Anthrax to Play Intimate Brooklyn Show to Raise Funds For Cancer Support Group Gilda’s Club NYC [Update]
Update: After tickets for the St. Vitus show sold out in less than a minute, Anthrax have added a second show for Saturday, Sept. 17. Doors open at midnight and the band will go onstage at 1AM. Tickets are priced at $50 and go on sale at 12N ET today (Sept. 16) at this location. Proceeds will benefit Gilda's Club NYC.
Anthrax will be playing a special gig at Brooklyn’s St. Vitus club to raise money for Gilda’s Club NYC, an organization that provides support and networking groups, educational lectures, workshops and social activities for cancer patients, their loved ones and those who are bereft.
Anthrax are one piece of this year’s Ten Bands One Cause initiative aimed at bringing awareness during October’s Cancer Awareness Month. Other acts involved include Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys and The Pixies.
"This has to be the most intimate show we've played since the early ‘80s, which makes it so special," says vocalist Joey Belladonna. Anthrax have an extremely personal interest in this event, as drummer Charlie Benante’s mother and bassist Frank Bello’s grandmother, Bernadette ‘Tina’ Benante, passed away from cancer in 2012.
"Cancer took away one of the most important people in my life," says Bello. "I was at the hospital wheeling my grandmother to chemo and it was just brutal. Anything that we can do to not make people go through that hell is something we want to be involved with."
The band members will always attest that Tina was never one to miss an Anthrax show, always baking cookies for the New York thrashers. "My Mom was all about letting me follow my dream, she always pushed me in that direction,” says Charlie. “She was the one who would take me to buy my records, she was the one who would sit through a matinee of all five Planet of the Apes movies. She was the one who got me to be who I am. I am going to celebrate her life every day."
"No one should face cancer alone,” says guitarist Scott Ian. “The vital support they (Gilda’s Club NYC) give to cancer patients and their families is truly a noble cause and we are honored to be able to help."
Tickets for the St. Vitus gig are priced at $50 and all proceeds will benefit Gilda’s Club NYC (named after late Saturday Night Live alum Gilda Radner). Everyone who purchases a ticket will also receive a limited-edition shirt created for cancer awareness, courtesy of Jakprints. Anthrax will also print pink vinyl copies of their latest album, For All Kings, that will become available via Amazon and FYE stores beginning Sept. 27. A small quantity, all signed by the band, will be available at the St. Vitus gig.
Click here to grab tickets once they go on sale Friday, Aug. 19 at noon ET.
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