Buddy Georgia


Location: Walla Walla, WA

Challenge: Multiple Sclerosis

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Buddy Georgia was born on the 2nd October 1952 in upstate New York. He started goofing around with music in Junior High, thanks to the Beatles etc. Buddy adds "It didn’t start taking it seriously until I returned from a deployment (Navy) to Vietnam and was transferred to Nevada in the spring of 1972". Buddy played in casino bars, and military clubs for a couple of years. After his discharge in 1974 he moved to California to play in a band with guitar player from Los Angeles.

For about a year and a half they played clubs and lived in Hollywood for a while. The band didn’t work out, as often happens and Buddy moved back to New York. He adds "I played local clubs for about a year but the winter was too much for me so I went back in the Navy. I made two more westpac deployments and was able to play music on the ship during the second one. After discharge I moved to Idaho to join a band with another guitar player from Los Angeles".

Buddy and his band played the area for about a year and then he joined a band from Walla Walla, Washington. Later the two guitar players from the band in Idaho would join the band in Washington. After three years of playing clubs in the area Buddy went back in the Navy for a final time and moved back to California. Buddy recalls "I kept playing music until during a cruise to Mexico my body decided to shut down. When we returned to Long Beach, California the Navy sent me to the hospital. After about 6 months they told me I had a back problem they couldn’t fix and gave me a discharge".

Buddy says "At this point I was able to walk but with a strange foot drag. Since the Navy had given me severance pay and I was still eligible for the GI bill, I auditioned and was accepted at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. It was the best and probably fastest year of my life. I graduated in March 1989 from PIT (drums) and moved back to Walla Walla, Washington. where I played local clubs and gave lessons". During Buddy's time at MI his symptoms would come and go. When he returned back to Washington, they became more extreme.

Not understanding what was happening, Buddy went to the Veterans Medical Center. They sent him to Portland and conducted tests that confirmed Buddy had MS (multiple sclerosis). Buddy adds "Since there was no cure, I went back to college and earned an AA degree. By then I was using crutches full time but still played local clubs. Even though I was hospitalized twice for seizures, I was still playing regularly. About a year later I found myself on the floor for about 8hrs and headed for the hospital again".

From that day on (20 years ago) Buddy has been dependent on a wheelchair for mobility. Buddy says "While my arms and legs don’t function like they used to, I refuse to stop playing. I’m thankful for my time at MI because I’ve been able to compensate for my limitations. Not that I was planning on playing Rush tunes or being the next Buddy Rich anyway, lol. I still find great joy in hitting a rimshot or strumming an Emin with the amp set at 11. I’ve been blessed beyond anything I could ever deserve".