Local performers, 'The Fools' to raise money for the arts
Date: 6/16/2010
June 16, 2010.By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
SPRINGFIELD -- The best talent in the Springfield public schools plus one of Boston's best known bands will unite at Stearns Square on June 17 for a benefit show to help raise money for art programs in the city's schools.
This is the second year Am B Care Ambulance Service has spearheaded a fundraising effort for the schools.
The show will feature the finals of the "Springfield Idols" contest at 4:30 p.m. That series of performances will be followed by Springfield teacher Cate Therrien at 6 p.m. in the Lin Preston Band, and then teacher Lisa Treanor on solo guitar and vocals at 6:30 p.m. The Fools will take the stage at 7:30 p.m.
The students who are performing include Eddie Gonzalez, Commerce High School; LaTanya Summers, Commerce High School; Patricia Clarke, Sci-Tech High School; William Birks, Sci-Tech High School; Shanique Holt and Samuel Holt, Sci-Tech High School; Davonte Narcisse, Sci-Tech High School; David Wilson, Sci-Tech High School; Tai'onna Pope, Lincoln Elementary; Lashea Williams, Lincoln Elementary; Nayomi M. Valle, Lincoln Elementary; Brandin Stewart, Balliet Elementary; Kimberly Ramos, Kensington Elementary; Dyshia Williams, Kensington Elementary; Jessy Jackson, Kensington Elementary; Kellie Olang, Kensington Elementary; Cqari Bacote, Rebecca Johnson; Craig Godbolt, Van Sickle Middle School; Tafan Douglas, Van Sickle Middle School.; Ian Patriarca, Van Sickle Middle School; Silavong Phimmasone, Van Sickle; Felix Garcia, Kensington Elementary; Aixa Cruz, Kensington Elementary; and Jennifer Campana, Kensington Elementary.
The show is free and the funds will be raised through the sale of concessions according to Barbara Garde of Am B Care.
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Mike Girard of The Fools is a happy man. The front man for the venerable Boston-based band told Reminder Publications that playing music is "all I ever wanted to do."
He added a plus is he gets to "play with my best friends." The band, he added with a laugh, is sometimes more of a "bowling team."
For newcomers to the group, Girard described the music as "all rock 'n' roll with a bit of slapstick involved."
"Sometimes we go off-road [with our musical choices]," he added.
Considering the band's best known songs include "Psycho Chicken" and "Life Sucks, Then You Die" one can see the comic influences.
The Fools have been playing together since 1975 and their regional success in New England translated into two national recording contracts and a lot of touring in the 1980s. Girard said, "Back in the day we played 230 to 250 one-nighters a year for a while."
The group is still plenty busy with about "50 or so [gigs] a year."
To survive the road, Girard said, "You have to learn good habits. Sleep when you can. Eat when you can."
"People said we could nap on a picket fence in the middle of a sunny day," he said with a laugh.
While the upside was fame and touring with bands such as The Knack, Blondie and The Ramones, the downside of working with a major recording company was "bookkeeping."
He said the bottom line "came out to zero."
"It was like the wolves were guarding the chickens," he added.
After the national contracts expired, The Fools began making their own recordings and selling them through outlets such as Strawberry's and Newbury Comics.
Handling their own recordings was "the first time we made some good money through the music business," he said.
The group sells their music now through their Web site at
www.thefools-band.com.
Girard is now writing a book on the band and its experiences. He had written a blog, which was noticed by a publisher.
"I'm excited about it," he said.
He is aiming to finish the book by July so it can be in the stores in the fall.
The book will "involve some pretty well known people . in most part some really nice people," he said. David Lee Roth, the one-time lead singer of Van Halen was an exception. Girard described him as a "sphincter."
His editor has contributed much to the book but Girard said, "It's mostly all me."
He added he has been told, "The book seems to have a whiff of literacy."
