Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Brief Peace for Chet Cannon

Musician Chet Cannon says philanthropy is a full-time gig.
Musician Chet Cannon says philanthropy is a full-time gig.

“At this point, we’ve done so many of them, I really couldn’t pinpoint it,” Chet Cannon says in response to a question about when, exactly, he began putting on benefit concerts. Cannon, 59, a harpist and a blues singer, fronts a band called the Committee. The reason he founded the band, he says, was as a gesture of philanthropy.

“My friend Etta Keeler — I don’t know if you remember a club down there on 70th and University called Etta’s Place...? She was hosting a benefit for Kids Rock San Diego or something that was helping bring music and instruments to school-age kids. She talked to me about how she was having a hard time getting bands to play her event.” The year was 1998, as nearly as he can recollect. “I told her, ‘Etta, don’t you worry about it. I’ll go out and put a band together.’ I did, and we’ve been doing this ever since.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Not counting Harp Fest, an annual benefit that Cannon was involved in the producing of for ten years, he says he’s created in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 more benefits since Etta’s gig. “Mostly, it’s people who come up and say, ‘Have you heard about so-and-so?’” meaning that Cannon’s causes are generally, but not limited to, local musicians. Once there was the case of a school-age boy that got hit in the back of the head and became paralyzed. “I saw Michael Turko talking about it. I called my friends and I said we gotta do something to help out.”

Cannon, who will say only that he lives on an East County mountain, is on the hook for everything once he’s decided to throw a benefit. This includes lining up the bands, the venue, the sound system, any promotion, and having all of it donated. He says he has zero for an operating budget. “It’s pretty much an endless job.” He works with a partner named Budd Willis. “He’s been my banker and my right-hand man in every show I’ve put on.” Is Willis a banker by trade? “No, he’s just an honest guy in the community who really cares like I do.”

There have been critics over the years. “It has come up in conversation that this is part of the reason that I do this, to get publicity, but I don’t need to put myself through several months of headaches and stress and added worry to get my band mentioned in the Reader.”

What the events accomplish, Cannon says, is rent, utilities, groceries, and so on. “What little monies we’re able to raise helps give them a cushion to help cover some of that stuff.” How much cash are we talking? “At a good benefit, we might raise $10,000. Usually, it’s around $5000 to $7000.” He contrasts that with the cost of a hospital stay. “There’s nothing, unfortunately, that I’ve ever done that has raised enough to save somebody’s life.” Cannon says that his objective, therefore, is to bring peace into someone’s life, “as brief as it may be.”

Monday, November 7, the Committee will host a concert at Humphrey’s to benefit San Diego drummer Paul Fasulo, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Musician Chet Cannon says philanthropy is a full-time gig.
Musician Chet Cannon says philanthropy is a full-time gig.

“At this point, we’ve done so many of them, I really couldn’t pinpoint it,” Chet Cannon says in response to a question about when, exactly, he began putting on benefit concerts. Cannon, 59, a harpist and a blues singer, fronts a band called the Committee. The reason he founded the band, he says, was as a gesture of philanthropy.

“My friend Etta Keeler — I don’t know if you remember a club down there on 70th and University called Etta’s Place...? She was hosting a benefit for Kids Rock San Diego or something that was helping bring music and instruments to school-age kids. She talked to me about how she was having a hard time getting bands to play her event.” The year was 1998, as nearly as he can recollect. “I told her, ‘Etta, don’t you worry about it. I’ll go out and put a band together.’ I did, and we’ve been doing this ever since.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Not counting Harp Fest, an annual benefit that Cannon was involved in the producing of for ten years, he says he’s created in the neighborhood of 25 or 30 more benefits since Etta’s gig. “Mostly, it’s people who come up and say, ‘Have you heard about so-and-so?’” meaning that Cannon’s causes are generally, but not limited to, local musicians. Once there was the case of a school-age boy that got hit in the back of the head and became paralyzed. “I saw Michael Turko talking about it. I called my friends and I said we gotta do something to help out.”

Cannon, who will say only that he lives on an East County mountain, is on the hook for everything once he’s decided to throw a benefit. This includes lining up the bands, the venue, the sound system, any promotion, and having all of it donated. He says he has zero for an operating budget. “It’s pretty much an endless job.” He works with a partner named Budd Willis. “He’s been my banker and my right-hand man in every show I’ve put on.” Is Willis a banker by trade? “No, he’s just an honest guy in the community who really cares like I do.”

There have been critics over the years. “It has come up in conversation that this is part of the reason that I do this, to get publicity, but I don’t need to put myself through several months of headaches and stress and added worry to get my band mentioned in the Reader.”

What the events accomplish, Cannon says, is rent, utilities, groceries, and so on. “What little monies we’re able to raise helps give them a cushion to help cover some of that stuff.” How much cash are we talking? “At a good benefit, we might raise $10,000. Usually, it’s around $5000 to $7000.” He contrasts that with the cost of a hospital stay. “There’s nothing, unfortunately, that I’ve ever done that has raised enough to save somebody’s life.” Cannon says that his objective, therefore, is to bring peace into someone’s life, “as brief as it may be.”

Monday, November 7, the Committee will host a concert at Humphrey’s to benefit San Diego drummer Paul Fasulo, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Next Article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.