Second Saturdays at Sunnyside Up

January 10- Fred Towne and the Cromatones
Beneficiary: Keep Oregon Guard in Oregon Campaign

Please join us on January 10 for the first Second Saturday Concert of the year 2009. These concerts are a good way to support a worthy cause and at the same time have an enjoyable evening out with family and friends while listening to some good local music. We suggest a donation of $5 per person. So far, concert goers have been very generous and some go way over the top with their donations. We appreciate any amount and hope to see you in the audience on Saturday, January 10th.

Singer-songwriter, Mr. Fred Towne will grace the stage for Second Saturdays Benefit Concert’s first concert of the year. Towne moved to Corvallis 14 years ago and has been entertaining local audiences ever since, playing his homegrown music at OSU noon concerts and various other benefits and venues throughout the Willamette Valley. Two great American musical genres, blues and rock and roll, have been the main influences of Towne’s musical style, while his personal experiences and sensibilities have been the raw materials for his songwriting - we can definitely expect some musical stories on concert night. Whether performing the songs he’s written himself or perhaps a cover of a favorite artist, Towne clearly loves the music and loves to share it. His talent as a songwriter has been recognized by the Kerryville Folk Music Festival in Texas where he was chosen as a finalist - quite an accomplishment! Hundreds of songwriters submit their original pieces but only a small fraction of these actually make it to the finals. We are definitely privileged to feature Mr. Towne – aka, Colorblind Fred – and are excited for you to hear and enjoy his music with us.

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Fred Towne and the Cromatones

Seth Bernstein, Jeni Wells-Whitney, Gale Farley, Jason Yaich and Fred Towne

Fred will be joined in the second set by the Chromatones with Seth Bernstein on percussion, Gale Farley on guitar, Jeni Wells-Whitney on vocals and violin, and Jason Yaich on bass. Longtime rock drummer Bernstein brings his checkered musical past with him to the stage. Farley has played for many years in local rock bands, most notably the Jurassic-rock band Fate 55. Wells-Whitney was a member of Poodle De Ville. Multi-instrumentalist Yaich's creative bass will catch your ear. These musicians are overflowing with talent and energy.

Beneficiary

All proceeds from this concert will benefit “Keep Oregon’s Guard in Oregon,” our state’s version of the national “Bring the Guard Home” campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to empower state governments to challenge the federal government’s authority to deploy National Guard troops into combat. The Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) which Congress passed in 2002, contained very specific language about the purpose of the authorization: to search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, and to force Saddam Hussein’s government to comply with UN resolutions. Because both of those missions have been accomplished, the 2002 AUMF is no longer valid, and until Congress either passes another AUMF or declares war itself, it is unlawful to continue to send troops into combat.

Four states involved with the campaign have already introduced legislation: New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. The Oregon legislation will be introducing its own legislation when they convene in January. Over 3,000 Oregon Guardsmen are scheduled to be deployed to Iraq this spring. For more information about the national campaign, see www.bringtheguardhome.org and for the Oregon state campaign see www.pjw.info

. Your donations will help keep this campaign alive and strong until the Oregon legislature acts to Keep Oregon’s Guard in Oregon.