In 2017, Grass Child guitarist Brant Roscoe lost his family home in a sudden, violent blaze as winds picked up and blew the Napa Valley Atlas Fires up the western slope of the Vaca Mountain Range. Able to escape safely with little more than the clothes on their backs and a few prized guitars within arms reach, Brant and his family were fortunate. Brant’s fiancé Polly lived just a few doors away and was faced with similar circumstances; also forced to leave her home, as the damage was too great to continue its habitation.

The following year, the town of Paradise, located in Butte County, California was suddenly engulfed by one of the most devastating wildfires in history. Polly grew up just north of the town in Stirling City, went to school in Paradise, and maintained many close relationships in the area over the years. She and Brant had just been there for a visit a few days prior the outbreak and days after, the fire summarily wiped out most all of the town. Brant and Polly returned in hope of lending support to the community, friends and family they had just seen; whose town and homes were no more.

Moved by their experiences, Polly encouraged Brant to write a song to honor the community and that he enlist his former bandmates in Grass Child to assist. In September 2019, after just 3 weeks of rehearsal, the band reunited for their first show in three years at the Napa Valley’s esteemed Blue Note; to a sold out crowd. During the show, they debuted the song live in an unprecedented semi-acoustic set and received a standing ovation for the performance. Terrie Carson, one of Brant’s family friends, was in the audience that night and shot video of their performance of the song, which was later posted on social media and received more than 11,000 views in its first week online.

Encouraged by support from many fans present at the show and who saw the live video of the song online, the band entered the studio to record it the following week. Within the first two weeks of recording sessions, the energy behind the song and the successful progress of the recordings inspired the band members to the realization that this was something greater than just a new single: it was a powerful message that needed to be shared. Cameras began rolling, and the concept to create a video to accompany the track was born.

The band enlisted Polly and drummer Barry Forsythe’s brother Brad, who lives in Butte County, to reach out to the community and ask for their personal video clips and photographs of their experiences through the fires. Thanks to the support of Holly Luke, Jessica Hahn, Stephen Murray and many other residents of the Paradise area, the footage began flooding in. Now, 6 weeks later, a new song is born and a heartbreaking video produced to accompany it.

It’s our hope that this message travels far and inspires many to remember that the California wildfires are a serious matter, and that resources run thin both during and after. Today, the town of Paradise is still being reconstructed, with many families displaced long-term; while others were forced to leave their homes for good. This is still the case for many here in Napa County and neighboring Sonoma County as well. We are among a fortunate few to have made it through these experiences, and count our blessings as such; yet we have great hope that conditions will improve in years to come, for everyone.

Please show your support for the victims of the Camp Fire in Butte County by downloading a copy of Grass Child’s original song ‘Paradise’ today.
Grass Child is donating 100% of the proceeds from these sales to Caring Choices and their Camp Fire Long Term Recovery efforts.