by Washington Washington
This Wednesday, January 20th, a benefit show supporting the Red Cross Haitiain relief efforts will take place at the newly-refurbished PJ Ryan’s underground (231-233 Bridge Street – formerly Lojo’s). The show (21+) starts at 10pm and a $5 (minimum) donation is required. Performers include: McReadyRock, Blanko Dave, Elissa Sapp (of Karma Bat), Everybody’s Favorite Band, and Si Senorita.
McReadyRock is an up-and-coming Phoenixville / Philadelphia alt hip hop collective. DJ Joey O of YRock on XPN said the following of the band:”The versatile McReadyRock defy classification with their ability to tackle almost any genre…call them electronic-rap-indi-rock if you must, but they’re the only band around with the testicular fortitude to cover both Jesus Christ Superstar and Run DMC.”
Blanko Dave is a singer / songwriter who plays guitar, both electric and acoustic, but also baritone, slide, 12-string, and electric sitar. He’s a talented local guy that creates some really solid Americana music.
Elissa Sapp (of Karma Bat) is also a singer / songwriter who plays acoustic guitar and piano. Her bandmate Jim Marchione recalls the first time he heard her perform at an open mic night: “She was this tiny little girl with an acoustic guitar that was bigger than she was, but her voice was so huge and spot-on… I don’t know when I’ve heard a better rock vocalist, I just knew we had to work together.”
Everybody’s Favorite Band performs a mix of Irish music and classic rock. Their Irish music selections include traditional and rebel songs, as well as some of their original Irish compositions, such as “Kill ‘em Again”. They play songs from great artists such as the Chieftains, Dubliners, Van Morrison, Flogging Molly, The Proclaimers, The Saw Doctors, U2, Dropkick Murphy’s, and more.
Great show ! Jessie and the crew that put this event together did right by the Phoenixville community and the many young individuals who showed up to support this effort. PJ Ryans was a great place to host this event. Well Done to all involved and Thank You.
Mike Speck-Phoenixville Borough Councilman.
Hey everyone, this is Colin, “the dude who put it all together”. I want to start out by thanking everyone who came out, including all of the performers. We had an estimated 55 people come through the door over the course of the night. Awesome. Another special thanks to Mr. Jesse Crater, without whom none of this would have been possible. He and I worked our asses off for a week to get this show together. Finally, a great big thanks to my spectacular employer, PJ Ryans for letting us use the space.
Anyway, the reason I’m posting is to let everyone know how much we raised… our donation total for the evening was $512! On top of that, West Pharmaceutical Company (headquartered in Lionville), has pledged to make a donation as well. When that happens, I will be sure to come back and post with the final total that this event has raised for the Red Cross and their relief efforts in Haiti.
By the way– if you missed the show (or even if you were there!), you can donate to the relief effort at http://www.redcross.org
Regards,
Colin Pound
Another update! My mom’s company, West Pharmaceutical Services, just matched the cash donations we received from the show, which was $462. With that (and a $50 check we received that night), we raised $976. My mom and I kicked in another $24 to bring the total to $1000!!!! We are sending it out tomorrow.
Thanks so much for everyone who donated/helped/contributed anything to this project. It turned in to such a great event!
Colin Pound
Oops, meant to include this link in the above post:
West Pharmaceutical Services