Feb 25, 2008 1:34 pm US/Eastern
Rock, Country Acts Play RI Nightclub Fire Benefit
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WBZ) ―
Providence's Dunkin' Donuts Center will be a little bit county and a little bit rock n' roll Monday night as
about a dozen acts take the stage in a memorial concert to benefit survivors of the Station nightclub fire.
Rock bands Twisted Sister and Stryper, country stars Gretchen Wilson and John Rich, members of the band Boston and American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler are among those expected to perform. The Station Family Fund, which helps survivors of the fire with medical expenses, is putting on the "Phoenix Rising" show.
About 4,500 tickets have been sold so far. Fund co-founder Todd King, a survivor of the fire, said they're aiming for an audience of 6,500. He's hoping more people will buy tickets at the door, where two are being offered for the price of one.
Sirius Satellite Radio host Dee Snider will emcee the event and perform with his legendary 1980's metal band, Twisted Sister. Snider was instrumental in putting the concert together.
The Boston Herald reports that Tesla's Troy Luccketta convinced Snider to help put together the concert and told him to "Use your big mouth." Snider obliged by going on various radio and television programs from "The Howard Stern Show" to "Good Morning America," in an effort to promote the concert.
"People in that region have felt abandoned by their government and abandoned by the music industry," Snider told the Boston Herald. "It's horrible to be abandoned in your own back yard."
With some help of others, Snider got Tom Scholz of Boston, Springfield's Aaron Lewis of Staind, Stryper and Tesla, as well as Snider's own band Twisted Sister, to agree to perform. Snider, dropped the name Bret Michaels of Poison, as he told the Herald that some musical surprises are in store as well.
Snider was apparently behind getting a wide range of county music artists to perform as well.
According to the Herald, Snider used his stint on the CMT Network's reality show "Going Country" to enlist John Rich of Big & Rich, Randy Owen of the band Alabama, Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler and Gretchen Wilson.
Snider will host the rock portion of the concert, while Rich will host the country portion.
"Dee Snider of Twisted Sister reached out to me to put together a coalition of country artists to help raise money for the families that have lost loved ones," Rich is quoted on the concert's Web site.
"All of my friends in country music responded immediately with yes. No matter what music you play or listen to we are all one family, and we need to help each other out especially in a time of need."
Snider told the Herald that it took just one conversation with Rich to get him to volunteeer to rent a plane and fly up the country stars for the benefit. "The rock community could take a lesson from the country community," Snider said.
VH1 will also lend a hand. The music network will broadcast highlights of the concert as well as the survivors' story and plight in a one-hour special entitled "VH1 Classic Presents: AFTERMATH: The Station Fire Five Years Later" to be broadcast on Sunday, March 23 at 10 p.m.
Volunteers told the Boston Herald that the Station Family Fund has nearly dried up three times and organizers are banking on the concert to raise enough funds to keep providing assistance to survivors and victim's relatives.
The Feb. 20, 2003 fire began when the tour manager for the 1980's rock band Great White set off pyrotechnics at the start of a concert at The Station. Sparks ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling, engulfing the one-story building in flames and toxic smoke and trapping concert-goers inside.
Besides the 100 people killed, more than 200 were injured in the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. The band's tour manager and the club owners reached plea deals two years ago on involuntary manslaughter charges.
The concert will be held just weeks before Great White's former tour manager, Daniel Biechele, is due to be released on parole from his four-year prison sentence. Biechele was sentenced in May 2006 after pleading guilty to lighting the pyrotechnics without the required permit. He's scheduled to be freed in March. Club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian pleaded no contest in September 2006 to involuntary manslaughter charges for illegally installing the foam. Michael Derderian was sentenced to four years in prison and is due out on parole in 2009. His brother was spared jail time.
Several hundred survivors and victims' relatives sued dozens of people and companies after the fire. They have reached tentative settlements totaling more than $70 million with several defendants, though no money has been distributed yet.
To learn more about the concert follow this link.
To learn how you can contribute to the Station Family Fund click here or email Todd King.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
