After two years of virtual concerts, long-time ABC7 News anchor Dan Ashley is back with an in-person charity event to benefit Bay Area children in need. The San Francisco Bay Times recently asked Ashley to share more information about the upcoming fundraiser.
San Francisco Bay Times: Dan, what is Rock the CASA all about?
Dan Ashley: Rock the CASA is a 501c3 nonprofit charity that I started about ten years ago to raise money to support a variety of causes that help underserved children in need here in the Bay Area.
San Francisco Bay Times: These are organizations that you are personally involved in, is that right?
Dan Ashley: Exactly right. I have supported these beneficiaries for many years and serve on the boards of some of them. Organizations like Court Appointed Special Advocates, which helps children removed from their homes because of abuse and/or neglect. Also, Friends of Camp Concord (FOCC), which sends kids to summer camp at Lake Tahoe, all expenses paid. In the 27 years that I’ve hosted a golf tournament for FOCC, we’ve sent 12,000 kids to camp. I am a long-time board member of both of those organizations. Also benefiting from Rock the CASAare Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area and Boys and Girls Club of Contra Costa.
San Francisco Bay Times: So, Rock the CASA raises not just money but also awareness for those causes with an annual concert. You’ve had some amazing headliners over the years.
Dan Ashley: I’ve been so fortunate to have some remarkable artists perform at this event. We started with Eddie Money, then REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Melissa Etheridge, Patti LaBelle, and Rick Springfield, who performed literally one week before the COVID-19 lockdown. A week later, we couldn’t have done it. The next two years we did wonderful virtual events with Chuck Leavell of the Rolling Stones, who has been a friend of mine for fifteen years or more. And last year, a very dear friend, three-time Grammy winner Narada Michael Walden, headlined our online event.
San Francisco Bay Times: But this year, you’re back in person. We were excited to see that, and to hear about your latest headliner.
Dan Ashley: It really is [exciting]. We will be back at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on April 15 with a rock icon: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts!
San Francisco Bay Times: That’s a great get! What do people need to do to get tickets?
Dan Ashley: First, don’t wait. They’re going fast! For tickets and additional information, just go to: https://rockthecasa.org/
See you at the show!
1. Jett has three albums that have been certified platinum or gold.
2. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
3. Jett is a vegetarian who supports many animal rights groups such as Farm Sanctuary, PETA, and the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary. She has also supported the American Heart Association the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and numerous other nonprofits and groups.
4. She is mostly a self-taught musician, as she did not relate to the folk music that her guitar teacher focused on when she was in school. That turned out to be a good decision, per the next fact here.
5. Rolling Stone magazine in 2007 named Jett one of the top 100 rock and roll guitarists of all time.
6. She was kicked out of operatic vocal lessons due to her then controversial, edgy clothing, and later became a fashion icon.
7. When her earlier band The Runaways toured Japan, they were such a hit that they outsold recordings released by supergroups at the time, such as ABBA and Kiss.
8. When she did not gain support for her solo work from major record companies, Jett founded her own record label, Blackheart Records, in 1980.
9. Jett used her independent record label to promote early hip hop artists, such as groundbreaking hip hop pioneer Big Daddy Kane.
10. Among her tattoos is one on her back, of a labrys, which is often used as a symbol of lesbian and female empowerment.
Joan Jett’s and the Blackhearts on the net: https://www.joanjett.com/
Entertainment
Published on April 6, 2023
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