To Do This Weekend: Richie Hass Tribute & International Myeloma Foundation Benefit @ Knitting Factory
HEADS UP
Friends of Richie III – A Bloody Good Time Benefit featuring Legal Weapon / Mike Watt / Nels Cline / Saccharine Trust / Sylvia Juncosa / Jon Wahl @ Knitting Factory Sun Sep 20
FRIENDS OF RICHIE III: A BLOODY GOOD TIME
On the day after Christmas, 2006, veteran alternative musician Richie Hass was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. He had no insurance and no “medical home.” His cancer was “staged” at end-stage. His colleagues organized “Friends of Richie,” a benefit concert intended to raise money to pay Richie’s medical bills. Because Richie was being qualified for MediCal and had been admitted to treatment at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Friends Of Richie I became a fundraiser for the International Myeloma Foundation and the City of Hope.
The treatment Richie received at City of Hope was second to none, and he had a complete remission that lasted from June 2007 to the resurgence of his cancer in early 2008. However, the cancer roared back, and on March 20th, 2008, on a quiet afternoon, Richie lay down for a nap and never woke up. He went out peacefully and without suffering. In April 2008 Friends Of Richie II: A Celebration Of A Life, took place, benefiting the International Myeloma Foundation once again. $1,000 was raised for the IMF, providing comfort to Richie’s family and contributing to the progress of science in finding effective treatments and an eventual cure.
Even though Richie is no longer with us, the fight against multiple myeloma continues. We are pleased to announce Friends of Richie III: A Bloody Good Time, Sunday, September 20th, 2009. It will be an evening not only of music but of comic arts and pop culture. The event will take place at Hollywood’s Knitting Factory. The event will also include an artist’s alley featuring work by local horror comic and manga artists, and video featurettes.
The musical lineup is illustrious, and includes musicians Richie Hass worked with in his long career. Minutemen/Secondmen/Stooges bassist Mike Watt is the headliner, with sets by jazz punk pioneers Saccharine Trust (Hass had been their vibraphonist), former SWA guitarist Sylvia Juncosa, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Amadans leader Jon Wahl, and alt-rockers Carnage Asada, punk veterans Legal Weapon, and rock improvisers Bag:Theory.
Admission will be $12 and can be bought in advance online at http://la.knittingfactory.com. Proceeds will again benefit the International Myeloma Foundation, http://www.myeloma.org.
Nels Cline photo by Sung (Wilco, Outside Lands ‘08)
Well, now having seen the Trust for the 1st time in 20 years, I have to say the current lineup is astounding. Kids who are into stuff like Hella, say, should see them and prepared to be blown away.