Joan,
Your account of the goings on in Philly has inspired me to make better
use of my opportunities here in Buffalo.  I'm a local rocker and know
a lot of people.  I'll bet I could help put together some events for
the benefit of PD research.  OK, let's workshop this for a while...

Glad you had such a good time.  Sounds like you know an extraordinary
bunch of folks.

Enjoy Fall!
Rick McGirr
Email: [log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joan Snyder" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 9:30 PM
Subject: LIGHT OF DAY


>I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Bob Benjamin is a real-
> life PD hero. Through his efforts, leadership and example, the face
> of
> the PD supporter has changed dramatically and the face of Parkinson’s
> itself has been altered,,,no more glitzy, formal and priced beyond
> the
> reach of most parkies (although these events have raised countless
> dollars and awareness for the disease and thank God for them!!) ,
> Bob
> has made it hip to be a contributor and an activist for PD. I just
> got
> home from my second “Light of Day” concert put on by Bob Benjamin
> and I
> cannot tell you the amount of love, hope and awareness that was the
> outcome of this event, to say nothing of the huge donation that Bob
> will
> be able to donate to Parkinson’s.
>
> For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bob and his grand
> achievements,
> a brief history: this event began in Bob’s backyard as a birthday
> party
> he threw for himself. Bob manages bands (including the amazing Joe
> Grushecky & the Houserockers- the hottest bar band in Philly), a
> record
> producer, promoter and a die- hard Bruce Springsteen fan.
>
> His little birthday bash has evolved into a monster event lasting 3
> nights and is in it’s 6^th year as the “Light of Day” concert. It
> was
> named for the Springsteen song of the same title. It is aptly named
> for
> the lyrics to the song say “I’m just around the corner to the light
> of
> day” which exactly depicts the hope and dreams of Bob Benjamin.
>
> Bob is a joy- the man knows everyone who is anyone and he refuses
> help
> when they try to help him stand or move about. Backstage, on Friday
> night, the first night of the 3-evening concert, Bob sat like a rock
> n
> roll godfather;. extremely dyskenetic, he managed to greet all of
> the
> performers and other guests who all stopped by to show their respect
> and
> to shower him with birthday gifts.
>
> We are talking about big- time legends in rock n roll. There was the
> sweet, charming and very talented Pete Yorn who flew in from
> California
> to do three nights , there was
>
> La Bomba from the Conan O’Brien house band, Southside Johnny from
> the
> Asbury Jukes, the legendary Gary “US” Bonds, Joe Grushecky, and
> Soozie
> Tyrell- the fiddle player and vocalist from Bruce’s E- Street Band &
> her
> guitarist Steve Conte. I was seated next to Bob for most of the
> evening
> and he made sure that I was introduced to all of the celebrities &
> indulged my passion for star- gazing.
>
> When it came time for Soozie Tyrell to perform, I made my way back
> to
> the Stone Pony and was pushed in my wheelchair up to the front of
> the
> stage, right in the middle by Pete Boot, himself a member of the 70’s
> metal band Budgie. I was thrilled to see Soozie’s talent and energy.
> She
> was joined onstage by Southside Johnny and Gary “US” Bonds and what
> a
> treat it was!! After their set, I decided to keep my
>
> front row seat and to watch the next set. I was somewhat startled to
> see
> a pedal steel guitar and an acoustic guitar brought onstage by the
> roadies. “These can’t be Jersey boys,” I thought to myself and
> indeed
> they were not. It took about 10 minutes into their set before the
> tumblers in my brain finally all fell into place, but I finally
> figured
> out that this band was the Robert Earl Keene band from Austin, TX
> and if
> this was the case; then the pedal steel player had to be my long
> lost
> buddy, Marty Muse, whom I hadn’t seen in 30 years.
>
> Sure enough, there was Marty- the best steel player in the states
> and I
> sat there thunderstruck to see him playing at the Stone Pony in
> Asbury
> Park, New Jersey. I waved to him & he looked back at me but after
> the
> set was done, he packed up and started to leave the stage. I couldn’t
> believe it so I said his name and he came over and shook my hand,
> finally getting a good look at me and recognition hit him like a BFO
>
> (Blinding Flash of the Obvious). We met down at the end of the stage
> and
> went backstage.
>
> There we were joined by a group of friends : Marty’s bandmates, the
> ever- irreverent Ken Aidekman (founder of the Parkinson’s Unity
> Walk),
> Pete & Nancy Boot from the UK, a reporter and various others. Robert
> Earl Keene brought me a drink and I was stunned at his “regular guy”
> persona and it was no act I realized as we spoke. Marty and I had a
> lot
> of catching up to do and we had a wonderful time reminiscing about
> old
> friends in my hometown of Peoria, Il. Steve Conti walked up and just
> for
> grins I asked if he might know another session player from Peoria
> who is
> well- known in New York for his session work, Dave Keyes. Steve knew
> him
> right away and also his brother Dan who was one of Marty’s old
> friends
> from a lifetime ago in Peoria. All of this stirred up more old
> memories
> and stories. Marty, as it turned out was staying at the same hotel
> that
> I was staying, just down the block from the Stone Pony. So after we
> were
> finished with our impromptu party, we left and went to the hotel
> lobby
> and talked until 3 in the morning. I just happened to have a
> scrapbook
> with pictures of lots of my family and PD events and he had his
> computer
> filled with pics of his wife and kids. It seemed as if time had
> frozen
> and the conversation was easy and punctuated with ‘I cannot believe
> that
> we ran into each other’ amazement! Marty had to leave for the
> airport to
> catch a plane back to Austin at 5am so I hope that he’s finally
> caught
> up on his sleep!!
>
> I must apologize- this started out to be a story about Bob Benjamin
> and
> I couldn’t help but tell about my experiences at his wonderful
> event.
>
> On Saturday evening, we piled into a taxi & headed to the Starland
> Ballroom where the night’s concert was taking place. This evening, I
> spent mostly in the VIP room, hobnobbing and meeting and talking
> with
> the varied assortment of people there. Ken Aidikman brought in a
> beaming
> Robin Eliot from the
>
> Parkiknson’s Disease Foundation and there were filmmakers who were
> there
> to do a documentary on Joe Grushecky, along with all of Bob’s
> friends.
> Suddenly, I was swooped upon by a lovely little man whose presence
> just
> about knocked me over. I found out that this was the one & only
> Garland
> Jefferies and I was thrilled to have him to chat with for a few
> moments.
>
> Then just as suddenly, an Irish leprechaun with twinkling eyes and a
> merry laugh grabbed my wheelchair and said, despite my
> protestations,
> that it was time for me to go hear some of the great music that I
> was
> missing. He pushed me up to the stage area and this is a perfect
> opportunity for me to say that the staff at both the Stone Pony &
> the
> Starland Ballroom were extremely conscientious and helpful. I was
> treated like a princess and I can only attribute this to their
> natural
> kind hearts and also to their respect for Bob Benjamin. The man who
> was
> working the security area at the side of the stage saw me and opened
> a
> path for me, my wheelchair and my new Irish friend right at the end
> of
> the stage. We had the best seats in the house!
>
> And right away, Garland Jefferies took the stage and what a
> showman!! He
> was into a funk- reggae groove and was moving around the stage like
> James Brown. He would summersault into the audience only to reappear
> after a few moments of being smothered with friendship from the
> crowd.
> His set ended with a grand cover version of the Question Mark & the
> Mysterions classic “96 Tears.”
>
> Next the staging area where I was sitting was filled with performers
> all
> waiting to go up and join Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. Wow-
> what
> a show that was!! Rock n Roll as good as it gets!! A horn section
> that
> blew you away with their talent!! And wonderful, screaming vocals!!
> A
> huge organ was played by Tony and the hot, cute young guitar player
> was
> Joe’s son. By the end of the set, the crowd was worn out. What a
> fabulous night of music!!
>
> Sunday evening was no less memorable. At the hotel, my friend Carol
> and
> I had met two young men from Maine who were in town to go to the
> concerts. Jason and Matt were huge Pete Yorn fans and when I got to
> the
> show, they were sitting there sipping beers while Joe Grushecky, Joe
> D’Urso & three others were onstage. This was acoustic night and the
> Starland Ballroom was filled but not as rowdy as the night before. I
> went over to buy a round of drinks and saw Pete Yorn standing at the
> entrance to the VIP area. I called to him and he came right over. I
> asked him to do a favor for me and he asked what it could be. I
> asked
> him if would please come over and meet 2 of his fans who came all
> the
> way from Maine to see him. He immediately grabbed my wheelchair and
> we
> set off to find Jason & Matt. When they saw me approaching with
> beers in
> my hands and Peter Yorn steering me thru the crowd, they said later
> that
> they thought they were in a dream or having a heart attack. Pete was
> so
> gracious and spent the next 45 minutes with us talking and posing
> for
> photos and making this a night that the guys would never forget. I
> do
> remember the players on stage doing a cover of Harry Chapin’s
> classic
> “Taxi” but I was so interested in speaking with Pete that I’m afraid
> that’s all I can remember.
>
> After the first group was done, we were escorted into a table near
> the
> stage by one of the wonderful employees and just in time to see Pete
> take the stage with 4 other players-
>
> one of whom Pete referred to as “the assassin” for her sensuous,
> extremely sexy rendition of a Cream classic.
>
> All too soon, it was time to go, but I had time to realize that Bob,
> with his determination, connections and the fierce loyalty that he
> inspires in people had changed the concept of fundraising for PD
> forever. Thank you Bob and I love you.
>
>
>    PS: Bob is the winner of this year’s Alan Bonander Humanitarian
>    Award. Congratulations and I’m proud to call you friend.
>
> --
> Joan Blessington Snyder   54/14
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm
> “Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.”
> Chris in the Morning      Northern Exposure
>
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