There is a benefit concert for music producer Scott Harding at the Commodore tomorrow night that looks fantastic.   I am not familiar with Scott Harding but this is from Barney Bentall's website:

At 3am on Friday, February 15, 2008, music producer Scott Harding was the victim of a car crash, returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was riding in was broadsided by a stolen car; the impact crushed Harding’s T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Scott's condition is serious and like many dedicated musicians he is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and legal fees.

The short term need to raise cash in order to handle Scott’s affairs is very real. His friends and the dedicated musical community that Scott has long been a part of quickly united, forming The Scotty Hard Trust, a special account which will help to handle Scott’s financial needs through private monetary donations.

 If you're interested there is also a link for making donations.

http://barneybentall.ca/index.cfm?go=site.index&id=19

The line-up looks fantastic:

Hardstock 08 features the cream of Vancouver musicians from the last 30 years. Headlining is a super group called The Hard Ones featuring Barney Bentall, Doug Elliot, Paul Hyde, Colin James, Simon Kendall, Colin Nairne, Craig Northey, Pat Steward, Neil Osbourne and Dave Genn from 54/40: The Pointed Sticks; The Jazzmanian Devils; John Mann from Spirit of the West with his son: Bughouse 5; Hardrock Miners; the Furies; Braineater; Go Four 3, Swank and the Mike Webster band. 100% of the net proceeds will be going to Scott Harding aka Scotty Hard.

It looks like it will be a terrific night & a great cause for anyone looking for something to do on Friday night.
 

I just saw an interview with Colin James about the show.  They expect it to sell out & there are some surprise guests.  I am just waiting to see if a friend was able to get a sitter for her daughter.  Either way I have decided to go.  It certainly is a good cause & a great line-up. 

This poor fellow has been in the hospital in New York City since February without health insurance.  I can't begin to imagine how much he must owe. 

I can, my son had a snowboarding accident in the States and we had no insurance so one day cost us THOUSANDS  cause of MRI's, medication, ambulance, doctors fees, nurses fees, you have to pay for EVERYTHING, even one single tylenol,  so if he's been in there since February, OUCH

Torri have fun......if it was around here, I'd be going to  

Have a great time tonight Torri.    It would be a wonderful show.  I've ended up working late tonight, a coworker's parent passed away and I opted to stay and work the remainder of the shift.

Hoist a cold one for all of us who wish we could be with you.  Can't wait to hear who the surprise guests were.

So how was it?

Here's a link to an article that explains a little more about Harding's situation. It's dire.

http://www.canada.com/cityguides/vancouver/story.html?id=fe6355e2-b906-44a3-adc4-eea00dc0cc36&k=65995 

By my count, as of the end of April, Harding will have spent 74 days in hospital, at a cost of $2,000 - $3,000 US per day. That's if the charges for hospital and rehab don't compound.

It's not like he's going to get his life back either.

Ugly scary. 

Dennis Mills here from the Jazzmanian Devils.  Hey- I'm one of the organizers for Hardstock- the benefit you are speaking about.  I will let you all know soon, but hopefully we were able to raise $25-27000 for all our efforts.  For more information, I encourage you to go to www.hardstockforscottyhard.org

We have another benefit coming up on June 13 at Christ Church Cathedral.  Details will be posted on the Hardstock website. 

And for those who would like to make a personal donation:

The Scotty Hard Trust

Personal donations can be made directly
to the Scotty Hard Trust.

Send payable to

"The Scotty Hard Trust”
c/o Heesok Chang
970 Kent Ave #401
Brooklyn NY 11205

www.scottyhardtrust.com

MEDIA ADVISORY

CANADIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY RALLY’S FOR
ONE OF THEIR OWN

For Immediate Release (April 11, 2008)

Vancouver, B.C.: Friends and fellow musicians are planning an all-star fundraiser for 44-year-old Canadian musician Scott Harding. The talented musician, who grew up in Vancouver, was prolific in the city’s underground music culture before moving to New York nineteen years ago.

“Not only is Scott one of the most talented musician’s in Canada, he is truly one of the most popular people on the music business in North America,” says Dennis Mills of Vancouver’s alternative music group The Jazzmanian Devils.

Harding spent years in Vancouver’s underground scene, and local hipsters will remember Scott best as a founding member of Bamff, Rhythm Mission and The Jazzmanian Devils.

In New York, his list of production credits is staggering, including Chris Rock (Never Scared), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Wu-Tang Clan, Tricky, Medeski Martin & Wood, Prince Paul, De La Soul, PM Dawn, Brand New Heavies, Vernon Reid, Material, and literally dozens of other well-known and influential artists from the jazz, hip-hop and rock genres.

The accident that left Scott a paraplegic occurred in the early morning hours of February 16th, when the musician was returning home from a recording session. The car Scott was riding in was hit, and the resulting injuries have left him paralyzed him from the chest down. Scott remains in hospital in New York with a crushed T5 vertebrae, broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade, and, sadly, no health insurance and large medical bills.

Now, members of Canada’s music industry, along with Scott’s many friends, are asking for your support at the Hardstock 08 show for April 25 at the Commodore.


Tickets are only $25.00, and are now on sale at TicketMaster, Zulu, Scratch, Noize To Go and Red Cat. Artists scheduled to appear include:

The Hard Ones (featuring Barney Bentall, Doug Elliott, Paul Hyde, Colin James, Simon Kendall, Colin Nairne, Craig Northey, Pat Steward, Neil Osborne, Dave Genn, Brad Merritt of 54-40, Dave"Rave" Ogilvie, Ra McGuire and Smitty (Trooper)  and more.....
The Pointed Sticks with guest Brian Goble (Wimpy) from the subhumans
Jazzmanian Devils
John Mann from Spirit Of The West
Bughouse 5

Kinnie Starr
The Hard Rock Miners
The Furies
I Braineater
Go Four Three
Swank
Mike Webster

Scotty Hard - Hardstock 08

It was quite the night.  I am glad to hear so much money was raised for such a good cause.  There was sure a lot of love in the room that night.  I wasn't familiar with Scott Harding until I heard about the benefit.  One thing is clear he has a lot of really great friends.  I was happy to be there & to contribute a little to the cause. 

The one thing I found disappointing was that the Hard Ones played for such a short amount of time.  I had seen/heard several interviews plugging Colin James & Barney Bentall so I was suprised & disappointed that they only did one song each.  I would still have gone but would have had different expectations had I realized the super group would be playing for such a short period of time.

We have new strict smoking laws in Vancouver which has resulted in the Commodore not allowing anyone outside to smoke because you can no longer smoke within 6 metres of a entrance.  In theory this is great except that the bathrooms have now become the smoking room & nobody at the Commodore checks on it.  It reminded me of the good old days when I would have a shower after going to the bar so I wouldn't wake up smelling like a smoker. 

I would be happy to attend another fundraiser for Scott Harding. 

When Canadians flock to the US to shop I always suggest they get their medical care there too.  We pay more taxes & we pay more for stuff but when we're sick we don't have to worry about losing everything.   We should all be extremely grateful for our health care system even with all of it's problems.