Benefit Shows Suck*

June 12, 2008 by BYT at large  Send to a Friend

(written by Taylor Royle)

*I hate benefit shows. I usually only go to them if the band playing is one I really want to see and won’t get to see without part of my cash going to the pet causes of young D.C. plutocrats (plutocracy: n. A wealthy class that controls a government) or overly earnest hippies.

It’s not that I don’t want to donate money – it’s that these shows aren’t usually about that.

The local ones are usually about some girl who’s never been “popular” or “attractive” who wants to hang out with bands. In service of her goal (cute boys with guitars) she gets some softheaded idea to raise money for a charity she “genuinely cares about” and invites the talent to a church basement where the cool kids who like music will come with their flasks and all take off for a cigarette break when she gets up to talk about the importance of low-income housing. As if the five dollars me and my two girlfriends paid to get in this dusty, drafty bad childhood memory of Sunday School is going to save a single mother from homelessness.

The big celebrity benefit shows you see on TV are equally grim. Sometimes they’re raising money – but the cost of putting on a show the size and scale that attracts big names usually eats up any real profits. Sometimes they’re about “raising awareness” – and that’s total bullshit. The overwhelming majority of kids who go to those shows or watch them on TV don’t know and don’t care what the issue du jour is; they want to see Green Day. The organizers will tell you that “leaders” are watching and that big crowds will prove to politicians that voters really want the people they elected to “fight climate change / stop genocide / insert unreasonably idealistic goal here.” But the truth is, politicians aren’t as stupid as musicians. They know the people are there to see Kanye and all those long shots of the crowd holding hands and signing petitions doesn’t make a lick of difference to the folks on Capitol Hill.

So that said, everyone please come to the benefit show at the Black Cat on Friday night!!!

This one is very different. It’s for just one kid, Callum Robbins. Callum’s dad J. Robbins is a D.C. musician (Government Issue, Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels) and producer (Clutch, Murder By Death, The Promise Ring, Shiner, Against Me! and lots of others). Recently Callum was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), an incurable nerve disorder that kills more children than any other genetic disease . SMA is a painful disease for a child, emotionally taxing for families and very costly for parents. Very simply put: all the money from Friday night’s show at the Black Cat will go to Callum’s parents, J and Janet, to pay for his medical treatment.

That’s reason enough for me to go even if the Cat were hosting Mother Tongue that night. But instead of angry lesbians, we’ll be treated to some awesome homegrown rock courtesy of The Bakerton Group (featuring members of Clutch), Caverns, The Deleted Scenes and Hammer No More the Fingers.

BYT asked Caverns and Deleted Scenes some questions about the benefit and, of course, about their music and live shows.

BYT: Caverns, you guys have been slogging your guts out to promote this show. Why is it so important to you? Can proceeds from a show at the Cat really make a difference for the Robbins family?

Kevin Hilliard, Caverns: We absolutely feel like this show can make a difference for Cal Robbins, the Robbins family and, hopefully, for other families with loved ones stricken with SMA. We are promoting this show so tirelessly because a condition as debilitating as SMA creates an enormous financial burden on families like the Robbins. Every little bit that friends can do to help alleviate that burden and raise awareness about the disease goes a long way.

Do we think that this show will solve everything for the Robbins family? Of course not, but I think all of the bands hope, as I am sure bands like the Dismemberment Plan that did a similar benefit show before us hoped, that this show will help make Cal’s life a little happier and healthier. We also hope to inspire others to do the same.

Both J. and Janet have contributed so much to the lives of the members of Caverns and many others just through being active artists in the D.C. music community that we can only hope a show like this will contribute as much to their family as they have contributed to us.

BYT: You’ve got some great reviews and earned some taste-maker fans for your technically amazing shows and really atmospheric sound (if that atmosphere is dark, loud and Germanic). Describe Caverns to the uninitiated.

Kevin Hilliard, Caverns: Caverns plays instrumental rock music that varies from the atmospheric, to the classically influenced, all the way to the extremely aggressive. As a friend put it to us, Caverns sounds like the love child of Mogwai and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Throw a little jazz and a little classical in there and I think that’s a fairly accurate description. When we play live our goal is to give every ounce of energy we have to our music so that, no matter what you may think of our sound, you will be certain we mean every note of it. Long story short, we pretty much model ourselves after “Hangin’ Tough” era New Kids on the Block…except this time it’s for keeps.

BYT: Deleted Scenes, why does your Myspace say you’re in Washington D.C. AND Brooklyn? Have you abandoned us?

Dan Scheuerman, Deleted Scenes: No. We’re still in DC pretty much every other weekend for something or another (including the BYT launch party!). And Fatty is busy curing cancer at University of Maryland, so we’ll be repping DC at least until cancer is cured. Still, Scheffey found a college he really liked in Brooklyn, and Brian is really into jazz drumming, so NYC was an obvious move. He’s out at clubs like 4 nights a week. Thankfully chinatown bus makes it really easy to get together.

BYT: What are you up to now? Recording? Touring? What’s next for Deleted Scenes?

Dan Scheuerman, Deleted Scenes: Both. We’re booking a nationwide tour for August. Also, we’re just about finished our first LP, which is basically the Chinese Democracy of indie rock. About nine months ago we started recording drums, bass and guitars with J. Robbins at the Magpie Cage, and then in October brought the basic tracks for L. Skell (the Rude Staircase) to craft and help arrange. We had a lot of big ideas for the record (ghost orchestras, simulated pterodactyl rape, etc.), and Lynn is a perfectionist, so it’s taken some time, but I think it’s going to be worth it. I estimate his hourly rate to be about $0.03/hr, so maybe it won’t be worth it to him. But it’s sounding pretty sweet. We’re mastering it the first week of July and should have some MP3s out around then. At that point we’re banking on someone giving a shit and distributing it for us. That would be nice.

Now, for good measure, the flyer, AGAIN:

and BYT’s previous coverage of the good cause at hand:
+here
+here

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