Another national No Kings Day is set for October 17.
Events have been announced for Wilton, Stamford, Greenwich and Ridgefield — though nothing so far for Westport.
Yet whether there is a downtown protest or not, Scott Heckman is ready.
The grandfather of 4 3/4 kids — the 5th is due in December — moved here 4 years from Maryland.
“I’d rather watch my grandkids grow up then watch my friends grow old,” he says. (How old is Scott? He turns 65 on October 17 — No Kings Day!)
A corporate bond trader for nearly 4 decades, he’s also a longtime amateur guitar player and songwriter. “I only seem to write when I’m really happy, really sad or really mad,” he notes. “It’s pretty easy to figure out which emotion triggered this one.”
Scott Heckman
Some years ago, to surprise his daughter for their dance at at her wedding, Scott wrote and recorded “Walk Her Down the Aisle.”
The videographer posted the moment online. It quickly went viral.
“It was an incredible experience. But as a songwriter I’ve been a little blocked since then,” Scott says.
Then came No Kings.
“Given the political dissension and division in our country, I had simply had enough. I grew up proudly in the United States of America — not the divided one we seem to have become. I wanted to write something about that.”
He stresses, “I’m not anti-Republican. The song isn’t about telling people how to vote.
“I want us to get back to a country where we can disagree without seeing one another as enemies, and where ‘We the People’ still have the deciding voice. Hence, ‘No Kings.'”
Scott recorded the song in a barn/recording studio in Westtown, New York.
He played it for his friends Clinton Curtis and Geoff Countryman, classically trained musicians who worked with him on “Walk Her Down the Aisle.”
“I brought them a song written on an acoustic guitar, with a very faint pulse but, I believed, an important message. I gave them my vision for what I wanted it to become, and their talent and creativity gave it a throbbing heartbeat,” he says.
The video was created by longtime friend Alan Paley, who owns Hairless Dog Productions.
Scott explained how he envisioned the video. Alan brought that vision to life, through shots of Scott performing, news clips and images of America.
WFUV selected “No Kings” for its daily “New York Slice” feature, and debuted it last month.
Will Scott’s political song go as viral as his wedding one?
Who knows? But if it does, you may read about it somewhere.
So long as we have a free press.
(“No Kings” is available on Spotify, and other streaming platforms.)
(“06880” reports often on politics, entertainment, interesting Westporters — and, like today, their intersection. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support us. Thank you!)