Beyond great music ... Shinedown makes me proud to know that the human spirit is alive and well in our rock n roll community. They do things behind the scenes, without publicity that can make such a difference in some ones life.

My name is Uncle Mike and my nephew is Justin Bybee. Justin, a fan of Shinedown for many years, was recently given a life threatening diagnosis of ALS at the young age of 35. He is loved by many and he gives us great love back. The band heard about this and has gone out of their way to make sure Justin received the royal treatment attending some recent east coast shows. I wish I could express what a lift this has given him as he fights this devastating disease.

Brent and the entire band make it clear that music has a special way of connecting people of all religions, race, and gender ... a universal connection with higher power for our greater good.

This is just my personal thanks to the band, staff, technicians and road crew who have touched our family by making Justin feel welcomed in the Shinedown family. And, I want everyone to know that beyond the music, (which absolutely kills) this band is much more, as they have shown us through the generosity and kindness they have given my nephew. It makes all the difference for a good day vs. a bad day.

Special thanks to Jake the Man who proved that nothing is impossible and always goes above and beyond the call of duty.

I just thought others should know this beautiful side of the band.

First, awesome post.

Second, YAY JAKE! He's awesome, isn't he?

Nice to know they aren't corporate douche's isn't it? Most bands don't really care about their fans beyond generic playing to the crowd. You gotta love a band that keeps their feet grounded despite fame.

An' good luck to your nephew partner. I'll pray for him.

thats amazing, its really good to hear stuff like this. Like honestly one of the reasons ive liked this band for so long, is because of the respect of the members. Theres nice guys, down to earth have no egos, and respect there fans.

Truthfully, when i first seen them the power went out and they couldnt play and they put on an acoustic set. How many bands would do that, most would just take there money and split.

I would also like to thank Uncle Mike for taking the time to let everyone know how the band treated Justin. It wasn't like they simply gave him back stage passes and let him live a dream, which they did, but they also spent hours with him at these shows when you know they were busy. These guys took time to hang out and make Justin feel loved, wanted, and able to have dignity, which he often felt he did not have otherwise. The guys were great to everyone that came to the shows with Justin as well. This was all taken very privately and personally. Justin loved it and his friends and family now have awesome memories to look back on. Justin did lose his battle with ALS, but he left this world on his terms...when he was ready. And on the night of his memorial services some old friends got together in Justins room. We were treated to a video made from our childhood friend, Kevin and we all watched this video of pictures mostly of Justin's fun at the shows to a soundtrack of Shinedown tunes. In every picture around the band, Justin was all smiles...huge smiles. We drank beer and told our stories like we used to. We love you, Justin. Thanks again guys!

First of all oc course it's hard to loose someone, but on the otherside he now can rest in peace. Even I don't personally knew Justin, I know him indirectly. I visited the Shinedown gig in Munich on November 17th during the gig the don't had their long speeches and I wondered a bit. But afterwards they told me that a friend of them passed away. It seemed like all of them were down. The got a call right before their show, so of course it's even harder to get out and make people happy. Later when we drank some beer, we didn't said "Cheers" it was "Justin" it was for him. You see once again that these guys are some of the best, nicest and genuine people there are.