SF CHRONICLE ARTICLE

"All the music we
do, we create from
our heart. All his
emotions, he can
put in his music."

Michael Reiss —
Musician and Mill Valley
resident, referring
to his developmentally
disabled partner, Mark
Lerner of San Rafael.

Reprints of this article are available, please call (415) 250-1649
or email: musicmedicinelove@sbcglobal.net

Music Medicine Love:
Partners in song prove the healing value of music

by Vicki Larson
Special to the Chronicle

Something happens in the often-somber halls of Marin General Hospital when Michael Reiss and Mark Joseph Lerner walk in. Patients poke their heads out doors, nurses and doctors slow down and weary faces break into smiles.

It has been that way since December when Reiss, a musician and songwriter, and Lerner, who is developmentally disabled, started playing their upbeat original music weekly in the Greenbrae hospital.

"We call it music medicine," says Lerner, 27, who suffers from tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic condition characterized by lesions of the skin and central nervous system, tumor growth and seizures. "When we play for a patient, they say, 'Oh my, you've healed my heart.'"

Music is healing, says Susie Laurenson-Shipley, program manager for the Institute for Health and Healing at Marin General, which offers alternative forms of care, such as massage therapy and guided imagery, to patients at Marin General and Novato Community Hospital.

"It's a fast-paced environment; it can be very scary. So to have someone come in and play something soothing and loving can be very healing," says Laurenson-Shipley. "They get a very positive reception."

One woman who spent five days in the intensive care unit around the holidayswas moved to write a letter to Laurenson-Shipley, saying that, "in the midst of IVs, monitors and oxygen, it was so soothing to hear that special music. I found the tears rolling down my cheeks, and realized I could let go of some of the fear andgrief about my condition."

That's exactly what Reiss and Lerner hope to inspire. "Mark really wants to make a difference in the world, which is (the title of) one of our songs," says Reiss.

When Reiss, who declined to give his age, answered an ad to be a mentor to a dovelopmentally disabled boy years ago, the Mill Valley resident was looking to make a little extra cash as well as do a good deed.

When he met with Lerner, who was 13, "He told me he was really interested in music, and the first thing he says to me is, 'God sent you to me,'" Reiss recalls. "I said, 'Well, that remains to be seen.'"

But then Lerner pulled out his guitar and played, beautifully. "I said, if he can play music like this, we can work together," says Reiss, who now works with Lerner under the auspices of the Golden Gate Regional Center, which has offices in the Bay Area and provides services and support to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

They have been playing music, writing songs and performing together ever since.

Once his mentor, Michael Reiss has joined Mark Lerner in a partnership
that results in healing harmony.

Their relationship has gone from mentorship to friendship to what they hope will be a business partnership. Reiss and Lerner, who lives in Hacienda House, a halfway house for the developmentally disabled in San Rafael, are making a CD of some of the more than 30 songs they have written. They are recording it in Reiss's home and hope to get someone to donate recording studio time. They are also trying to attract a manager.

Their goal is "to reach as many people as we can with a positive message, to make the world a better place through music," Reiss says.

They also have a dream to perform on "Oprah", where they hope to inspire others, developmentally disabled or not.

"I have been writing songs for a long time. I understand music and how it works together," says Reiss, who plays guitar and mandolin and sings along with Lerner when they perform. "I get the ideas from Mark and work with him on ideas to work it into the best song we can make."

Their songs are friendly and hopeful, and clearly come from the heart. One tune, which was written for a show put on by Alchemia (al-ke-MEE-a), a Petaluma arts and vocational day program that works with the developmentally and physically disabled, speaks to how Lerner approaches his life: "We can be the best wa can be, perfectly imperfect, that's you and me."

"All the music we do, wo create from our heart. All his emotions, he can put in his music," Reiss says.

Reiss, a divorced father of an 8-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son, has been a musician for about 30 years. He has played in bands and written songs in Los Angeles, although none became well known. When his best friend and manager was killed in a bus accident, Reiss gave up music — as well as some hope. That's when he and Lerner discovered each other, and the music started flowing again.

It was good timing for Lerner, too, who was having problems at home.

"I was given a gift by God to help make this world a better place. I knew inside I was going to meet somebody who wanted to do the same thing," says Lerner, who speaks haltingly and often loses his train of thought but doesn't skip a beat while singing.

"Michael has been an inspiration," Lerner says of his partner. "Michael has been almost like a rope for me to grab hold of."

In addition to Marin General, the two have performed at the Italian Street Painting Festival, the Bay Model and the Center for Attitudinal Healing, among others.

Lerner, who has lived in group homes for the past 14 years, is at ease about his disability.

"I'm very happy I have an illness in some ways. I believe because of my disease there's something that tripped in my brain that makes me musical."

He takes 16 medications a day, which affect his moods and thinking. If it weren't for music, Lerner says, he'd be lonely and sad.

"I believe I'd be here differently," he says. "Music has been my best friend. It helps me through my pain."

Reiss adds: "His music is his life. It's like his sanctuary."

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