A 'Life' of song and struggle

Singer Grace Griffith (below) has been known for years on the folk music circuit in the Washington, D.C., area . She also brought Eva Cassidy to the attention of Blix Street Records shortly before Cassidy died of cancer in 1996 at 33. While Cassidy surged to posthumous fame, Griffith's career was short-circuited by her own health crisis. In 1998, Griffth, now 50, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the same illness afflicting actor Michael J. Fox. Tomorrow, seven months after having electrodes implanted in her brain to ease her symptoms, Griffith heads to an American Parkinson Disease Association symposium in Sturbridge. She'll sing from "My Life," her latest CD. We spoke with Griffith by telephone from her home in Accokeek, Md.

IRENE SEGE

Q You recorded "My Life" shortly before your surgery. Why was that important to you?

A It might have been that I didn't come out of the procedure with the same singing ability. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to perform.

Q How's your health now?

A The "off" times are less uncomfortable and less severe. I've been able to cut back on the medications. I have less fatigue. Don't get me wrong. About half the time I'm evidently involved in Parkinson's disease.

Q If we were having this conversation in person instead of over the phone, what would I be seeing?

A I'm sitting here in my chair, looking out the window, and I'm not shaking or bobbing. It's been a long time since I had a period when I was normal. I had begun to forget what it felt like.

Q What do you make of the recent dust-up with Rush Limbaugh and Michael J. Fox?

A It's an example of blatant cruelty on the part of Rush Limbaugh. Insensitivity would be a less harsh word. . . . It was a great inaccuracy, and misunderstanding. Michael J. Fox's movements are more likely a result of his drugs and being able to move at all and not of being off meds. That's the price you pay for being able to move.

Q What's your stand on stem-cell research?

A I believe there are alternatives to fetal tissues. I'm sensitive to the ethical aspects of it, but I think it's too bad there's this fetal tissue available and it's restricted in the US. . . . People are very frightened about cloning, but it has the potential to relieve suffering. It's a shame to not open these doors.

Q What would you like the public to understand about Parkinson's disease?

A I would like them to understand the mask face. Michael J. Fox often has a blank expression with staring eyes. Or people will look angry. That's completely involuntary. When you're encountering somebody with Parkinson's disease they might not look friendly, but underneath that mask is a person wishing they could smile for you.

Q How has your illness affected your music? How has music affected how you cope with your illness?

A Music has been a lifesaver for me emotionally. It gives me something to focus on besides my own suffering. . . . I've pretty much lost the ability to accompany myself with instruments. I played mainly guitar but also the lap dulcimer and the penny whistle.

Q Will you sing in Sturbridge?

A I will sing "My Life," and I'll probably sing "If I Can't Dance." For me, it speaks to being ashamed of the way we move and letting that shame crimp your style. It's a song to me about being free to go out in the world and be yourself and not be ashamed.

British prog rockers Genesis are reuniting with Phil Collins for the first time since 1992. The band hasn't toured since 1998, when Ray Wilson replaced Collins on lead vocals alongside principal members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. Former frontman Peter Gabriel will not be participating in the reunion with the group he left in 1975. "Tony, Mike, and Phil are rehearsing now," Gabriel said in a recent video message on his website. "I'm not involved in this round or this year. I haven't ruled out the possibility of doing something in the future, but right now I'm going to focus on my own work." Also not involved is guitarist Steve Hackett, who played with the band in the Gabriel era, but left in 1977.

Singer Lionel Richie insists his daughter, Nicole, doesn't have an eating disorder, but says she is being treated for "weight issues." Nicole Richie, whose weight had dropped to around 90 lbs., is seeing doctors, but stressed "this is not a treatment for an eating disorder." Producers of her reality series, "The Simple Life," have agreed to delay shooting until she is fit for duty.

Trouble has found Busta Rhymes again. The rapper, whose legal name is Trevor Smith, was caught talking on his cellphone Thursday evening while driving past a Manhattan police station -- a no-no in New York. He was pulled over and issued a summons for the moving violation. Last month, the rapper was charged with assault after allegedly attacking a man who spit on his car. In another case involving the unsolved shooting death of his bodyguard Israel Ramirez in February, Rhymes has refused to be questioned as a potential witness. Police say Rhymes, 34, has made no effort to help identify the killer.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons wants to get children and their parents animated about voting, so he's appearing in a cartoon to make his case. The film explains the basics of voting and encourages children to push their parents to the polls on Tuesday. In one scene, Simmons, 49, shows up at the home of a family that includes a robot and helps wake up the parents to tell them to vote. The five-minute cartoon will be shown in schools throughout the country.

FROM WIRE REPORTS

MILLION-DOLLAR CRYBABY
"It cost a million dollars. Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons. . . . If I don't win, the awards show loses credibility."
Rapper Kanye West, throwing a tantrum after his "Touch the Sky" didn't win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, even though he was named best hip-hop artist