For The Record, This Is A Great Event

If I ever make it out to California for a vacation again, I hope there’s a Wild Honey Foundation event going on at the time. These people have hit upon a terrific formula of bringing cool musicans together to do cool things to help very worthy causes. In the past, Wild Honey has gathered some of alternative rock and power pop’s brightest stars to perform Beatles or Big Star albums in order to raise money for autism research and a children’s music fund. On October 8, the foundation will present a Help John Wicks Beat Cancer! show at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Wicks helped found the British power pop band The Records, who had a hit with their impossibly catchy single “Starry Eyes” back in the late 1970s. They also did the very fun “Teenarama.” In more recent years, Wicks has worked with Debbi Peterson of The Bangles as a duo called Broken Sky, and recorded the magnificent power pop fantasy “That Girl Is Emily” with The Records.

Unfortunately, Wicks is now battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer by enduring extensive chemo therapy. The Facebook page for this event notes that he’s making good progress. But he’ll need a lot of help with medical bills, which is why The Bangles; Denny Laine of Wings and The Moody Blues; Al Stewart of “Year Of The Cat” fame; Peter Case from The Nerves and The Plimsouls; The Muffs; and The Kennedys are coming to his aid. The Wild Honey Orchestra and Singers, with special guests, will also be on hand. Chris Chris Carter, host of radio station KLOS’ Breakfast With The Beatles program, will serve as the host. Tickets for Help John Wicks Beat Cancer! are $40 for General Admission and there’s a VIP package for $100.