LUCKY STARS: WALLY’S FIGHT

By Andy Tennille

For being all of fourteen months old, Lydia Ingram runs in some high company.

Stevie Wonder & Lydia Ingram

In the year that she’s been alive, Lydia’s rubbed elbows with Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and John Mayer and counts Sheryl Crow, Eric McFadden and Dave Schools as personal friends. She’s been to Coachella, chilled with George Clinton and had her Almost Famous moment hanging with Kate Hudson at a hotel in London. With all of her star-studded encounters, you might say Lydia’s been pretty lucky, but she might not even be the luckiest person in her family. That distinction goes to her dad, Wally.

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“You’re probably going to hear some pretty strange noises coming through the phone line. A lot of hacking, wheezing and definitely some spitting. It’s not gonna be pretty.”

Wally with wife Laurie and daughter Lydia

Wally Ingram croaks a gravely laugh from his hospital bed at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Hospital. It’s nearly ten o’clock at night and Ingram is into the second hour of his four-hour daily hydration treatment to aid in his recovery from Squamous cell carcinoma, a disease that strikes more than 200,000 people in the United States alone every year. Ingram was diagnosed last June after discovering a lump on the right side of his neck.

“According to my doctors, I was probably walking around for two years and didn’t know I had cancer,” Ingram says solemnly. “And it was caught early only in the sense that it didn’t kill me. I was stage 4A and 4B is considered terminal, so I was pretty damn close.”

Since September, the 44-year-old veteran drummer – whose recording and touring credits include stints with Raitt, Browne, Crow, Tracy Chapman, David Lindley, Stockholm Syndrome, and Eric Burdon & the Animals, among many more – has endured six weeks of intense induction chemotherapy followed by seven weeks of dual radiation/chemotherapy treatments, five days a week. The aggressive nature of the treatment resulted in the loss of Ingram’s hair along with severe burns on his neck, cheeks, ears and inner mouth and throat.

Wally “Llama” Ingram :: 01.31.07 Benefit Concert

“I could sit here and complain about all of this but on the other hand, I’m so grateful for where we’re at,” Ingram explains. “The whole treatment process was extremely hard but the love we’ve been shown from all our friends and family as well as my doctors and nurses has been genuinely amazing. As far as I’m concerned, we’re batting 1.000 right now and we’re incredibly grateful for it.”

The love Ingram’s received in his battle against cancer has come in all forms, including several benefit concerts held over the past six months by his legion of musician friends in hopes of helping to offset some of the financial burden of his escalating medical costs, which ultimately may exceed half a million dollars.

Stockholm Syndrome

This weekend in San Francisco, Stockholm Syndrome, the allstar rock brainchild of singer-songwriter Jerry Joseph and Widespread Panic bass player Dave Schools which included Ingram on drums and Eric McFadden on guitar and Danny Dziuk on keys, will reunite for two shows at The Independent with special guests Les Claypool and Gov’t Mule keysman Danny Louis to benefit their recovering drummer.

“San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world and really my home away from home,” Ingram says. “I’m thrilled that we’ll be there and I’ve been dying to play with Stockholm Syndrome again. I really miss that band. Now that I’m through with some of this shit, I just wanna rock and I can’t think of another band I’d want to do it with more.”

We’re not talking about just any guy here. Most anybody who’s ever met Wally loves him. That’s what happens when you meet Wally. He just has a way of making everyone around him happier. Wally’s got an infectious spirit. -Eric McFadden on the outpouring of support for Wally

Photo by Kayceman :: European Stockholm Syndrome Tour – 2004

According to Schools, it was Ingram’s ability to bring the rock that ultimately cemented his job as the band’s drummer.

Ingram & Schools :: Stockholm Syndrome Germany 2004 By Kayceman

“When Jerry Joseph and I put the Stockholm Syndrome together a few years back, we knew we wanted Wally on drums but we were a little worried about his ability to really, really ROCK,” Schools explains. “Wally had been doing the duet thing with David Lindley for so long, which was a showcase for his percussive talent but a far cry from the arena rock drumming style we had in mind for the Syndrome. So the big question became, ‘Can Wally rock?'”

It didn’t take long for Joseph and Schools to get an answer.

“Literally 16 bars into the first full-band version of ‘Counter Clock World,’ Jerry and I made eye contact and with huge grins caught ourselves both mouthing the same words – ‘Wally CAN rock!,'” Schools says. “Without Wally’s drumming expertise, the band might not have been as powerful as it was… and without Wally’s one-of-a-kind personality, life on the tour bus would have been far less enjoyable.”

Butch Vig, Jackson Browne, Keb’ Mo, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, George Clinton, Wally Ingram Eric McFadden, Paula O’Rourke, Tad Wadhams and more :: 01.31.07 Benefit Concert by Schwank

This weekend’s festivities (2/9 & 2/10) in San Francisco have a steep challenge ahead to top the benefit concert held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California less than two weeks ago featuring performances from Raitt, Browne, Crow, McFadden, Garbage and the Section Quartet, The Martinis with Joey Santiago and David Lovering of The Pixies, Keb’ Mo’, Freedy Johnston and the Know-It-All Boyfriends, Victoria Williams, Tom Freund and Kevin O’Neal and the Radiant Voices.

Wally, Sheryl Crow, George Clinton 01.31.07 Benefit Concert

“It was a mind-blowing dream night,” Ingram recalls. “When I started hearing the names of people who had agreed to be there, I was just overwhelmed. It was absolutely beyond my wildest dreams. I have to thank all the musicians who contributed their time and energy to the show. I need to thank Butch Vig from Garbage, who is a friend of mine from back in Madison, Wisconsin; he really organized the whole night. I also need to thank Tad Wadhams, who played bass with me in Sheryl’s band and brought Joey Santiago and David Lovering from the Pixies, set up the string quartet and handled the backline. Tom Campbell at Guacamole Fund needs special thanks as well. When it got so big that it was out of control, Tom and his folks stepped in and helped out a lot. It wouldn’t have happened without all these great people and all the fans that showed up that night.”

In a night filled with spur-of-the-moment collaborations and special guests, perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came when Australian pop rockers Crowded House emerged to play their first set together in more than 10 years.

“The fact that Crowded House hadn’t played a show in 10 years and played at my benefit, that really meant a lot to me,” Ingram says. “When I was touring with Sheryl Crow in the ’90s, we opened for Crowded House for about three months one year. About a month into the tour, Paul Hester quit after a show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The band came to me and asked if I’d help them out and play their set the next few nights while they looked for another drummer. So I stayed up all night in the back lounge of the bus listening to CDs and writing notes all the way to Nashville getting ready for the gig. I ended up playing like 15 or so shows on the tour before they finally found a new drummer. So when Butch called and said that they were going to be in L.A. and wanted to come down to the show, it just blew me away!”

If I hadn’t have had insurance, I probably wouldn’t be here today. So I can’t stress this enough, especially with musicians because we’re chronic in our inability to take care of ourselves, but everyone needs to have health insurance. Musicians typically don’t have insurance plans because it’s not really a part of the whole rock ‘n roll dream… But the fact is that you have to – you’re gonna need it sooner or later and often times when you least suspect it -Wally Ingram

Photo by Kayceman :: European Stockholm Syndrome Tour – 2004

“That was a night to remember, man,” says Eric McFadden. “It was one of the greatest events I’ve ever been a part of, if not the greatest. It was pretty cool to see all these people get together for this guy, but you gotta remember… we’re not talking about just any guy here. Most anybody who’s ever met Wally loves him. That’s what happens when you meet Wally. He just has a way of making everyone around him happier. Wally’s got an infectious spirit.”

McFadden, Cake (crew) & Ingram :: Stockholm Syndrome Berlin 2004 By Kayceman

Ingram’s spirit was sorely tested throughout his ordeal, but as a professional musician with health insurance, he knows how fortunate he is. Shortly after getting a gig playing with Tracy Chapman in the early ’90s, a friend of Ingram’s who worked in the insurance business convinced him to begin automatically re-directing a portion of his paycheck each month to medical insurance.

“The money was taken directly out of my checking account and sent to the insurance company, so I didn’t have to even think about it,” Ingram remembers. “There was many a time that if I would have had to have written the check myself, it wouldn’t have happened. But if I hadn’t have had insurance, I probably wouldn’t be here today. So I can’t stress this enough, especially with musicians because we’re chronic in our inability to take care of ourselves, but everyone needs to have health insurance. Musicians typically don’t have insurance plans because it’s not really a part of the whole rock ‘n roll dream and it’s certainly not a part of most bands’ thought process even if they’re doing well. But the fact is that you have to – you’re gonna need it sooner or later and often times when you least suspect it. The problem with not having it is that you won’t have the opportunity to catch something early on before it becomes a problem. And that could mean the difference between living and dying.”

Wally in the hospital

Even with insurance, Ingram’s medical bills are mind-numbingly huge – a result of the experimental, aggressive treatments he received.

“The kind of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that they performed on me were relatively new stuff and really aggressive,” Ingram said. “Each one of these treatments was like $10,000 a week just for the medicine, not counting the doctor’s fees, hospital stays and all the other doctors and prescriptions I have.”

While this weekend’s shows at The Independent are aimed at helping to defray some of his hefty medical bills, the shows are also a celebration of sorts for Ingram himself.

“A few weeks back, I met with my surgeon and oncologist and both reported that I appear to be clear of the cancer,” Ingram says with a relieved sigh. “The news hit me like a ton of bricks – I don’t think I was prepared for someone to tell me that I was okay. I’m still not through this completely – my doctors told me that they have lost people at the same stage I’m at now due to infections or other complications. But things are looking real good. My immune system is getting better and I’m feeling stronger every day.”

Laurie & Lydia Ingram

With his health improving on a daily basis, Ingram’s new lease on life hopefully means more music in his future and more stars to meet and shows to see with her Dad for Lydia.

“They did a group photo the other night after sound check at the benefit in L.A. and there were probably 60 or so musicians there. Lydia was up front with me as I was thanking everyone and she just lit up the whole room, man,” Ingram says with a hint of pride in his suddenly energized voice. “Everyone just loved her. She loves music. She’s got an amazing sense of time and she also does a lot of directing – when she hears music, she kind of floats her hands around in the air along with the music. Maybe she’ll be a symphony conductor or orchestra leader or something legitimate. Or she could just be a drum major for the University of Wisconsin marching band like her old man!”

To get updates on Wally’s recovery and find out how you can support his fight against cancer, please visit www.wallyingram.com.

Check out Kayceman’s exclusive, behind the scenes coverage of Stockholm Syndrome’s European tour featuring Wally Ingram on drums.

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