When the chips are down, San Diego’s music scene has rallied around its community. Whether because of a natural disaster or a personal tragedy, local musicians readily pitch in to help. The latest such example, A Big Blues Benefit to Help Bring AJ Home, will take place on Monday, Oct. 23, at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge.
Music gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with a full roster of some of San Diego’s best blues artists on hand. Harmonica player Chet Cannon and The Committee will be joined by harmonica virtuoso Kellie Rucker, Karin Carson and Eric Leiberman, as well as Steve White, Hoodoo Blues and The 145th Street Deluxe Band.
The show is a fund-raiser for 13-year-old AJ Hendrick of Lakeside, who suffered a brain aneurysm following a blow to the head during a schoolyard scuffle. Now living with major brain damage, AJ cannot function without special medical equipment. His mother would like to bring him home from the hospital but the family apartment is too small to accommodate the machinery needed for AJ’s care. Recently, a larger home was found but major renovations must take place before the family can move in. After seeing the story on the KUSI Turko Files, Cannon decided to gather the blues community for a fund-raiser to help this worthy cause.
According to Cannon, there is no shortage of talent that wants to be included in an altruistic event like this, but other things will take precedence. “Band selection usually comes down to those who aren’t scheduled with other business at the time of the event,” he joked. “I’ve learned most folks want to do something to help when presented an opportunity. Artists are caring, compassionate, giving people who understand hard times. Most of us don’t have much money but know that we can make a difference by working together.”
Alongside his band, The Committee, Cannon got his start in the area’s clubs in 2001 and has since built a solid fan base. He released an album in 2006, Don’t Get Me Started, which was nominated this year for a San Diego Music Award for Best Blues Album.
In 2003, he began to put together occasional benefit concerts for causes such as The Marine Family Food Locker. A personal experience in his past proved to be the catalyst for setting up this fund-raiser and others like it.
“Years ago, I was involved in a serious car wreck “” breaking my neck and back “” and couldn’t find any help getting resituated,” he explained. “I decided back then if there was ever something I could do to make a difference in someone’s life, who was in a similar situation, that I would try,” he said.
According to Carson, it’s only natural for performers to want to help others. “Musicians are the storytellers of our time. There’s a natural sensitivity to the nature of the human condition that we experience, write about and share,” she remarked. “With that platform comes the responsibility to reach out to the people around us.”