Rock, blues bands to perform for good causes

Rocking for a good cause. Now that sounds like something we can all get behind.

There are two great showcases this month benefiting two very worthy organizations in the area – the Maine affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the R.E.A.C.H. School in Bucksport.

Blues for the Cure, an annual fundraiser benefiting Susan G. Komen slated for 8 tonight at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, got started four years ago. Co-organizer Ray Dauphinee wanted to put on a show featuring local musicians to raise money for a charity.

“It was through blessed connections,” said Susan Patten, former chairwoman of Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure event, which will be held this year on Sunday, Sept. 17. “Ray wanted to do an event like this. I asked someone who knew him if he had a charity yet. She said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Well, yes he does!’ It’s such a cool idea, and it turns out Ray’s daughter is a breast cancer survivor, so it was meant to be.”

Blues for the Cure this year features Bangor-based bands River Bottom Funk, Sista Sadie and the England Brothers, the latter of which features twin brothers Jimmy and Joe England, who play keyboard and drums, respectively.

“They’ve been playing together for 25 years,” said Dauphinee. “The thing about them is that they have some great vocalists in the band. Jimmy does a lot of Ray Charles songs. He does a great version of ‘Georgia On My Mind.’ They don’t do a lot of gigs – they just play when they want to play.”

“They’re probably more interested in fishing than playing,” added Dauphinee, with a chuckle.

River Bottom Funk features a new keyboard player, Mitch Geel, as former singer and ivory-tickler Nigel Hall left the band recently. You can still expect some spicy hot renditions of R&B, soul and funk classics, though. Sista Sadie will close out the evening with a blast of raspy, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll.

Last year Blues for the Cure raised about $3,000 for breast cancer research and education. Dauphinee and Patten are expecting even more this year.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Patten. “There’ll be survivors and their family and friends, kicking up a storm. It’s turned into a kickoff party for Race for the Cure. We have a blast.”

A bit later on in the month, the R.E.A.C.H. School in Bucksport gets a boost thanks to local venue the Kave and venerable rock band Badge, with a benefit show for the school on Saturday, Sept. 30.

The alternative school is designed for youths in grades seven through 12 who are unsuccessful in traditional school for whatever reason. Director Richard Crampston and fellow teacher Rob Thomas help 24 full-time students get the extra time and care they need to graduate from Bucksport High School.

This is the second fundraiser Badge, led by local musician Eric Stover, has done for the school – the last one was 10 years ago, which also happened to be the last time Badge has played live. What gives?

“This is our 30th anniversary, our reunion show, and our farewell show,” said Stover. “I’m 63 years old now, and I am not Mick Jagger. This is our last hoedown as far as I’m concerned. I’m retired now. I don’t want to get up there 10 years from now when I’m 73 with a walker and try to crank out a song.”

Badge is named after the Cream song, which was the first one Stover and company learned to play back in 1976, when he and the original members all worked at the paper mill in Bucksport.

“‘Badge’ was one of our favorites,” said Stover. “We still play the Eagles, some Creedence. Lots of Cream. A lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’ve been a Skynyrd fan all my life. We used to play around town all the time. People will come out to see us that had us play at their weddings, or their proms, and sometimes even their junior proms.”

Stover has long been a supporter of the school.

“I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a philanthropic person,” said Crampston. “They called him the ‘can man’ when he worked at the mill. He’d get cans and cash them in, and then go to various nonprofits in the area and hand them a check for a bunch of money. We have been recipients of that numerous times.”

“I know that if there was a school like that when I was growing up, I’d have gone there,” said Stover. “It has a real place in my heart. But after this, I’m hanging up the ax. Maybe my grandkids can start playing music now.”

Tickets for Blues for the Cure, which starts at 8 tonight at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, are available at the Race for the Cure store in the Bangor Mall. A limited amount will be available at the door. The cost is $10. Tickets for the R.E.A.C.H. School benefit, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, are available at the door. The show is 21-plus; tickets are $10. For information, visit www.myspace.com/

thekave. Emily Burnham can

be reached at eburnham@

bangordailynews.net.

Supporting acts

Cellist Matt Haimovitz hit the music scene a few years ago playing the hell out of Bach. He was a classical music prodigy. Then he settled into the club scene. Last year, he released “Goulash!” a collection of cello arrangements for works by Bela Bartok, Osvaldo Golijov, Gyorgy Ligeti, and Led Zeppelin. You know, the big guys. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of most of them. You won’t be thinking about anything but the driving rhythms and Hendrix-like intensity of Haimovitz’s playing. Big band is his newest departure from, well, everything. Don’t be surprised to be surprised by his virtuosity and hard-core innovation when he plays 7:30 tonight at The Liberty School in Blue Hill (374-2886) and Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Lorimer Chapel at Colby College (872-3000). – ALICIA ANSTEAD