Girlfriend tribute – Katie Reider

I remember the first time I saw and heard Katie Reider.

She was just a great singer in a memorable band – at the time. I later followed her in her band (you guessed it…) The Katie Reider Band. She and her talented crew were passionate and talented and continued to play to larger and larger crowds as word spread on her music.

Katie eventually outgrew Cincinnati to pursue her career. Her music was leading her to new places and new fans, and I cheered her on with admiration and huge expectations for her.

I was shocked and oh so saddened to hear about her diagnosis and then struggle with a rare facial tumor that struck her when she was just 29. It eventually took her voice and her sight in one eye. Still, from what I heard and read, her spirit lived on and she, along with her partner Karen, continued to love and live with their two small children.

I remember when I heard that Katie lost her battle with that cancer at the too young age of 30. It took her life but her spirit continues to live through her music, her legacy and her family, friends and fans.

This weekend Cincinnati is honoring Katie by naming one of the stages at our annual “Taste of Cincinnati” (where I’d seen her sing) after her. To celebrate this, to continue to spread her love through her music and to support her family, the following event is taking place this weekend:

Social Media Enthusiasts In Cincinnati and Across The Globe Called To Tweet For The Musical Legacy Of Beloved City Icon Katie Reider

Cincinnatians and music fans around the world are preparing to honor the late singer/songwriter Katie Reider, a beloved icon of the city due to her exquisite music, her devotion to inclusive values and her courageous fight against a devastating facial tumor, with 3 Tweets 4 Katie: The World’s Largest Tweet-Up from P&G Gardens at Taste of Cincinnati, May 23-25. Katie passed away on July 14, 2008, after battling a rare tumor that robbed her of her voice and sight in her left eye but not her will to live. Cincinnati also will name May 23, which would have been Katie’s 31st birthday, as “Katie Reider Day in Cincinnati.”

Goals of 3 Tweets 4 Katie: The World’s Largest Tweet-Up are for 500,000 to download a set of her music online for just $1 and for the Twitterverse to adopt new shorthand: 3 = “I love you,” 4 = “I love you, too” in keeping with how Katie expressed love to her family and friends.

So, in the spirit of Katie – 3 (I love you) and I’m sure others thing 4 (I love you, too). Unfortunately Katie taught us that life is too short but that we can keep a spirit of love and a passion for music and people alive. Want to show some love to Katie and her family? Download her music and keep her voice alive.

This also is a very sad lesson in appreciating friends and family in this very short life that we live. Have a great Memorial Day and spend some time with the ones you love.

Thanks Katie. 3 (WE – your fortunate fans – love you)

For your voice, your contagious joy and your loving spirit that continues through your music, your family and your lasting legacy. You’re still memorable and we’re better for having you in our lives.

Here’s a touching article in the New York Times about Katie.

BIG UPDATE!

Cincinnati Donor Puts Out Bird Seed For World’s Largest Tweet-Up In Honor Of Katie Reider During Taste of Cincinnati

CINCINNATI – May 23, 2009 – To attract a lot of birds, first you need some bird seed.

Due to the support of an anonymous Cincinnati donor, there will be bird seed set out – figuratively – around P&G Gardens and Fifth Street at Taste of Cincinnati, May 23-25, to take The World’s Largest Tweet-Up in honor of the late Katie Reider, a beloved city icon, to the highest level possible.

Cincinnati’s vibrant social media community is staging 3 Tweets 4 Katie: The World’s Largest Tweet-Up as a tribute to Reider over the Memorial Day weekend timed with the Katie Reider Stage, presented by Avalon and Metromix.com Cincinnati, during Taste of Cincinnati.

To join in 3 Tweets 4 Katie: The World’s Largest Tweet-Up, the public should visit http://3Tweets4Katie.com.

Due to the contributions of the anonymous Cincinnati ambassador, for every tweet posted on Twitter in memory of the late singer-songwriter over the Memorial Day Weekend, $1 will be contributed to the Katie Reider Fund to support her partner, Karen, and the couple’s two young boys.

The anonymous has agreed to contribute $1 for every tweet up to 9,000, in homage to Reider’s popular song, “Row 9.” According to social media experts, 9,000 tweets over the three-day period would stand to make the legacy of the late singer-songwriter one of the most popular phrases on Twitter during the Memorial Day weekend.

An important goal of the tweet-up campaign is for music fans to download Reider’s music online. Tweets posted at http://3Tweets4Katie.com direct peeps across the globe to download her music from http://500Kin365.org.

The effort also aims to introduce new Twitter shorthand, with peeps around the world encouraged to adopt new Twitterminology and embrace a Reider family tradition: “3″ means “I love you” and “4” means “I love you, too.” With tweets limited to 140 characters on Twitter, organizers believe the Reider family tradition of “3” and “4” will likely gain a global following as new Twitter shorthand.

The big tweet-up is being organized to call national attention to the Katie Reider Stage as the first stage in the history of Taste of Cincinnati named for a performer. The City of Cincinnati is proclaiming May 23, which would have been Reider’s 31st birthday, as “Katie Reider Day in Cincinnati.” Reider passed away on July 14, 2008, at the age of 30 after battling a rare facial tumor that robbed her of her voice and sight in her left eye but not her will to live. A special tribute to Reider, her partner Karen and the Reider family is planned for 4 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Katie Reider Stage.

Reider and her band – the Katie Reider Band – annually performed at Taste from 1998 through 2007, bringing diverse audiences together to celebrate the spirit of Cincinnati. Katie released four albums, won five Cincinnati music awards and her songs were featured on television programming by ABC, Lifetime and on the WB’s Dawson’s Creek before health problems emerged in 2006.

To join in 3 Tweets 4 Katie: The World’s Largest Tweet-Up, the public should visit http://3Tweets4Katie.com.

“I have been truly amazed at the outpouring of support by Katie’s fans around the world and by Cincinnati officials who have embraced these honors for Katie and the way she lived her life,” said Reider’s partner, Karen Reider, who is traveling the nation for a year to promote her partner’s legacy. “This is an opportunity for Katie’s fans and all of Cincinnati to come together – at P&G Gardens and in the virtual world – to celebrate Katie’s inclusive values of being real, transparent and vulnerable. I know this is making Katie’s heart sing – she would be so proud.”

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Tags: Cancer, Katie Reider, Singer-songwriter

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 am and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Comments

Peggy Allis Murriner

Posted May 22, 2009 at 8:36 am | Permalink

I’m looking forward to the artists playing on Katie’s stage this weekend. And I’m so glad you posted this article. As someone who loves her music & knew her & Karen from years back I am amazed at how much people have circled around to celebrate all that was so so good about Katie’s life and her legacy. Her essence continues to change still.
kellye serna

Posted May 24, 2009 at 8:53 am | Permalink

The first time I saw Katie she told me not buy her cd until after the show because if I did not like her music that she would not offer a refund. During her show she then yelled at me cuz i got up during one of her songs. I knew from that point on she was going to be a great friend. And she was.
I miss her every day.
-kellye
Debba Haupert

Posted May 25, 2009 at 10:01 am | Permalink

Kellye and Peggy,

Thanks so much for your comments and support of Katie Reider and her family/legacy. It’s really sad to be a girlfriend to someone who’s no longer here, but you’re still being her friend by keeping her memories alive as well as your love and friendship.

Thanks for sharing! Debba