Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

PHOTO BY MATT NAGLE

POWER OF THREE. (left to right) Autumn McClintock, Sarah Conlon and Sommer Stockinger have been raising money for the American Cancer Society for several years. This year they are organizing a May 18 benefit show at The Swiss.

Six bands play The Swiss to help fight cancer

By Matt Nagle

A line-up of six outstanding local bands will play the Swiss May 18 for a benefit show called Bidding on a Cure to help raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life that happens May 30 at Mt. Tahoma High School. A silent auction will also be underway featuring more than 40 eclectic items to bid on.

The six members of Jackie Paper take the stage first at 3 p.m., playing a combination of rock, funk, soul, gospel and hip-hop. Next up is acoustic-based singer/songwriter Vicci Martinez followed by Blues Brothers tribute band The New Blues Brothers. Players Club is up next, a 12-piece outfit that plays a mix of disco, funk, R&B and Motown; then the high-energy Doctor Funk with its phenomenal horn section; and closing will be Dance Factory playing disco and 80s hits.

Relay for Life team members (and friends since childhood) Sarah Conlon, Autumn McClintock and Sommer Stockinger, a.k.a. “Beach Babes” (their Relay for Life team name), are organizing the night with local musician Cliff Colon, himself a cancer survivor. All three women have family members who either died from cancer or are struggling with it now.

In past years, the three raised money for Relay for Life by holding car washes, rummage sales, and selling arts and crafts. This year they decided to do something different. Stockinger, who is also a vocalist in Players Club, came up with the idea to do a live benefit show. Colon is her fiancé, a cancer survivor going on 10 years in remission.

“There are several musicians in the community who are fighting for their lives right now that played with these bands,” she said. “I know music. I know people like going out and partying, and that we could make a lot from the cover (charge).”

She said an important point is that Relay for Life is not just about one type of cancer. “The beauty about Relay is it’s for everybody and all types of cancer. It doesn’t leave anyone out and it helps them with everything,” from helping to fund research to providing wigs for those who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

The Beach Babes said cancer survivors are encouraged to attend and they hope that many come out to receive a special gift at the show and experience a night of fun in a supportive atmosphere. They can also register for Relay for Life to participate in the leadoff “Survivor Lap” and the Survivor Fair and Dinner.

In between sets, Dani Collins, a cancer survivor currently undergoing treatments and Relay for Life co-chair for the past two years, will talk for a moment about why the benefit show is so important. “She’s a huge inspiration and a phenomenal speaker,” Conlon said. “It’s important to get the message across and make sure that people are reminded that, yes, we’re all having a good time but there’s a reason we’re doing this.”

Once the musical acts were booked, the idea for the silent auction came next. The trio secured a big list of enticing donated items that run the gamut – tickets to Disneyland, a two-night stay at Bally’s Las Vegas and other travel packages, lots of gift certificates from a variety of restaurants and retail shops around town, an autographed Sonics basketball, and numerous gift baskets including two huge “adult” gift baskets, one naughty and one nice, donated by Castle Superstore.

The three organizers said they were amazed at how eager local people were to contribute to the cause. For the stage show, Ted Brown Music donated what is called the “backline” – keyboard, amps and drums. Without these, Stockinger said, it would be impossible to have six bands back-to-back haul in their equipment and set up. “We couldn’t do it because there would be so much down time and no one would be entertained by that.”

The three are particularly grateful to the employees and owners of The Swiss for donating the venue, the staff and everything to help make the benefit successful. One of the tavern’s owners, Bob Hill, lost his brother Dudley to cancer in 2005.

All attendees will have the opportunity to honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones by creating a personalized paper bag luminaria that will be placed around the Mt. Tahoma track at Relay for Life with a lit candle inside.

A $10 donation will be collected at the door, and 100 percent of all proceeds collected that night will go to the cancer society. “Everyone’s doing this for free; no one’s getting paid,” noted Stockinger.

For more information on the 24-hour Relay for Life on May 30, visit www.tacomarelay.org.

Story Tools