The Battle of the Bands

DAVID J. LITVAK

Community members will be letting their hair down and rocking out for a good cause later this month. Otherwise mild-mannered Jewish professionals and community members will be participating in the second annual Battle of the Bands, a fundraiser for Richmond Jewish Day School and the Louis Brier Aged Foundation.

Conceived by Arnold Shuchat, a realtor who borrowed the concept from the Maimonides Home for the Aged in his hometown of Montreal, Battle of the Bands will feature energetic and enthusiastic performances by six local bands who will perform a wide variety of music, from 1940s standards to swing, pop and rock and roll covers.

First-time performers will join Battle veterans and professional musicians – and if last year's event is any indication, not only will a lot of money be raised but the audience will be treated to a party.

Last year's inaugural event raised $40,000 for RJDS and Louis Brier. Gabriela Slade, assistant director of development at the Louis Brier Home for the Aged, said, "Last year's Battle of the Band's was the absolute most fun event or fundraiser I have ever worked at." She noted that Shuchat's "energy is unbelievable" and that he is the positive driving force behind the event. The Louis Brier staff is grateful that he approached them to be part of this event, said Slade, because it fits perfectly with the Louis Brier's Mi Dor L'Dor (From Generation to Generation) motto. "If we had sat down and tried to come up with a way of putting this motto into practice, we couldn't have conceived of a better event ourselves," she added.

For John Gale of the Gale Force Blue's Band, this year's event affords him the opportunity to pay tribute to his mother Rebecca, who passed away at the Louis Brier Home earlier this month.

Other participants, like Shuchat (who will be emceeing and whose band Open Sundays will perform), have children attending RJDS. School principal Rebecca Coen said last year's Battle "really allowed for different segments of the community to come together and was a bridge builder between older, more established families and young up-and-coming families."

Building community and bringing different generations of Jews is precisely what motivated Shuchat to approach RJDS and Louis Brier to hold such an event.

Shuchat emphasized that Battle is not just about raising money, "but it's also about empowering individuals and helping people to realize their dreams." He is particularly excited about some of the first-time performers at this year's event, like Devra Epstein and Shoshana Hudson.

Hudson volunteered last year but this year, she will be singing with Open Sundays. The band's rehearsal space is very appropriate for a couple of former Montrealers, said Hudson: "We are rehearsing at Bongwear, a shmatte warehouse, courtesy of Irwin Lupovici, a client and friend of Arnie's, and so we are surrounded by piles of cotton and reams of fabric." After she finishes performing, Hudson is looking forward to "dancing and partying" the night away.

Howard Mickelson, a lawyer whose band is the Howard Mickelson Blues Experience, is looking forward to the return engagement at the River Rock Theatre. "As a hobby band, you don't get to play at rooms like the River Rock where folks like Joe Cocker and Billy Idol have performed." Mickelson's band includes bonafide guitar god Les Toth. Toth's performance last year inspired Brian Rudy (who plays rhythm guitar in Mickelson's band) to quip: "I want a black light poster of him in my house." Mickelson promises that his group will be playing straight rock, "that is fun, danceable and well executed ... we will be kicking out the jams, musically speaking."

Battle of the Bands will happen on Thursday, Nov. 26, 7 p.m., at the River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling 604-261-5550 or e-mailing [email protected].

David J. Litvak is a freelance writer and publicist living in Vancouver.

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