The Rock For Ronnie “Year Of The Dragon” Concert Celebration, which took place on Sunday, May 19 at the Lou Bredlow Pavilion at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills, CA, raised some $80,000 for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. Metal veterans Quiet Riot topped the lineup, which also included Dio Disciples, southern rock band Jason Charles Miller, Billy McNicol, newcomers X-Comm and a jam by Eddie Trunk’s All-Star Band.
Radio and television personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM’s 103 Faction Talk channel, once again hosted and was presented with the special “King of Rock ‘n Roll” award from Wendy Dio for his support of the charity since its inception.
“I was both honored and surprised by Wendy Dio on stage at the Rock For Ronnie when she presented me with the ‘King of Rock ‘n Roll’ award for my work with the Dio Cancer Fund,” says Trunk. “Thank you to Wendy and thanks to all the fans and bands that joined us to raise funds and celebrate Ronnie James Dio.”
Wendy Dio Presents Eddie Trunk with “King of Rock ‘n Roll” Award; Photo by PG Brunelli
Dr. David Wong, whose team at the UCLA School of Dentistry has had the support of the Dio Cancer Fund since 2016, was on hand to accept a check for $25,000 toward his team’s research to develop a simple, non-invasive saliva swab test for early cancer detection. His team’s progress in researching salivary biomarkers for gastric cancer has allowed them to prepare to submit their findings to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a “Gastric Cancer Biomarker Characterization Center” grant in the coming weeks. Cancer fingerprints are 7 times more prevalent in saliva than in blood.
VIP seating for the concert was sold out in advance. The afternoon kicked off with young, up-and-coming band X-Comm, led by drummer Revel Ian, son of Anthrax’ Scott Ian and his musician wife Pearl Aday, and bandmates Adan Escort, Michael Gatto and Jay Vargas. The band Billy McNicol, consisting of Billy McNicol (drums/vocals), Bhargav Choudhury (guitar) and CJ Wilson (bass), followed.
Returning to the Rock For Ronnie this year by popular demand was Jason Charles Miller, along with his band comprising Allie Kay and Gary Joseph Potter Jr. on guitars; Will Smith on bass and drummer Nick Mason.
Then Dio Disciples, featuring Terry Ilous and Dyna Shirasaki on vocals, took the stage. The lineup included Simon Wright on drums, Scott Warren on keyboards, Ira Black on guitar and Sean McNabb on bass guitar.
Rock icon Lita Ford asked PBS Guitar Builder to the Stars Jim Cara, who has designed custom guitars for her, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley of KISS and Brad Gillis of Night Ranger, among others (www.caraguitars.com), to create a one-of-a-kind Dio/Dio Cancer Fund guitar, which she played on two songs during in her All-Star Band appearance. The unique instrument, emblazoned with a Dio logo that lights up, was later auctioned and brought in $11,500 for the charity. A guitar signed by all the members of Quiet Riot was also auctioned off and sold for an additional $7000.
Lita Ford with custom guitar by Jim Cara which she played and auctioned at Sunday’s event; Photo by Craig Newman
All-Star Band participants also included vocalists/guitarists Abby Gennett (Slunt), Brett Scallions (Fuel); guitarists Doug Aldrich (Dio, Dead Daisies, Whitesnake), Marc Ferrari (Keel), Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Patrick Kennison (Lita Ford), Robert Sarzo (Hurricane); bass players Marten Andersson (Lita Ford), Julia Lage (Vixen) and Marty O’Brien (Daughtry, Lita Ford); vocalists Dewey Bragg (Kill Devil Hill), Andry Lagiou, Keith Saint John (Montrose, Kingdom Come), Patrick Stone (Budderside), Neil Turbin; keyboard player Dennis Atlas (QRST, Rock the Vault), drummers Ronnie Ciago (BrandX, Circa), Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper, Hollywood Vampires), Daniel Bermudez (Wilt) and Brian Tichy (Whitesnake) and sax player Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Toto, Supertramp), among others.
This year’s Rock For Ronnie made full use of the abundant space by including a silent auction and raffle, beverage and merchandise sales, food trucks, assorted vendor booths selling unusual crafts and other items and artist meet and greets. A specially-created “Garden of Hope,” at which donors could dedicate a special hanger to someone in their life who has battled, survived or succumbed to cancer, became a popular stop.
Sponsors lending their invaluable support to the Rock For Ronnie include the Rainbow Bar & Grill (Mikey Maglieri), The Ivy in Ojai, Christine Cardoso-Moore/Keller Williams Realty, McBride Wealth Management (Bill McBride), Danny Wimmer Presents, Danny Zelisko Presents, Liquid Death Mountain Water (Blasko), HOP WTR (Ryan Haggerty), Big Noise Beer (Kevin Schwimer), Marquis Sugar Free Mate Beverages (Nicole Like), Austin Eastciders Cider Beverages (Emma Herrera), Lattini Sunflower Milk (Ethan Lynch), Smart & Final, Delorio Foods (Jim Viti) and BevNOMAD beverage product distributors (Steve Kwapil).
Additional sponsors include Archie's Ice Cream (Shant Keuilian); Mates Studios (Bobby and Jenny Brunner); Road Radios (Jeremy Schilling, Rebecca Meick); and Clair Global (Paul Newman, Nelson Walti, Bryan Bazilski, Bryan Hernandez, Rudy Necoechea and Dave Bibbens).
Rock For Ronnie also wishes to thank the following companies and their staff members for their services: Valley Cultural Foundation (Joellen Ammann); All Valley Rentals (Rob and Amanda Dickey); Kapoor Medical Group (Sandy, Devin and Dylan Kapoor, David Saviola and Elizabeth Flores); Ciao Bella Staffing (Aggi Roselli); Diamond Environmental Services (Lorena Parada); Trade Show Power (Jim Crisman); US Audio (Pete Docter and Brian Murray); North Hollywood Ice (Bobby Benedetto); Salt N’ Pepper Food Truck (Armando Melendez); Drizzle Truck; Eagle Rock BBQ Truck (Nathaniel Harris); The Tropic Truck (Lauren Saravia); Starbucks (Woodland Hills #0288); King Keg (Tariq Amin); Food & Beverage Magazine (Michael Politz); Screamer Magazine (Dave Castagno, Laura DeGaetano, Don Duree, Noah Ferguson and Kurt Nelson); Rock and Roll Soul (Sheril Porter); Odds and Endz (Michelle Mair); Retune Wellness (RJ Sarzo); Blueprint Studios; and Acid Rainwater (Megan Cooksey).
"A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE AND COMPANIES WHO SO GENEROUSLY GAVE OF THEIR TIME AND SERVICES--WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!"
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 Deme Bermudez, Delilah Dio-Gimenez, Omar Gimenez, Mary Kusnier, Marty O’Brien, Paula Newman, Robert Sarzo Sr. 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 2024 Rock For Ronnie staff and volunteers: Abbey Pringle, Alex Castino, Amy Nino, Angelica Velezdegro, Ann Webb-Kirkland, Brian Moore, Charlene Ross, Chuck Moss, J Lazarzo, Cindy Zheng, Katie Dunn, PG Brunelli, Craig Newman, Alex Kluft, Scott Mitchell, Scot Kaufman, Maria Ferrero, Diana Atlas, Donna Weiser, Eddie Trunk, Elise East, Gene Kirkland, Griffin Kispert, Jennifer Aloy, Jennifer Nelson, Jessica Kusnier, Kaley Block, Kia Andersson, Kristen Mourad, Lauren Aloy, Lee Hollister, Logan Kusnier, Marina Mann, Matthew Beighley, Max Baruch, Melanie Greenwald, Michael Politz, Michele Coombe, Michelle Prentiss, PG Brunelli, Sarah Weiss, Stefanie Andino, Strummer Escalante, Taylor Sentinella, Teresa Schachtel, Tom Miller, Tyler Newman, Zach Dodge, Zander Schachtel…and anyone else we may have accidentally forgotten to name.
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 is streaming on Showtime and on the Showtime app here. It is also available on DVD and Blu-Ray+4K and can be ordered here.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund 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. Since 2016, 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.
100% of the net proceeds from the Rock For Ronnie will go to the Dio Cancer Fund, which is now in its 14th year of raising awareness and much-needed funding for cancer prevention, education and research for a cure. The organization also hosts the annual Bowl for Ronnie Celebrity Bowling Party, which will be held on November 14.
