Relief concert showed ‘true spirit of giving'

To the editor: On Saturday, Oct. 22, our concert to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina was held at Mt. Peter in Warwick. Although Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, that didn’t dampen the spirit of all who attended. The weather may have been lousy, but the crowd was good and in more ways than one. We have to say it was an immense pleasure to spend the day with such a great group. The young people couldn’t have been more respectful. Everything was “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me.” Quite a number of adults there commented on that. And the young musicians in the bands couldn’t have been more dedicated to the show or more professional to work with. What a show they put on. We had a crowd of about 130 between the kids and some of the adults and raised $1,750. When all expenses were satisfied we had $750 that will be sent to the New Orleans Musicians’ Relief Fund. We want to say thank you to our son, Scot, who reached out to all the bands and worked the schedule to come up with an amazing line-up: Stereofever, Cursory, Mental Spanking, Yellowboy Theory, The Bonnie Situation, Naked Citizens, Blackbyrd, The Revival, Grudge, From Sinking and Zen. To all of you music fans here in Warwick and beyond, don’t miss these guys again! There is a wealth of talent in this town waiting to be discovered and an opportunity to plan another show like this will not be passed up. To all who donated, supported, or gave advice, you have our sincerest thanks: Amy, Ryan, Don, Jean and their staff at Mt. Peter; Steinwand Sound Studios, Alto Music, Seely-Durland Insurance, The Warwick Advertiser, Warwick Info.net, The Dispatch, The Times-Herald Record, WRRV and ShopRite. Our announcer, Justin Di Pierro, did a fantastic job. I also want to thank the volunteers who lent a hand with security and moving equipment: JB DiCarlantonio, Kevin Unick, Mary and Artie Cognato, Peggy Mullen, Lisa and Eddie Delia, Derek Dellabough, Rich Konecko and CJ Truitt. Thanks, too, to all the parents who braved the weather to drop their kids off at the mountain and especially those who chose to make a donation even though they only stayed for a few minutes. This is the true spirit of giving. All of your actions will benefit the elderly musicians of New Orleans who have had their homes and possessions taken away by Katrina, not to mention their livelihood - their music. And a special thanks to Helen Truitt for bringing the New Orleans Musicians’ Relief Fund to our attention. It is a much overlooked fund. In closing, we just have to say, any one who may think the future of this town is not in good hands, they definitely need to think again. Great job, guys and let’s do it again. With much gratitude, Martin and Joanne Mullen Warwick