Cancer. Scariest word in the language when it applies to you. For centuries a death sentence by a slow, horribly painful ordeal, it strikes at random across every social strata you can think of in this counted and sorted world of ours. In this past year alone I have lost several relatives and friends to this plague and am currently witness to a few valiant battles against the demon by people I know and love. The sting of raw fear you feel in the core of your soul when you hear of a dear one getting this disease has become all too familiar. Win or lose, you know that the victims’ lives and the lives of those close to them are in for some serious devastation. The non-cancerous symptoms of cancer are fear, helplessness, anger, disbelief, grief and in far too many cases, financial ruin, as if the disease itself and its wake of physical and emotional destruction weren’t terrible enough. Nothing you can do about it either.

Well, actually there is something. You can give of yourself and some of your hard-earned to help the devastated families. The ad above this blog for the past two weeks has been for a rock & roll show this Sunday. As promised, the night will be blast, a good old fashioned battle of the bands in a funky rock & roll nightclub, kicking out the jams and rocking your world up one side and down the other. Let the good times roll. The only difference is that this show is for one of our own, Tiberius Marty’s lady love Judy. Cancer did a number on her and their lives, and may not be through with them just yet.

Thankfully she’s still around to tell the tale, but her ordeal isn’t over by a long shot and Judy’s and Marty’s lives are in tatters. Fighting cancer costs money, real big money and those of us without health insurance simply cannot afford the super-expensive rounds of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and lengthy hospitalization, to say nothing of the loss of income when the victim cannot work and their spouse needs to be at their side constantly. The lives of their families are similarly devastated.

Now rock & roll musicians like ourselves, generally being a broke-ass bunch of characters, we feel kind of helpless and impotent since we can’t cure cancer or whip out a fat check book to cover their expenses. But what we can do is rock the house, and this time we’re doing it for free. I’m even paying my way in to my own show as are most of the musicians on the bill, and like I said, rockers are generally not exactly rolling in dough. Whatever money we raise will go to Judy and others like her who remain in deep financial and physical peril.

We’re only asking our audience to pay what they’d pay for this show if it were not a benefit. Twenty bucks at the door is cheap when you consider they’ll be five or six hot bands shaking the rafters on a summer night. If you can afford it you can contribute more but no one will ask you to do so. The only thing the music fans need to do is enjoy the music, and they’ll be plenty of it. Personally, The Big Spenders and I plan to practice a scorched-earth policy and I expect the other bands to do the same. We’ll bring the music and the passion and all the skills at our command. It’s the least we can do for Judy and others in her boat who have exhibited incredibly inspiring courage and determination in their battle against the beast we call cancer. We rockers will do our very damnedest to keep that slimy beast at bay for at least one smoking, sweaty night.

If you want to have a lot of fun and do some good in the process, join us on Sunday, August 26, 2007. Doors open at 5PM. Suggested donation: $20 admission at the door. The place:
DJ Ryder’s Rhythm & Brews (formerly The Funky Monkey)
3297 Long Beach Road
Oceanside, New York
(516) 766-9822

What Judy and Marty have done is to form a foundation, not specifically for their own benefit but to help other victims of breast cancer as well, women and their shell-shocked families going through the same hell she did. So in spite of facing a possible death sentence and bankruptcy, Judy’s heart opened wide for others. This display of love and selflessness must not go unnoticed. Help Friends of Judy. If you cannot attend Sunday there’s nothing preventing you from sending a donation to help these brave women. Make your check payable to Friends of Judy. You can send it along care of DJ Ryder’s at the above address. This rock club has long been a good friend to musicians and will forward any checks to Judy and Marty’s foundation (The donation is tax-deductible, they’re a legitimate charitable foundation.).

There’s not a single one of you reading this that do not know firsthand the devastation and fear that cancer brings to our lives. No one escapes the beast’s wrath, whether personally or through the experience of a family member or close friend. Like I said, Judy is the latest in a long line of victims I know and that’s only in this past year. I for one cannot turn my back or close my eyes. You don’t know Judy or any of the recipients of her foundation, but you sure as hell knew and loved somebody stricken with cancer. Remember that helpless feeling and the rage? Want to do something about it? Join us Sunday night and we’ll rock our blues away and sing our songs for Judy and all the victims of the beast.