Barbara Ann Martin's Cancer Benefit Concert:

This past weekend I had the pleasure to be a part of a charity event that really hits home to me and my family. RockStarrzz Hospitality Promotions, a family run organization put on a cancer benefit for a dear friend and long time Rock 94.5 follower Mike Martin, aka Mike The Electrician. His wife Barbara Ann Martin had been battling cancer for some time and the bills were piling up. We wanted to help them out and offered to do a cancer benefit concert to raise money for Barbara's medical expenses. We started planning the benefit back in February, we wanted this event to be perfect and we were on a mission to help this family. Getting the venue lined up seemed to be a challenge? Everytime we contacted a venue we were told we would have to pay to play. So we hit the streets to find sponsors to help cover this cost, we wanted as much of the money raised to go to this family as possible. After weeks of negotiations with the venues we finally confirmed a date of April 11, 2015 at the popular and remodeled Palomino Club. We wanted to make sure we had enough time to really plan this benefit and to promote the show. We had about 2 months to do all the planning but what we were not expecting, that our cancer recipient would not live long enough to attend the benefit. Sadly Barbara Ann lost her battle with this disease on March 29, 2015, 2 weeks before the benefit was to take place. We were determined to continue with the benefit, we now were putting on a benefit and memorial in Barbara's honor.

Finally the day of the benefit arrived, the anticipation was high and we all were praying the show would run smoothly. The newly remodeled Palomino Club, formerly The Event Center, was beautiful. The sound and lighting in the club is spot on for shows like this one, it made it easy to take great pictures and videos of the bands. We were certainly able to capture the moment. Spokane has a great community of talented musicians. The response from all the bands to play the benefit was humbling to say the least. We had more bands wanting to participate than we had slots for. I wish I could have had them all play, this was a great show for a special cause. The show was to start at 6 pm and go late into the night.The bands that participated in this event were all Spokane locals and veteran musicians. Lust For Glory, Banish The Echo, Cary Fly & The Trapp, Tightrope (SRV) Tribute, Marry The Mistress, and the headliners Jackhammer were all scheduled to play.

To start the show was, Lust For Glory. Members include Sean Genereaux~ Guitar&Voice /// Kat Anderson~Bass, Scott Carr~Drums. Music style, Rock, Indie rock, Alternative, Garage rock, Guitar rock, bedrock. Originally formed in Portland, OR in 2005, Lust For Glory has settled in the Spokane area as their home.. It was still early when they began their set but people were still trickling in. The bands were all given 45 minute sets, everything was running smoothly and Lust For Glory pounded out about a 30 minute set entertaining the crowd.

Next up were the boys in Banish The Echo. Members include Shaiden Hutchman // Frontman Riley Braun // Drums. Their music style, Acoustic, Alternative Rock, Pop-Punk. The band started out as an idea from a notebook and has not stopped evolving since then. The meaning

behind the name Banish The Echo is, be different, an echo of a great idea. They started as an acoustic twosome and have evolved into a 3 piece rock band. The band has an acoustic EP out called, "The Shadow and The Shell", this band is well worth a listen. You can catch them live at clubs around the Spokane area.

The third act, Spokane native and veteran musicians Cary Fly & The Trapp, music style, Rock, Rhythm, and Blues. Cary Fly is ranked number 41, best local band out of 116 by the 2014 KREM 2 The Best of Spokane. Cary has also been nominated for, best vocal, best guitar, and best band by, The Inland Empire Blues Society. Members included Bobby Patterson-Guitar/Vocals, Brent Countryman-Drums, Cary Fly-Guitar/Vocals. When Cary was 12 years old he won the battle of the bands at The Anaheim Convention Center with his first band, "Missing Links". The family moved to AZ where Cary was blessed to play with greats such as, Roy Clark, Buck Owens, and Waylon Jennings. Originally from CA, Cary eventually moved to Spokane and joined the band " Annakonda". I had heard the name Cary Fly and I may even had heard them play once or twice, but I was blown away when they began to play. Cary Fly is well worth a listen, you won't be disappointed.

The 4th, act on the bill, "Tightrope", a Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute band, took the stage. I had never caught their act, so needless to say I was very intrigued to hear this band live. Members include, Dave McClave-Keyboards, and Matthew Smith as Stevie Ray Vaughan-Guitar/Vocals. They played SRV tunes, such as, Superstition, Crossfire, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Couldn't Stand The Weather to name a few. The crowd really seemed to enjoy this band, there were people dancing and moving to the music. What a great show so far, but there were still 2 more band left to perform.

Next up Marry The Mistress. This band formed in 2014 but are no strangers to the music world. Members include Michael Howell-Bass and formerly of, "Haven", Greg Edgcomb-Guitar, formerly from the 80's rock band, "Von Dutch", Chris Olson-Drums and childhood friends with, "Megadeth Guitarist, Dave Mustaine. These guys had the crowd hopping with their heavier metal side. By the time they took the stage the venue had filled to over 200 and the concert goers were all having a good time. There were some surprises in store for us with this band, to Chris Olson's devil like mask, to their last song of their set. The final song, Marry The Mistress performed was, "Collectable Soul", they closed out the set with Mike Howell smashing his Bass Guitar to pieces and throwing it out onto the dance floor, leaving the crowd wanting more. Our own Alan Birdsell and photographer of, "One Mind Creations", took the broken guitar home as a souvenir.

Finally our headliners, Jackhammer hit the stage full force. Members include, Robert Howe-Lead Guitar, Joel Zivic-Bass, Chris Krzywda-Drums, and breaking in their new vocalist. If you still listen to Dio, and Iron Maiden then Jackhammer will be right up your alley. There was some technical difficulty at the beginning of their set with the microphone cutting out, but they were handed a different mic and all was as it should be. They belted out song such as, Holy Diver, "Dio", Breaking The Law, "Judas Priest, The Number of The Beast, "Iron Maiden", It's So Easy, "Guns and Roses", and closed the night out with Metal Health, "Quiet Riot". There was even a little mosh pit going on. This was a cancer benefit for our friend Barbara but it was also a benefit to all who are fighting this disease, or have lost their battle. Joel Zivic knew my daughter's dad, we lost him to lung cancer 20 years ago at the young age of 32, Metal Health was dedicated to him, what a nice way to close out the night.

This day of great music and great bands all geared to helping people out in our community. They all donated their time and talent for such a great cause. There were some great raffle items that were given away in between the band sets. Things given away, a donated gift basket full of CD's, concert tickets, hoodies, t-shirts and signed pictures of popular bands, all donated by Rock 94.5, also a guitar signed by the popular band Like A Storm, and local businesses Luigi's Restaurant and Clinkerdaggers Restaurant donated gift certificates, both Holiday Inn Express, and Quality Inn donated free room certificates. We even had an appearance from Spokane's own Tambourine Man putting the moves on the dance floor, and professional photographer Alan Birdsell capturing those unforgettable shots. The show was a great success, what a memorable night, one I am sure I won't forget.