Music Man By Angela Gebhardt Painting

The painting, Music is Prayer for the Mad Man by Angela Gebhardt, is the biography of a rock and roller. A tribute to the early days of a band; the painting’s focal point is three bare-chested figures. Young, brave and putting their soul on stage each-and-every night for the whole world to critique. There are scratches across the canvas – because the road (literally) is damaging. The colors appear a bit worn and faded – but still strong enough to soldier on another day. The “Music Man” is rock superstar John Mellencamp, who suffered a career sidelining heart attack in the early 1990s. Gebhardt’s husband, author and fitness consultant rehabilitated Mellencamp to once again be “road-worthy.” The show must go on and it did, with Kris Gebhardt in tow to make sure Mellencamp maintained his fierce training regimen on top of an already rigorous concert schedule. What started as after the show telephone talks became a couple separated by miles and time zones dissecting the lyrics and paintings of the Grammy award winning entertainer. Gebhardt and her husband would go-on for hours about Mellencamp’s songs, art and would-be influence on America’s Heartland. Born of those late-night long-distance conversations is this mixed media masterpiece paying tribute to the man behind the legend and the real story of the mad man chanting the same message night after night longing to make the world a better place.