By Philip Walzer
One Old Dominion University alum is helping another this month with a fundraiser that blends beer and music.
Marty Jones '95, the self-proclaimed "Bard of Beer Songs" and a leading promoter of craft breweries in Colorado, is donating all sales of "Brewed Gold," a compilation of 10 of his songs, to Hope House Foundation in Norfolk during March.
Lynne Seagle '77 (M.S.Ed. '82) has been executive director of Hope House since 1982. The nonprofit works to ensure that adults with developmental disabilities can live in their own homes.
The titles on "Brewed Gold" include "Match Made in Milwaukee," "Too Much Talk (Too Little Drinkin')" and "I'll Have Another One." Jones wrote some of the songs when he was in Norfolk. To purchase "Brewed Gold," go to https://martyjones.bandcamp.com/album/brewed-gold
Jones performed at fundraisers for Hope House even before he left Norfolk. "Living in Ghent, everybody's aware of Hope House," he said. "They provided help to neighbors of mine.
"I've always been a big fan of the group and of Lynne," he added. "I was impressed with how big-hearted a person she was. Her group busts their butt to help people who have been pushed aside live independently, instead of being institutionalized."
Seagle, who last year received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Arc, a national organization that advocates for people with disabilities, said: "We are thrilled that Marty is sharing his fun beer repertoire to help Hope House Foundation. It's heartwarming to have his support, and it's a creative way to get the word out about Hope House to his fans."
Jones, who wrote a beer column for the Mace & Crown, moved to Colorado in 1995 as a beer journalist. "I shifted into doing publicity and marketing and creative ideas for breweries, and that's what I've done ever since," he said.
He's coined slogans like Contents Under Pleasure (for New Belgium Brewing) and Great Minds Drink Alike (for Great Divide Brewing). Jones also claims success in a larger marketing campaign: "My goal was to transform the scorned and completely ignored aluminum can and turn it into the package of choice for craft breweries."
Jones even mixed beer and politics with ads for John Hickenlooper, now a Democratic U.S. senator, when he ran for president in 2019. "I understand America's crisis of division," Hickenlooper, who co-owned a brewery, said in one ad. "We can't let hazy IPAs and pastry stout divide our nation any longer."
