Some regional musicians have agreed to come together to provide at least some financial support for the families who lost loved ones in the devastating house fire which occurred May 14 in Hastings, Cambria County.
A summer benefit concert dubbed “Helping Hands for Hastings” will be held this Sunday, starting at 2 p.m., and many regional bands are teaming up to help lessen the financial burden on those who now must deal not only with the loss of those closest to them, but also with funeral arrangements.
Kenny Murdick, lead guitarist for regional rock band Bad Daze, and originator of the idea for the show, told The Daily News of the close ties he has to the horrible situation.
“Some of these people are family members or extended family of two of my co-workers,” he said. “I was contacted about the fire early Saturday (May 14) as I was preparing to head up to Hastings for our Saturday night show at Davey’s Lounge (Hastings).
“This house was right across the street from the club and it was hard to believe, hard to comprehend. When I got together with the rest of the guys (in the band) that night, we decided the right thing to do would be to try and raise some money for those families right then and there.”
By “passing the hat,” a little over $120 was collected from patrons and employees at the tavern. Very quickly, talk of a bigger and planned-out event began.
“While what we collected may not have been a huge amount of money, every little bit helps,” Murdick said. “But we got to talking with Davey (Gunther, owner of both Davey’s Lounge and the home that was destroyed) and it became clear that we needed to do more.”
Gunther, too, expressed his desire to lend a hand.
“This is just an unimaginable situation,” he said. “No amount of money will make the pain go away, but if we can do something, anything for these people, we need to.”
Since the tragic weekend, plans for the show, slated to take place in the large parking lot at Davey’s Lounge, took off, and promotional support has come from several media outlets in the region, including The Daily News, Huntingdon; The Daily Herald, Tyrone; WBXQ-FM Radio, Altoona, Cresson; Forever Broadcasting, Hollidaysburg; and Pennsylvania Musician Magazine. Area radio personality and “local music guru” Jim Price has agreed to emcee the event, which will feature nine regional bands, spanning a variety of music genres, including modern rock, blues, classic rock, metal, 80s “new wave” and dance/pop.
Participating acts include: Falling Higher (acoustic music), Billy and the Inmates (classic rock), Flight 19 (rock, dance), Felix and the Hurricanes (blues), Razen Kane (rock), Atomic Blonde (80s retro), Bad Daze (modern rock, 80s rock), Gin and Juice (jam band) and Roadkill (original rock).
The show is being staged outside to accommodate an “all-ages” crowd for most of the day. A $10 donation per person is being requested, but additional contributions will be welcomed and appreciated.
Gunther has coordinated concessions so folks can enjoy “picnic foods” throughout the day. All food items are being donated by area food suppliers so 100 percent of food sales will also go to the families.
Gunther said his heart is close to this cause for many reasons. He and one of his bartenders were two of the first people to respond the night of the tragedy. The pair did what they could to save the people inside until local rescuers arrived.
“I personally thank everyone who opened up their hearts to help,” Gunther noted. “It’s a great feeling to see that there are some people in this world that care about others, even total strangers.
“We’re lucky that two of those people survived that fire. We try to count our blessings every day. We ask that you keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.”
For more information on the show, visit the following web sites.
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On The Net:
Rock Page: www.rockpage.net
Bad Daze: www.baddazerocks.com
