Local musicians will be teaming up on Tuesday, August 25th to help in the fight against domestic violence in Western New York. The "Loud Guys Against Violence Against Women" concert will feature four local hard rock bands. The show will take place at the Town Ballroom at 681 Main St. downtown; doors will open at 7PM. Admission will be $5 and proceeds will benefit the The Family Justice Center of Erie County, which is presenting the concert with the aim of increasing awareness about domestic violence in our area.
The local hard rock groups that will be performing are Kryszt, Rev, Floozie, and Critt's Juke Joint featuring Eric Crittenden and Friends. During the concert, there will be a projection of the names of the 13 women who were killed in Western New York as a result of acts of domestic violence from May 2008 - May 2009.
Julie A. Doerr, the Manager of Community Relations for the Family Justice Center, credits Al Kryszak of the band Rev with formulating the plan for this event and putting it together. Kryszak wants this to concert to change the violent stereotype about hard rock and hard rock fans. To show that hard rock is not about violence, he points to a statement Kurt Cobain made after hearing that a woman had been assaulted during one of his concerts. Cobain said "I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience."
Kryszak also stated that "This awareness concert is about protecting the right of a woman to stay alive while she's in a relationship".
The Family Justice Center of Erie County, Inc., provides one-stop, free, wrap-around services for women who are victims of domestic violence as well as their children. The Center is a collaboration of 11 local partners, including the Buffalo Police Department, Erie County District Attorney, Erie County Probation Department, Neighborhood Legal Services, Crisis Services, Haven House, Hispanics United of Buffalo, International Institute of Buffalo, Child Advocacy Center and the University at Buffalo Department of Family Medicine.
Here are some links for the bands and for the Family Justice Center:
Rev-Alan Kryszak-Website
Kryszt Website
Floozie Website
Critt Website
Family Justice Center Website
I thought the Wilco show was last week....