Sadly another great uber-fan and local music supporter died recently before Bob Kondrak. Ben Russell was a kid I was just getting to know, having just hung out talking and drinking with him at a few shows, house parties and Shorty's during this past year. I call Ben and uber-fan because he went out to shows and events almost every night of the week, his support for local music was practically unparalleled. His main haunt was Funhouse, if you've been to a show there in the past month you may have seen the memorial pictorial on one of the tables there. Besides Funhouse I'd see him at house shows, other clubs, at the Pencil Fighting Championships, he came to my photo show opening... the guy was just fantastic at supporting local music and arts events. He died at home pretty suddenly due to complications with his diabetes, taking everyone by surprise. Tonight's show at Funhouse isn't meant to be a sad event though, it's supposed to be a celebration of Ben's life. Most of the bands playing were either friends with him or he was big fans of, Bobcat and I will be DJing, and the money raised at the door will go to his parents to offset their funeral costs.
Not only is it a good cause, all these bands rock. Dragstrip Riot always put on a great show, they'll be doing it acoustically tomorrow night. Smokejumper is an up-and-coming pop punk band featuring many ex-members of the band Dateless. And The Damage Done is what I consider one of the best melodic punk bands in Seattle right now. They will also be collecting blanket and coat donations for the homeless at this show.
No comments:
Post a Comment