Red Brick to host benefit concert for Relay for Life
By Lisa Wakeland, Staff Writer
April 19, 2007 | 6:50 p.m.
Many people know someone who has battled with cancer. To help raise money for a cure, ImPRessions, a student-run public relations firm at Ohio University, is hosting a benefit concert on April 22.
From 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., the lower level of the Red Brick Tavern will fill with music by the Rasgaitis Brothers and Idle Ascent. The proceeds of the concert will go to Relay for Life, an overnight event that celebrates cancer survivors and raises money for the American Cancer Society’s research.
With a western cowboy theme “Relay Round-Up,” this year’s Relay for Life is May 19-20 Participants walk around a track for 18 hours. The goal is to keep one member of each team on the track at all times. Relay for Life is at the OU driving range and open to the public.
“The concert is not only going to be a great opportunity to raise some money for cancer research, but it’s also something that will help the students at OU get excited about Relay for Life and give them a chance to hear two awesome bands play,” said Lauren Smith, OU’s Relay for Life chair, in the press release.
Jenny Miltner, account executive for ImPRessions and publicity chair for Relay for Life, said Red Brick is an ideal place for the benefit concert not only because of its Court Street location but also because Dan DeLuca, the new owner of Red Brick, was willing to help.
Other members of ImPRessions recommended freshman Victor Rasgaitis to Miltner, she said, because he already had a large following in Athens. Rasgaitis said he jumped at the chance to be part of the concert. “I love Relay for Life,” he said. “I really want to be a part of it this year.”
The other half of the Rasgaitis Brothers is drummer Andrew Barton. The band has an acoustic but really enthusiastic style, Barton said.
Barton and Rasgaitis have only played three shows together so far, but Rasgaitis said they are having an absolute blast. “We play off each other really well,” he said. “I think it adds a whole new dimension to our songs.”
The audience can expect original songs from the Rasgaitis Brothers. But they like to throw familiar songs in the middle of originals, Rasgaitis said.
“We try to have a lot of fun with the crowd to get them involved,” he said. “We love interacting with them and starting a sing-a-long.”
Idle Ascent, a Cleveland-based band, is represented by ImPRessions. Guitarist Eugene Paulin, vocalist Jeff Raimer, drummer Matt Whitslar and bassist Dave Hydock have been compared to bands like Pearl Jam, Social Distortion, Tool and Alice in Chains, according to the press release.
“We know they’re a really great band,” Miltner said. “They’ve played in Athens a few times and had good crowd turnouts.”
The Relay for Life benefit concert is their only large fundraising event, Miltner said. Teams participating in Relay for Life hold individual fundraising events. One service fraternity, she added, is having Twister games set up outside the Athens Courthouse and selling hot dogs to raise money.
Last year, OU Relay for Life raised $78,000 for cancer research. They are hoping to raise $85,000 this year, according to Miltner.
“I am so happy that such talented men are able to help us raise some money for Relay for Life,” Smith said. “It should be a great success and a wonderful opportunity for students to spend their evening.”
Admission to the Relay for Life benefit concert at the Red Brick Tavern is $4 for students 18- to 20-years-old and $3 for students 21 and over. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
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For more information, check out these Web sites:
http://www.cancer.org
http://www.victorrasgaitis.com
http://www.idleascent.com
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