The Black Rock Coalition and Sweet Relief in association with SoulPatrol.com present: "Miracle for a Maggot II: All-Star Funkraiser for P-Funk Singer/Guitarist Garry ‘Starchild’ Shider"
NEW YORK - The Black Rock Coalition (BRC), launching its 25th year of being nation's premier support 501c3 nonprofit for alternative music artists of color, and Sweet Relief, preeminent nonprofit fundraising group for musicians in need, will present two fundraising concerts in the New York area on the behalf of pioneering Parliament-Funkadelic singer/guitarist/composer Garry “Starchild” Shider. SoulPatrol.com, the definitive web portal for Black music, will be on board as media sponsor.
Iconic Garry “Diaperman” Shider a.k.a. “Starchild” is in an extremely dire state of affairs, battling cancer of the brain and lungs. He is currently being treated at home in Upper Marlboro, MD. Like so many performers of Shider’s renown, he has no health insurance. The Black Rock Coalition and Sweet Relief are working in partnership to raise funds and administer to the costs of Garry’s care.
“Starchild Shider is an irreplaceable figure in P-Funk lore,” said Earl Douglas, Black Rock Coalition executive director, “and P-Funk is one of the standard bearers for modern rock. When the BRC got the call to do this fundraiser, we didn’t have to think twice. It was gratifying to be asked and even more so to have so many of our extended family come out to support Garry.”
“Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is honored to be a participant in these benefits to assist Garry Shider,” said Rob Max, Sweet Relief’s communications director. “Garry’s importance in the music industry has been tremendous and we trust his fans and friends will continue to contribute with desperately needed financial assistance.”
“Of all of the members of Parliment-Funkadelic, Garry Shider has been one of the most recognizable,” said Bob Davis, CEO Soul-Patrol.com. “For many fans, it is the axe-wielding ‘Diaperman’ who is up front and most memorable of the P-Funk mob and has kept us all ‘standing on the verge.’ Now it is our turn to help the ‘Diaperman’ in his life changing medical battle. Let's not wait until it's too late...”
Confirmed performers include Living Colour, Bernie Worrell (SociaLybrium; ex-P-Funk, ex-Talking Heads), Miss Lady Kier (ex-Deee-Lite), Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones, Tackhead), Melvin Gibbs (SociaLybrium, Harriet Tubman, ex-Rollins Band) and Ronny Drayton. FUNK-KIN, a New Jersey based band comprised of Shider’s brothers and cousins, will open at MMAC show only. On both nights, there will be an all-star P-Funk jam, powered by the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra. Other special guests will be named in later press updates.
This will be the second fundraiser the BRC has produced for an ailing member of the P-Funk clan. In January, the BRC raised about $2,000 in donations for Funkadelic graphic artist Pedro Bell, who has also recently befallen hard times. Sweet Relief, the nation’s most respected charity for musicians in need of financial and medical assistance, has partnered with the BRC for this fundraiser and will administrate all proceeds raised from the benefits. Sweet Relief has raised millions on behalf of such artists as Victoria Williams, Richie Hayward of Little Feat, and Lester Chambers of The Chambers Brothers, among others.
“What’s happening with Garry, Pedro and so many other artists is indicative of a much larger problem in the music industry, particularly among veterans who don’t get major support anymore,” said Darrell McNeill, Black Rock Coalition director of operations. “The business continues to make money from artists’ work, through back catalog sales, licensing and sampling, but the original creators can’t maintain a basic standard of living. The TV hit ‘Glee’ performs ‘Give Up The Funk,’ and yet Garry’s struggling to pay his hospital bills. There’s a fundamental disconnect.”
The benefit details are:
Saturday, July 10 @ Multimedia Arts Center (MMAC), 562 Bloomfield Av, Bloomfield, NJ 07003-3302, 1-973-748-MMAC Info@TheMMAC.net, 7PM doors, 8PM show, $25 advance/$30 door;
Sunday, July 11 @ B.B. King’s Blues Bar & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036-7297, (212) 997-4144, www.bbkingblues.com, 6PM doors, 8PM show, $25 advance/$30 door.
The BRC and Sweet Relief are also asking for donations through Garry Shider’s Relief Fund website for those who cannot attend: www.garryshidermedicalfund.com. All proceeds go to the administering of Shider’s medical care and financial expenses during treatment.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/blackrockcoalition and www.sweetrelief.org