The Dryes Go to WAR for LOVE
The Dryes released their new single and official music video for “WAR” today. Although the song was written last February by The Dryes and cowriter Charles Starling, the filming took 32 years to complete. The single explores a hopeful encouragement to fight for LOVE in the face of hardship.
Derek Drye was 8 months old when suicide claimed his mother’s life. For over 30 years he collected stories and assembled pieces of the puzzle surrounding the woman who brought him into the world. Derek had heard stories and seen pictures. But pictures don’t move. And pictures don’t speak. That all changed in April when Derek and his wife Katelyn, known as the duo The Dryes, visited Derek’s grandmother in Sophia, North Carolina.
A Gift from Beyond
It was Easter, a holiday that celebrates resurrection, but the duo had no idea they’d witness a resurrection of their very own. The family was reluctant to speak of Derek’s mother, Sandra Martin Drye, because the events surrounding her passing were just too painful. However, on this particular evening, Katelyn felt moved to ask her husband’s grandmother if she had access to any video of his mother.
Moments later, the elderly woman emerged with a box of old VHS tapes that offered a portal to the past. The couple decided to take the tapes home and share the moment together. Before long, Sandra is seen holding infant Derek and the screen comes alive. For the first time, the songwriter observes his mother in motion. An experience three decades in the making is finally fulfilled when his mother’s voice falls into his adult ears. The moment is breathtaking.
A Music Video Emerges
The Dryes decided that the discovery had an even higher calling. The music video for “WAR” features a montage of the old footage. Directed, filmed and edited by Ezra Cohen, the work sews together Derek’s grammar school graduation, Katelyn’s first puppy, and an array of the couple’s childhood memories. The Winston Salem natives are successful in highlighting the significance of life’s little anecdotes of hope. Derek’s aunts, who answered the call of compassion, helped raise him and can be seen showering him with affection and love. The fabric of hope is never absent in the goodness of humanity.
A Long Time Coming
The unearthing of the films is not the first time that coincidence seemed to reach out from beyond the grave. Derek informed me that in the early years of his musical development he became obsessed with legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Recently, his father informed him that Sandra would relentlessly listen to SRV while she was pregnant with Derek.
There is more. Derek’s family visited his mother’s gravesite when he was just three years old. Snow covered the cemetery. Locating the site became difficult because Sandra’s headpiece was a flat marker. Imagine the family’s surprise when they discovered young Derek, playing in the snow, had ironically uncovered his mother’s resting place!
Honoring Suicide Awareness Month
September is suicide awareness month and the duo wants to help raise awareness. The Dryes explain that the song is less about the internal struggle but rather stands to offer healing to those in need. Derek adds, “all stories of redemption offer connection, but when you are living through it, it helps to hear others are going through the same thing. We hope people will experience the healing we have through our story.”
A Lesson in War
Life is not easy. We all experience challenges from time to time. Devastation will visit us all sooner or later. These are the trials and tribulations of the human experience. The important thing to recognize is that despite the moments that seem unmanageable; this too shall pass. You just have to stick around long enough to understand the plan of a higher power.
Love will find a way. Life will surprise you. An aunt may step in to lend a helping hand. A child may accidentally discover what an adult can’t seem to find and an unpredictable coincidence may speak directly to your heart. No one can escape the challenges life brings, but remember that hope is around every corner. Sometimes it even lies in footage that has been asleep for thirty years.
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