Beat Cancer Like A Drum!

There he is again. My brother. The rock star.

You've met him before. Remember? He's the drummer for Eddie Money. Wailing on the cans, thrashing the cymbals, pounding his Chuck Taylor's on the kick drum, and laughing out loud!

My beautiful brother has cancer. And it pisses me off.

Today, his band mates, his musician friends from around the globe, his loyal high school pals from way back when, and folks he doesn't even know, are coming together for a huge concert event. All the bands donating their time and talent, are doing it to help Glenn out with his soaring medical bills. Eddie $ started it. He's been Glenn's boss for almost 30 years, and he does not want to see any other drummer behind him, pounding to the song Shakin'. And so, a rock festival was in order. The Eddie Money Band wanted to do something to help their brother out in a time of need. Then other musicians and bands jumped on board.

Spokane, WA. will be Rockin' and a Rollin' like there's no tomorrow. Songs will be sung, guitars will be strummed, drumsticks will fly and a mixture of tears and laughter will be shared. I just know it.

But, I can't be there. I'll be there in spirit though! I'm always with him. That's for sure.

Instead, I'm with C on a business trip to Grand Teton National Park today. I know, I know. Who does that?? He's teaching a class there on environmental sociology in the fall, and he's meeting with his peeps to set it all up. Being the wife of a professor has it's perks. Hehe.

Oh, and I almost forgot! It's our 12 year anniversary. I can't wait to celebrate with campfire coffee and moose snorts. I cant wait to hear my coyote pack yip and yowl in the middle of the night, alternating with the long song of the wolves. I can't wait to wake up early in a tent, poke my head out and see the breath of a bison and stare into the eyes of a raven.

I've gotten off track. This story is about my brother. And don't you forget it, my friends.

I'm including an article that was in the Spokeman Review a couple of days ago. It's about the benefit concert for Glenn that takes place in just a few hours.

Read it. Will you do that for me, my little birds of a feather?

Hey Glenny!! We're all with you today! Wings spread wide, soaring and swooping down on you, with raptor kisses and love!

THE BEAT GOES ON...oh, yes.

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ROCKERS UNITE FOR FRIEND IN NEED -The Spokesman-Review

The 1973 graduate should have been returning to his hometown for his 40th class reunion this summer, but instead, he’ll return for a performance that will help pay for cancer treatments. He was diagnosed with high-grade bladder cancer in April.

“That means it’s moving out of the bladder into the muscle area,” he said. “If it does hit that muscle, they say the only option is to remove the bladder. That scares the hell out of me.”

While he’s been steadily employed as a musician, Glenn doesn’t have health insurance and is facing huge medical bills.

What he does have are friends and fans who are reaching out, donating what they can.“I’ve got a wonderful network of friends who are stretching their arms out full of love to me. I am blown away by the support that I’ve been given,” Symmonds said.

One of those friends is Eddie Money, the man behind the hits “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Take Me Home Tonight,” “Shakin’ ” and “Baby Hold On.”

“We just gotta get out there and see what we can do about kicking this cancer in the ass for this poor boy,” Money said. “It would be devastating to turn around and not see him back there on the cans, you know.”

Money will be giving two performances Sunday at the Roadhouse, 20 N. Raymond Road in Spokane Valley, along with local acts Sammy Eubanks, The Nerve and Skiveez.

Peter Rivera of Rare Earth will also perform. All the musicians are donating their time; the proceeds will benefit Symmonds.

“It’s really just a beautiful brotherhood of musicians and also a lot of other cancer survivors,” Symmonds said. He said many musicians he knows don’t have medical insurance and often turn to one another for help when something happens.

“This has gotten bigger than me and bigger than anything I can imagine,” Symmonds said of the help he’s been receiving.

Symmonds said he’s staying positive and keeping busy with work while he undergoes treatment. He said he performs mostly on weekends, which keeps his mind off being sick.

“When I’m on the road with the band, they cut me a little bit of slack because I have cancer,” he said. “But not too much. They treat me like the normal Glenn that I am. I like it.”

Money and Symmonds met in Berkeley in the early 1970s. Money said the music scene was just blowing up creatively at the time: along with Money, there was Huey Lewis and the News and Tower of Power. Symmonds was playing with a reggae band called the Untouchables.Money said he’s looking forward to performing in Spokane again. The band played here last year.

“They gave me the key to the city of Spokane about 20 years ago,” Money said. “I still have the key to the city of Spokane. I’m going to bring it with me.”

Both Symmonds and Money promise a good time for concertgoers.

“Come on down and do some shakin’ with the Money Man,” Money said. “You know, I’ve got two tickets, but I’m taking everybody, don’t forget.”