Put together a list of Wisconsin bands that includes The Celebrated Workingman, Madison's Bascom Hill, Marc Ballini, The Jeanna Salzer Band, Joe Hite, Ian & the Dream, The Boogie Men and Rhonda Begos -- among others -- and you've got something of an all-star cast.
Have them perform together to raise funds to battle cancer and you've got the recipe for a great night. That night comes Friday, May 7 at 7 p.m. when the This Time Tomorrow Benefit concert takes place at The Pfister Hotel.
Proceeds from the concert benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The project got its start in 2001 when ad man Cory Zimmermann's friend got sick.
"Dick Ticcioni and I were working together at an advertising agency when he was diagnosed with Lymphoma following a hernia examination," writes Zimmermann on the This Time Tomorrow Web site.
"Though Dick remained positive, I was devastated that I couldn't do more to help him through his difficult time. It was the bitterest inspiration I've ever received, but it gave me an idea for a song ("This Time Tomorrow") which I recorded that night in my home studio despite a 102-degree fever. I would become the first of many motivated by Dick's courage."
A decade later, Ticcioni is, according to the Zimmermann, "living healthy," and the song has also taken on a life of its own. A remake has been recorded with Bad Boy's Xeno, Ameerah, Joy Bach, and members of The Toys, Street Life, Rhythm Method, Old Mil and Oil Can Harry, among others.
"The enthusiasm and generosity we've gotten from musicians everywhere for this project is unbelievable," says Zimmermann.
"It's probably one of the first times all these different music genres have gotten together for one common cause. And we're being approached by more and more bands every day who want to get involved because of personal stories and connections to love ones who have had cancer.
"It says a lot about how many people are affected by this disease and a lot about how giving the Milwaukee music community is."
Zimmerman and his company, Z2, have worked with LLS for a decade now, donating pro bono work for the society.
Zimmermann's Z2 partner Debra Zindler has been nominated for LLS Woman of the Year this year and her campaign is in honor of 7-year-old Frankie Deutsch, who is doing well after having been diagnosed with leukemia in 2005.
"Z2 and I really believe in the LLS mission-to help people like Frankie," says Zindler. "It's an honor to be associated with such a great cause."
Tickets for the concert are $18 and "This Time Tomorrow" can be downloaded for $1.99 at ThisTimeTomorrow.org. Zimmermann hopes the concert will raise $50,000 for cancer research.
Tickets are available through the Brown Paper Tickets hotline at (800) 838-3006.
The full line-up for the May 7 concert is: Bascom Hill, The Felix Culpa, The Celebrated Workingman, The Boogie Men, Marc Ballini, Rhonda Begos, The Jeanna Salzer Band, No Quarter, Joe Hite, Spoiled Rotten, Ian & the Dream, Dan Oberbruner, Mark Hubing Band, ZyFy and Hayward Williams.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
