to pay Chris the money he would have earned from the Tall Dwarfs support slot. It’s a beautiful thing that so many people have helped Chris – other people have donated to Chris’ future so a huge thanks to all from Barbara, the kids, and me.

And the iPod is back safe and sound with it’s owner!

Roy

Hi All – MGMT’s manager David has contacted me saying that someone stole one of the band’s iPods on Monday night. I can’t believe how uncool this is! MGMT put on a show to help Chris out at a really terrible time in his life – they took no profits, organisied the show in a rush, & are great guys to boot.

We all get pissed and do dumb things occasionally (well at least I do) – the best thing is just to front up the next day and apologise, you usually get forgiven.

If anyone out there can help locate the iPod we’d be really grateful. If it could be returned to the Bacco Room or Toto restaurant there’ll be no questions asked & we won’t press any charges.

Thanks

Roy

Hi All

Thanks to MGMT for last night’s DJ at the Bacco Room set & thanks to everyone who came – we’re sorry about the late start time but it just had to be that way due to the gig upstairs. Hope you had fun.

Thanks also to Kerre for the poker set! It’s had a ton of use & it’s added to the enjoyment of the time we’re spending with Chris.

Rob Mirkin

Press release for Friday 17th July 2009
“Barbara Ward and the Ward-Knox family would like to thank everyone that has assisted them over the 5 weeks since Chris’ stroke – from cards & letters, to gifts, dinners, lawn-mowing, and much more. There are so many individual people that we simply can’t get back to everyone to express our gratitude at this time, but your efforts have made a difficult period in our lives much easier.
“We’d particularly like to thank MGMT & Sony for organizing the upcoming show on Monday night at the Bacco Room. It’s a very kind offer from MGMT who the Tall Dwarfs were about to play two shows with next week.
“We are currently organising an album of cover versions of Chris’ songs which will be called ‘Stroke’. We are thrilled by the line-up, which includes such people as David Kilgour, The Mint Chicks, Lou Barlow, Graeme Downs, Guided By Voices, The Mountain Goats, Jay Clarkson, Martin Phillips, Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Shane Carter, Pumice, Alec Bathgate, Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum, and Bill Callahan.  It’s an exciting project, which will also give Chris’ friends and well-wishers an opportunity to contribute to Chris’ future.
“Chris is re-learning the skills that have been affected by the stroke. The stroke has affected the speech & language centers of Chris’ brain & the right side of his body. It looks like it could be a long recovery process, but Chris is still Chris with the same sense of humour & joy & love & taste & smarts & appreciation of the absurdity of life that he has always had.  Chris’ attitude to life remains positive, and he is currently a big fan of electric toothbrushes, iPods & poker. He also still delivers a good tune.
“We appreciate that people remain interested in Chris’ recovery and ask that the media continue to respect his privacy. ”

Roy Martyn

Hi All – Cool news! MGMT, who the Tall Dwarfs were about to support next week, are doing an all ages  DJ set on Monday night at the Bacco Room at 53 Nelson St with all proceeds going to Chris. Doors open at 8.30pm and tickets are only $20. It’s an amazing thing that MGMT have offered to do this for Chris and I’d like to thank them and their management team on behalf of Chris & his family. We look forward to meeting you guys next week.

Thanks also to all those in NZ who have brought this show together quickly over the last few days – in particular Kim at Sony & Jon at the Bacco Room. It’s fantastic that so many people are giving so generously of their time & resources for Chris. Again – thanks so much folks!