Recently, I was asked “Who would you call your hero?”  Here is my answer to that question.  

“If you had asked me who my hero was when I was 7 years old, I would have immediately answered, “Tom Seaver of the NY Mets.”  During my college years, maybe it would have been Tennessee Williams or Sebastião Salgado.

Today that is a bit more difficult to answer. It ranges from organic farmers to whistle-blowers, but in the creative realm, one person I have admired for years is the musician Peter Gabriel.

Beyond my appreciation for the catalogue of music he has created throughout his career and how he has branded himself, I have admired his passion for world music.  He was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the WOMAD festivals, as well as founding Real World Records, a label that focuses on bringing together musicians from all over the world.

In addition, his involvement in Human Rights, starting the organization Witness to put cameras in the hands of people to document human rights violations, shows his focus is on solutions, not problems.

In my eyes, he is truly a musician who is not just “mouthing the words.”