Oct 04, 2016 Musack Rock and Roll Carnival 2016 recap
I got invited to a backyard benefit for music education and it was unbelievable. Just look at the picture above: that’s Weird Al playing an unannounced set of originals and Shepard Fairey hanging out by the DJ set. After coveting last year’s lineup with Rancid, Fishbone, and John Doe and Exene Cervenka, Wendy and I were super excited to be invited by my friends Vicki and Horace (below with the red hair and waving), who contributed to the silent auction and played with The Interrupters, respectively. We gladly paid for Eloise to attend!
There was a super casual atmosphere with high-end details like Salt & Straw ice cream and a silent auction with stuff signed by movie stars and the cast of Hamilton. I loved how the performers were just wandering around so I could introduce my daughter to old acquaintances like Kid Koala and Dan The Automator (and sort of joking tell them not give me a shout-out from onstage during the Deltron set because I had to leave early to see the Descendents) and also meet people like Weird Al, Rodney on the Roq, and Tim Timebomb–all excellent humans!
Musack founder Donick Cary comes from the world of entertainment, so I’m pretty sure we walked right by a ton of famous actors and comedians that I didn’t even recognize. Right between Cody Chestnutt and Tim Timebomb’s sets, a handful of guests (including original Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Player Laraine Newman and Fred Willard from Real People) read/mashed up celebrity autobiographies (such as Dolly Parton and One Direction). It was a hoot!
Perhaps the most eyebrow-arching set was “Tim in a Tree.” As we were chit-chatting about Rancid shows in Chinatown and how the Adolescents are such nice guys, he explained that the idea for his solo set in a felled tree came about because the organizers of the show come from comedy. After playing a handful of Rancid songs from up above, he descended the trunk accompanied by horn players and walked back to the stage where the Interrupters launched into his song, “Into Action.” Cool!
The Interrupters played a few of their great new songs, and I love how Aimee shook hands or gave knuckles to Eloise and all the little kids who were dancing in front before passing the microphone to the special guests. Holy cow, Rhoda Dakar singing “Easy Life” as heard on Dance Craze? You have to be kidding me, and her voice and stage presence were so awesome and cool and effortless.
I was really excited that Eloise would get to see Horace and Lynval playing Specials songs with The Interrupters: “Poor Little Rich Girl,” “Do Nothing,” “A Message To You Rudy”… By the time they wrapped up with “Pressure Drop” and “Monkey Man,” the modest stage was a full-on dance party with Aimee, Rhoda, and Tim joining in. It was the closest we’ll get to seeing Dance Craze in real life, and our eight-year-old daughter saw Lynval teach everyone how to “old man skank” from right in front!
As someone who helps put on much humbler DIY benefits for the music program at our daughter’s school, it would be easy to be jealous of what Musack does. But my family and I had a blast and there’s no such thing as too many fund raisers of all scales for music education. Kids need music and so do we adults.
Hope to seeya at the next show. For more information on the cause or to stay in the loop for future events, check out musack.org.