By ADAM TALIERCIO
Staff Writer
POINT PLEASANT — All this afternoon and evening,
local bands will be doing what they do best to raise money for hurricane
relief.
The Point Pleasant Katrina/Rita Benefit Jam will
be held from noon to 10 p.m. today at Community Park on Bridge Avenue. The event
will feature performances by several local bands and musicians: The Mangos,
Billy Hector, No Left Turn, the Mike Dalton Band, Gary Cook and the Cook
Books, Disgruntled Postal Workers, Stir Crazy and Black Mamba.
The lineup is mostly rock- and blues-oriented,
but it covers a wide spectrum within that field.
"We pretty much have something for
everybody," said Chuck Mohr, supervisor of building services for Point
Borough Public Works and organizer of the event. "Gary Cook is more pop
and Top 40. Black Mamba and Disgruntled Postal Workers are pretty much heavy
original bands. No Left Turn and Stir Crazy are classic rock 'n' roll
with a Southern twinge."
Mohr began organizing the benefit after being
approached by the borough administrator and the mayor of Point Pleasant about
putting an event together at the park. The initial idea behind having this
benefit was to sell tickets to another benefit planned for the future, Mohr
explained.
As a result of years of involvement with the
local music scene, Mohr had several contacts with musicians in the area, which
helped him organize the bill for the benefit.
"About half of these bands are friends of
mine, so I contacted out and got a big response back," he said. "Then
I contacted some bigger-name acts that have been around for a long time, and
they all said "yes.' It just went from there. And these are all local
guys. They either have lived or live in Point Pleasant; they play in a lot of
clubs right around the area. I tried to stay close to home."
The response from the bands Mohr contacted was so
positive, he said, that he had to turn away about four or five other bands.
Also, about half the bands performing are playing other shows the same day and
have worked their schedules around taking a set at the benefit.
"They really did what they could to come and
play," Mohr said. "They really wanted to come, which was great."
Billy Hector, who may be performing solo for the
event, has already performed at other benefits in the area for hurricane
relief.
"These bands are donating their time to
raise money for the heart and soul of American music — basically, where it all
started," Hector said. "New Orleans is really a spiritual center for
all American musicians. To musicians, that's like a mecca. New Orleans is the birthplace
of jazz. It's a very unusual place. Every musician knows musicians that lived
down there or went down there to play."
Mike Dalton said he was unsure what his band's
set will be. With a repertoire of both covers and originals, he said it depends
on the audience and what they seem to be in the mood to hear.
"I usually just feel it out. I'm not sure if
it's going to be an original thing, or just half and half," he said.
"Sometimes you get groups of people that it's better to just hit them with
some covers and just let them have a nice afternoon. I want to play my
originals all the time, but I don't know if these people will be receptive. I
don't want to ruin their afternoon by playing all these songs they don't
know."
But, he added, there is often a higher level of
energy and interaction with the audience at a benefit show, due to the cause
they have turned out for.
"The energy level is up, because they want
to give, even if it's just in applause," he said. "And if they're
interacting more, you're more a part of it. We just play our hearts out, like
we always do."
Dalton has done several benefits in the past, but
this was the first opportunity he was offered to perform to raise money for
hurricane relief.
"I've done almost every benefit I've ever
been asked," he said. "I normally don't turn them down. And this one
in particular, that hurricane was disgusting. ... How could you say no? I was
hoping for a benefit to come along that I could contribute to.
"I've been fortunate in my life," he
added. "I think I'm pretty healthy, or I hope so. And I just, I have a
heart. I'm just thankful for what I have, that I'm doing pretty well, and I
want to give back the little bit that I can give back. I don't have that much
to give, but I want to give what I can."
There is no cost for admission to the benefit,
but a $10 or more donation per person is requested. The rain date is Oct. 29.
The proceeds from the event go into the Point
Pleasant Borough Charities Fund, which was formed in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina. The fund will likely remain in existence for the future, but
everything from this particular event will go strictly to the Red Cross in
order to aid hurricane victims.
The fund also is accepting donations apart from
the benefit. Donation checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 25, Point Pleasant, NJ
08742, to the attention of the borough clerk.
For more information about the benefit or
donating, call (732) 892-3434.
Published on October 15, 2005, in the Ocean
County Observer
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