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)

Benefit Rock Shows. What more can be said, really? You get the r.a.w.k, you get the strange dirty-antispetic smell of the r.a.w.k. club, you get the self-satisfaction of having spent a millisecond or two maybe thinking about someone else, and you can have fries with your Dewar’s (cuz specifically I’m talking about The Echo here, sirs).

In Brief: this coming Wednesday, the 16th of April, come have your face melted by Afternoons, The Pity Party (that’s MY band), Karin Tatoyan, and The Franks at The Echo WHILE giving back to the community. Don’t you just love phrases like “giving back to the community”? I mean, what did the community ever give you that you owe it something back, exactly, except a hard time finding parking and disgruntledment at the post office?

But seriously, Reader, Sweet Relief (the cause to be benefitted by said r.a.w.k. show) is an awesome organization that offers financial assistance to musicians who can no longer play music. I mean, I’d rather be dead than not be able to play music, but that’s just me. Was that out of line? I was gonna write something like, “And at the rate with which musicians party, most of them end up needing this service.” (Weak.) And I was even thinking of typing the following: “Sweet Relief is an awesome organization that offers financial assistance to musicians who can no longer play music due to illness, disability, or plain fucking laziness.” See? Very off-color. Almost completely innappropriate. I shouldn’t be allowed to do this, LosAnjealous. These words will one day come back to haunt me. But I’ll have really good lawyers then, so bring it.

I gotta wrap up this uninspired promotional blog posthaste, alright?So below is the bottom line. See you Wednesday, anyway, Lovers.

xxx
Heisenflei

Wednesday, April 16th
Filter Presents: Rock Show to Benefit Sweet Relief
Feat. Afternoons, The Pity Party (that’s MY band), Karin Tatoyan, The Franks
With art gang collective Bagavagabonds silkscreening tees, The Good Neighbor Comedy Troop Mc-ing, and DJ Hatbox spinning all through the night.
$7, Doors at 8
F.Y.I. The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund aims to financially assist career musicians who are facing illness or disability (…or plain fucking laziness).

MORE PITY
» SXSW ‘08: Pity Party, Mezzanine Owls @ Lucky Lounge, March 13
» Residencies Are My Reason To Live
» We Played Some Festivals Recently
» Sunset Junction 2007: The Pity Party