Marc Alderman

May 23, 2010

‘Still Breathing’ -- Marc Alderman: Musical friends come to the aid of injured percussionist
By Robert Downes
Marc Alderman doesn’t remember what happened after a pickup truck crossed
the center line of an icy highway last Dec. 3, sending him into months of
pain, surgery and hospitalization.
“The truck lost control and I t-boned into the side of it,” he says. “I
have no recollection of what happened -- I just know what I’ve pieced
together from police reports and news articles about the accident.”
The night was a devastating tragedy for all of the drivers involved,
especially good samaritan, Debra Lynn Fiorini, 52, of Interlochen, who
stopped on U.S. 31 to help the accident victims, only to be killed when
another vehicle lost control on the ice and slammed into the wrecked
vehicles.
Today, Alderman -- a percussionist and drummer with a number of local
bands -- is elated to be alive and back home with his wife Dede in their
cottage south of Interlochen. “I was lucky,” he says. “I had a lot of
broken bones, but all of my internal organs were okay, and my mind is
intact, along with my spine. It could have been a lot worse. I feel
really glad to be still breathing.”

BENEFIT BASH
But there are still bills to pay above and beyond the $250,000 or so in
medical expenses which were covered by Alderman’s no-fault auto insurance.
Coming to the rescue are some of the region’s top acoustic jam-bands,
who will volunteer their talents on his behalf this Saturday and Sunday,
May 29-30, at The Loading Dock in TC.
Chris ‘Wink’ Winkelmann, guitarist-vocalist of Soul Patch, organized the
benefit for his old friend who helped launch the band five years ago.
“I met Marc about seven years ago and we threw a band together and played
New Year’s Eve at Bower’s Harbor Inn,” Winkelmann recalls. “It was a
phenomenal success and that’s how our band got started.”
He adds that in addition to helping with the launch of Soul Patch as a
drummer, Alderman also performs with the FunDubMentals reggae band and
Rhythmic Adventures. “He’s a freelance percussionist who has a lot of
projects going on.”
Alderman hopes to sit in for a few songs at the benefit, which will
include Soul Patch performing on Saturday with Rootstand and a special
guest; on Sunday, Blue Dirt will perform with Soul Patch and another
special guest. The shows start at 9:30 p.m., with a suggested donation of
$10.

GRATEFUL
These days, Alderman is grateful to his friends, family, and all of the
medical personnel who got him through a crisis that included two broken
ankles, a “completely shattered” knee, a broken pelvis and a banged-up
hand.
“I had a very talented surgeon, Dr. Scot Groseclose of Great Lakes
Orthopaedic Center, who spent a lot of time reconstructing all of these
tiny broken bones in my knee, when perhaps if I’d been older, they would
have just given me a prosthesis,” he says.
In addition to a month in Munson Medical Center, Alderman spent two and a
half months in a nursing home. Only last week was he given permission by
his doctor to try walking again with the aid of crutches or a walker. “I
can go about a dozen feet before I need a rest.”
Alderman is also humbled that his bandmates have come through for him.
“They all came to visit me when I was laid up. I’m so grateful to Wink
for organizing the benefit and for all of the guys in the bands. None of
these guys are super wealthy, trucking around the Midwest to play gigs,
but this is their way of giving back to one of their own when they could
be playing to pay their own bills.”

The benefit for Marc Alderman runs Saturday-Sunday, May 29-30 at The
Loading Dock, with Soul Patch, Rootstand, Blue Dirt and special guests
performing, starting at 9:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $10.