Search - Linq :: Rx and the Side Effects

Like so many others, Linq took piano as a kid and taught herself the guitar as a young adult, but she made a detour to become a pharmacist. Not just one of those white-coated clerks at a chain store, but at her own store. At the young age of 55 she climbed up on stage, sans the lab coat, and sang for an audience that was so enthusiastic that soon after she sold the pharmacy and made music a focus. On this release, her fourth full-length CD, she shares some up close and personal stories about our failed health care system that only an insider could tell. I left the profession in 2004 because I could no longer be a pawn in the games being played within the health care industries, Linq confesses. These songs were derived through personal experiences as both a health care professional and a small business owner. The tales are intense, lyrically rollicking from tongue-in-cheek comedies to tear-jerking tragedies as clever melodies drive the messages home. The album kicks off with Prescription Chaos an upbeat 60 s rock tune complete with doo wop vocals: It s the American Way / We can all feel better, take some drugs today. Side Effects has a more modern feel, with stabs of electric guitar from June Millington. There s a more contemplative feel in Money Today, about a guy who earns money even after he dies. The minor key and beautiful cello work from Jami Sieber helps reveal the sobering tale. The award-winning Tired tells the story of a woman who can t make her meager income stretch far enough to buy the drugs she needs to get well. Linq pulls no punches on What Happened to the Care : Profits over people, money over care / The fox is in the hen house with a nest egg sitting there Julie Wolf (Ani DiFranco) adds some soulful keyboards. The next time you call a company and get an automated system, listen to No Person on the Line a few times and vent with Linq. Gun in Hand is the biting true story of a pharmacist being held up but refusing to give the drugs the gunman demands. The disc wraps up with Small Business Blues, one you know is a true story. It s a jamming blues-rock number punctuated with distorted blues licks, driving drums and some great bass playing by Jean Millington. Tired won an Honorable Mention in the 2006 International Narrative Song Competition (INSC).