The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund returned to live events in a big way on Sunday, May 7 with its inaugural Rock For Ronnie Concert In The Park held at Los Encinos Historic Park in Encino. This first Rock For Ronnie, which sold out in advance, was a day of live rock music, silent and live auctions, food trucks and fun for the entire family, while raising awareness of the dreaded disease that has touched all of us in some fashion.
Rock For Ronnie, hosted by radio and television personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM’s 103 Faction Talk channel, brought in some $50,000 for the Dio Cancer Fund’s mission of cancer prevention, education and research for a cure. The 501(c)(3) public charity was formed in memory of the legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010.
Wendy Dio and host Eddie Trunk welcome the SRO crowd; Photo by Craig Newman
The afternoon kicked off with Jason Charles Miller and his band’s unique brand of southern rock. The Atomic Punks (the Tribute to Early Van Halen) followed with a rousing set of familiar material. Next up was the Return of…Steamroller, a reunion 10 years in the making, featuring veteran musicians and former members of Whitesnake Doug Aldrich, Brian Tichy and Michael Devin, performing Whitesnake classics.
The Return of Steamroller (from left): Michael Devin, Brian Tichy, Doug Aldrich; Photo by Craig Newman
Dio Disciples, comprising Simon Wright, Scott Warren, Oni Logan, Bjorn Englen, Ira Black, Terry Ilous and Dyna Shirasaki plus guest performer singer Ann Boleyn, completed the formal lineup.
An All-Star Jam comprising a variety of classic metal hits like Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock ‘N Roll” and Motӧrhead’s “Ace of Spades” as well as Dio favorites such as “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “Stand Up And Shout” closed out the show. Participants included guitarists Doug Aldrich ((Whitesnake, DIO, Steamroller); Ira Black (BulletBoys, Dio Disciples, Vio-lence); Chris Broderick, (In Flames, Act of Defiance, ex Megadeth); Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, Machine Head); Marc Ferrari (Keel); Keith Nelson (Buckcherry); Adrian Vandenberg (Whitesnake, Vandenberg); Ricky Warwick (Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders); and Toshi Yanagi of the Jimmy Kimmel Live band; vocalists Andry Lagiou (The Voice Greece, her bespoke band Andry); Michael Devin (Whitesnake, Steamroller); Jesse Hughes (Eagles of Death Metal); Chad McMurray (Rivet Skull, Dio Rising); Patrick Stone (Budderside, Sweet, Adler’s Appetite); Marq Torien (BulletBoys); Neil Turbin (Death Riders, Anthrax); and Chas West (West Bound, Bonham); bass players Stu Hamm (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai); Sean McNabb (Dokken, The Keef Richards); Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake); Marty O’Brien (Daughtry, Lita Ford); Dug Pinnick, (King’s X); Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio); and Kemble Walters (Chevelle); drummers Fred Aching (BulletBoys, Kings of Thrash, Powerflo); Mike Dupke (Wednesday 13, W.A.S.P.); Kyle Hughes (Bumblefoot, Marco Mendoza); Zak St. John (Black Star Riders); and Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Steamroller); and keyboard players Walter Ino (The Babys, Eagles of Death Metal); and Mike Mangan (The Cult).
All Stars (from left): Phil Demmel, Marty O’Brien, Rudy Sarzo, Chris Broderick; Photo by Stephanie Cabral
Dr. Sandy Kapoor, co-founder and Medical Director of the Dio Cancer Fund, brought the audience up to date about the latest innovations in cancer prevention and screening while the Dio Cancer Fund Medical Booth offered information on skin cancer awareness and prevention and distributed much-needed complimentary sunscreen.
CPA Bill McBride was presented with the “King of Rock n Roll” award for his ongoing support and significant contributions to the Dio Cancer Fund. He was then invited to join the All Star Jam, playing guitar on the Dio classic “King of Rock ‘N Roll.”
A raffle and silent auction brought in additional funds for the charity while live auctions for one-of-a-kind rock collectibles were held from the stage between artist performances. Among the live auction items were a Dave Grohl drum head airbrushed by artist Jason Oberly (oberlyinc.com) with Dave Grohl’s face and signed by Dave Grohl; a custom acoustic guitar airbrushed by artist Jason Oberly with Ronnie James Dio’s likeness; a rare 2 disc test pressing of Black Sabbath’s “Live Evil” and a complete Metallica vinyl collection, with the "Hardwired to Self-Destruct" album signed by the band. The airbrushed Jason Oberly items were donated to the Dio Cancer Fund by Kellie Chapman from MusiCares.
Sponsors lending their invaluable support to the inaugural Rock For Ronnie included MacLeod Ale (Jennifer Febre and Alastair Boase); Liquid Death Mountain Water (Blasko); Topo Chico Mineral Water (Tina Rios); Archie's Ice Cream (Shant Keuilian); 4Wall Entertainment (Liberty Bock, Canin Campbell, Todd Koval and team); CES (Mitch Margolin, Marcus Brown, Sharon Lehn); Clair Global (Paul Newman, Emily Arnold, Dave Bibbens, Oscar Bribriesca, Justine Castro, Pavin Greenwall, Cooper Hansen, Brennan Houser, Nelson Walti); Eventcare (EMTs Becky Rossiter-Moon, Jeremy Moon, Steve Jackson, Lyle Weiser and Runglawan Suriyabun); Mates (Bobby and Jenny Brunner); Road Radios (Jeremy Schilling, Rebecca Meick); and LA's premier rock radio station, 95.5 KLOS (Wendy Ellis, Fernando Lujan, Emily Morenz, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Erica Giselle Salazar Villa and Ramona Rodriguez).
Rock For Ronnie also wishes to thank the following companies and their staff members for their services: All Valley Rentals (Rob Dickey); Alpine Fresh Water (Mitch Sgro); Coffee A Go-Go Food Truck (Vanessa Mirabal); Cosmic Surgery Essential Oils (Jose Torres); Epic Entertainment & Sports (Keli Tomack); Fashion Police Wagon (Audrey Clonch and Jules Harrison); JessiKay Henna Tattoos (Jessica Graham); Kapoor Medical Group (Sandy, Devin and Dylan Kapoor, Faye Jarrow, Dr. Sadi Jimenez, David Saviola and Elizabeth Flores); Los Encinos State Historical Park (Sgt. James Valdez, Jennifer Zangwill); North Hollywood Ice (Bobby Benedetto); QPrime (Warren Christensen, Amanda Spellman); Rockwood Saloon Clothing (Tony Sinicropi); Salt N’ Pepper Food Truck (Armando Melendez); Sound City (Brenda Place, Sandy Skeeter); Starbucks; Stepping Stones (Alice Mitchell); The Tropic Truck (Lauren Saravia); Twinkle Jewelry (Eden Benezra); United Site Services (Debbie Cheney) and Universal Waste Services (Wayne Spearman).
The Dio Cancer Fund wants to recognize the members of its dedicated Board of Directors—Wendy Dio, John Doran, Andy Gould, Nick Jackson, Dr. Sandy Kapoor, Sheila Melody, Sabrina Ment, Tim Murch, Paul Newman, Adam Parsons, Rick Sales, Scott Sentinella, Robin Shaw, Sharon Weisz and Danny Zelisko—plus a special thank you to Delilah Dio-Gimenez, Omar Gimenez, Mary Kusnier, Paula Newman, Marty O'Brien and Michael Schreibman for their hard work and commitment in bringing this event to fruition.
Additionally, the Dio Cancer Fund acknowledge and extends its appreciation to the 2023 Rock For Ronnie staff and volunteers: Lauren Aloy, Kia Andersson, Diana Atlas, Annie Atlasman, Cindy Barber, Matthew Beighley, Deme Bermudez, Laurel Bernt, Kathy Bissonette, PG Brunelli, Alex Castino, Jessica Chase, Tino Cirino, Michele Coombe, Cindy Faust, Maria Ferrero, Rhian Gittens, Jeff Gray, Lee Hollister, Steve Jackson, Scot Kaufman, Gene Kirkland, Jessica Kusnier, Logan Kusnier, Rebecca Kusnier, Oni Logan, Bill McBride, Michele Mecca, Tom Miller, Jeremy Moon, Becky Moon-Rossiter, Brian Moore, Christine Cardozo-Moore, Sedona Moore, Chuck Moss, Lanny Moss, Craig Newman, Tyler Newman, Johhny Nieto, Marie Opsomer, Rich Pasquale, Kim Raphalian, Tyler Raphalian, Rita Renden, Charlene Ross, Teresa Schachtel, Zander Schachtel, Taylor Sentinella, Rosa Carmelina Sotello, Eddie Trunk, Chuck Van Trieste, Alexa Violante, Ann Webb, Lyle Weiser, Sarah Weiss… and anyone else we may have accidentally forgotten to name.
Legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010, is the subject of the acclaimed documentary film Dio: Dreamers Never Die, which was released theatrically last fall and is now streaming on Showtime. The DVD, Blu-Ray and the film’s soundtrack album will be available later this year.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund (www.diocancerfund.org) was founded in memory of the late singer. A privately funded 501(c)(3) public charity, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund has already raised over $2 million since its inception. Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research, the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Most recently, the Dio Cancer Fund has committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer. Their test, known as EFIRM (electric field-induced release and measurement) technology, will enable thousands of people to get screened for previously hard to detect cancers.
100% of the net proceeds from the Rock For Ronnie will go to the Dio Cancer Fund, which is now in its 13th year of raising awareness and much-needed funding for cancer prevention, education and research for a cure. The organization’s next fund-raising event will be its annual Bowl for Ronnie Celebrity Bowling Party is scheduled for November 16 at PINZ Bowling Center in Los Angeles.
Watch this space for word about the 2024 Rock For Ronnie!
