Light Of Day Pd Concert
 

It'a that time again - this one is a magnified Shake, Rattle and Roll. I think the Vanessa Davis Band at SRR was the best I've ever heard live. Joan knows the bands.

Guitarist Matt O'Ree lends talents to a cause
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/2/07

BY CHRIS JORDAN
STAFF WRITER

Matt O'Ree's mom got a taste of how popular her son has become a few Christmases back.
"I was shopping for Christmas trees with my mom, and the guy who was helping us load our tree saw one of my stickers on my car, and he said "Matt O'Ree, I've seen him before,' " O'Ree said. "I said, "I'm Matt O'Ree.' It made me feel good that my mom got to see that. It's one fan at a time for me."
Holmdel's O'Ree combines old-soul blues stylings with an incendiary rock 'n' roll attitude. The result: a wide-ranging fan base of devotees both young and old.
"The style of music that we do, all ages can get something out of it," O'Ree said. "We play blues rock. When you hear the blues, you automatically categorize it as a slower type of music, but you don't find me playing straight-up blues."
Yet, he's the King of the Blues. That's the title he won in a Guitar Center national contest in the spring of 2006. Still, O'Ree wants to keep his appeal open-ended.
"My greatest example of how a band should do it is Gov't Mule," O'Ree said. "They're considered a jam band, but they still rock. They're not on the radio, but they get gigs because their roots-based audience shows up no matter where they're playing. That's kind of what we're after."
O'Ree and his band — Bob Pantella, Middletown, drums; Lance Taylor, Middletown, bass and Eric Safka, Wall, keyboards — are playing a special gig this weekend. They're one of the headliners at the annual Light of Day concerts, which take place tonight and Saturday at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville.
The Light of Day, founded by Bob Benjamin of Highland Park, raises funds and awareness about Parkinson's disease, a chronic and progressive neurological condition that affects movement and muscle control, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Web site, www.pdf.org. Doctors are not sure how one gets it, and for now there is no cure for the estimated 1 million Americans who have Parkinson's.
Bruce beginnings

The Light of Day shows, which have so far raised more than a half-million dollars, go back to 1998 when Benjamin, a Jersey Shore music insider, threw himself a 40th birthday party at the Downtown Cafe in Red Bank. Benjamin, born Nov. 3, took the next year off, but then had the first official Light of Day show in 2000 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
The benefit is named after the song "Light of Day" by Bruce Springsteen, who frequently performs unannounced at the shows.
This year's Light of Day — dedicated to the memory of Jersey Shore scenester and Springsteen assistant Terry Magovern — features a "Writers in the Raw" format tonight with Joe Grushecky, Ari Hest, Christine Martucci, Joe D'Urso and others performing acoustic. Grushecky, Gary U.S. Bonds, Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys, Exit 105, Joe D'Urso and Stone Caravan, Jobonanno and The Godsons of Soul and more rock electric on Saturday.
The Boss is in the middle of his "Magic" tour, so it's going to be pretty tough for him to make it this year, but he does have Saturday off . . .
As for the fight against Parkinson's disease, Benjamin speaks to audiences about a referendum on Election Day that will ask voters statewide whether the state should borrow $450 million to invest in stem cell research. Many feel that research ultimately could lead to a cure for Parkinson's.
"If you don't know about it, you should get out and vote," said Benjamin, who has Parkinson's.
O'Ree's getting out to the show with his guitar.
"One of my close friends, her mother was diagnosed with it," said O'Ree, who will release a live DVD and CD next year. "It hit home with that. It's a horrible, tough disease, and we need to find a cure for it."