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03/22/2004 Archived Entry: "The Station Benefit"
The Station Benefit
Here it is, about 4:30 Monday morning, and I'm sitting here wide awake. My sleep cycle has been completely trashed for the forseeable future, so I may as well just write about why.
K and I, along with the members of the two tribute bands I play in, got back Sunday afternoon from Bradford, Massachusetts, where we went to play a benefit for the Station Family Fund, established in the wake of the devastating fire that took the lives of a hundred people, injured twice as many, and forever changed the lives of countless others (for a look at the aftermath of the fire, this Rolling Stone article tells about the dire straits that many of the survivors and their families are in). It's difficult to comprehend how the community of Warwick, RI was impacted by the station disaster until you speak to some of the people who are still working to get a little justice and aid to those directly affected by it.
They all talk about The Fire matter-of-factly, without emotion but with palpable bitterness. Angel, the woman who drove the van that came to pick us up on Long Island and take us to the show, told us a little about the effects of The Fire on the ride up, but didn't get into a lot of detail. Most of the stories you hear from people involved in the Fund are personal - everybody in that town knew someone who was killed in the fire. Everybody knows someone whose life was forever altered - like the teenage girl who lost both parents and, for a time, lived under a bridge in Providence. The fund helped find her a job, a place to live, and got her a car so she could get to and from work. But that teenage girl is the exception to the rule - there are so many people who haven't received any aid and are not very likely to.
When we got to the hotel in Haverhill, MA, we were soon met by Todd King, VP of the Fund. He told us about how the United Way raised over 3 million dollars and then sat on it. About how Clear Channel completely refused to offer any help after there were lawsuits filed (I remarked to Todd that Clear Channel was the fucking devil, and he offered a crucial distinction - that the people at the local Clear Channel station wanted to help, but corporate, in the face of lawsuits filed because they promoted the show, refuses to let them do anything.
Todd also pointed out how Great White, the band playing at the club which set off the pyro that triggered the fire, has gotten a bad rap in the media. He said those guys were nearly completely broke, but still went out on a tour and gave the fund $65,000 in proceeds. He told me that Jack Russell, leader of Great White, has devoted nearly all his time since the fire trying to help out the people in Warwick. A number of people I spoke to at the show and afterwards told me that they've become good friends with Russell, that he calls them often to talk and offer encouragement - which is about the extent of what he can do for them at this point.
Gino, another Fund member who brought us home after the show, went to The Station for the first time the night of the fire, and he was one of the last people to make it out alive. Since then, he has quit his job and scraped by while devoting his time to working with the fund.
There is a lot of bitterness toward the music industry in the aftermath of The Fire. Gino said that bands like Aerosmith - who came up from clubs like The Station and were considered local heroes made good in the community - didn't even return phone calls requesting help with a benefit concert. There is simmering anger about Areosmith's refusal to even return a call. Gino told me about a concert that was put together in Providence, featuring Lou Gramm from Foreigner and Starship - and which was cancelled because all they could do in advance sales was fifteen tickets.
The level of apathy among the 'made' rock community in New England is infuriating. 'The first big act to come in here and do a big benefit are going to be heroes,' Todd said. So far, there have been no takers.
We went to Club 125 at about 9:00 Saturday and got ready to play the show. The opening act, an 80s tribute called M-80, worked through a set of Van Halen, Pat Benatar and other 80s bands, and then brought a girl named Linda onstage for a song. Linda is a singer who was at The Station the night of the fire. She lost the use of her right hand, and has scars - both physical and mental - as a result of the fire. Saturday night was her return to the stage do perform a song with M-80. She started the song, then had to stop and collect herself before continuing.
I was part of two bands playing the show - first a Whitesnake tribute band and closing the show with a set of Def Leppard hits. The people who put the show together and everyone working the show were so appreciative of the fact that we came to play the benefit, and the night turned into a pretty good party. The dance floor was crowded and there were people in the audience who stood in front singing every word of every song. After we finished the night, there was a line of people coming up to us to thank us for playing. I was struck by how you could stop and talk to just about anyone in the crowd, and it wasn't long before they told you about someone they knew who was killed, or a friend who lost a parent or a spouse. In a small state like Rhode Island, there are precious few people who were unaffected by this tragedy.
I've got to give big props to the local music community in Rhode Island - the local bands, the guys who are still looking for the break to get them in the door of the music industry, are the real heroes in this story. These bands offer their services for a string of benefits for The Fund. As we were driving out of Massachusetts, we heard a radio ad for a Sunday afternoon benefit with 7 bands. Compared with the locals, we were treated like kings for doing our show - The fund covered our transportation and accomodations for the weekend. Most of the local guys do it for absolutely nothing besides maybe a couple of free beers and getting their names on the radio. That says a lot for how they care for their own up there, when millionaires like Aerosmith can't be bothered to return a fucking phone call.
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On the way back home, Gino asked us if we had been to The Station. When we said we hadn't, he said 'It might help if you got to see what you came up here for.' We made a detour to the club site, and it drove home just how many people were taken, and how many lives were changed.
After seeing the footage of the club on TV immediately after the fire, I was amazed to stand at the site and see how small the club actually was. Official reports say there were 400 people in the club that night - and Gino maintains there were even more, that a lot of people got out of the fire and went home. But the 100 who died remain there on the site in a small, loving tribute built entirely by the families and friends of those who couldn't make it out of the club.
The physical perimeter of the club - now completely razed and carted away - is ringed by 100 small memorials, one for each of the fatalities. Gino and his wife walked us around, pointing out the memorial to the DJ from the local station who was killed. Other memorials are extremely personal - photos and personal items like ball caps, toys or stuffed animals, and flowers. Gino pointed out one tribute to a friend of his - a steel shape of an electric guitar. He said it was the third one they put there, and that the man's mother kept coming to the site and taking the memorial away, because she didn't want to be associated with it. He said they made the last guitar shape out of steel, dug a hole, poured concrete into it and sank the guitar into the concrete. 'Nobody's going to get that one out of the gound,' Gino said. 'The hole goes eight feet down.'
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I know there are a lot of things demanding our money and time nowadays - we have a new president to elect, and he's up against a $200 million dollar machine and needs all the help he can get. But K and I left our computers at home and went to Rhode Island this weekend, and we saw a lot of people who were lucky enough to live through a devastating tragedy - and rather than pity themselves, they devote their time to the Station Family Fund and try to get a little bit of dignity back to people who have been all but abandoned by the rock and roll they love as much as anything in this world.
If you can, please donate to the Station Family Fund. And thanks to everyone involved with the show this weekend. I cannot being to express the respect I have for them. They are heroes.
Replies: somebody speaks up.
I don't have a particular love for mass media conglomerates, but don't blame ClearChanel#9 for not participating in the fundraiser. Blame the lawyers on both sides for muddying the water.
I don't find Russell's efforts surprising. He was a major contributor to the incident (directly or indirectly). It is right that he should work so hard for these people. Apparently he's a "stand up" guy...something quite rare these days.
As for Aerosmith, we are once again reminded how ordinary people who do extraordinary things often forget the ordinary people who made them extraordinary.
The video of that night still haunts me, even though I've never been within 1000 miles of that place. I don't think I could handle visiting the site.
Don't have much to give, but I think I can scrape up a little something to donate. Kudos to you for helping out.
Posted by Murphy @ 03/22/2004 08:38 PM NY
