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By Max Jaeger
Brooklyn Daily
These silver shredders pumped out golden oldies for a good cause.
A bunch of bands from Bay Ridge’s live music heyday got together for a reunion at Salty Dog on Oct. 4, and they raised thousands of dollars for a local charity.
The annual fund-raiser started six years ago as a reunion of bands who played at The Cove — an infamous ‘80s-era neighborhood rock venue. But when organizers realized how big this year’s event was going to be, they knew they had to rake in some money for a cause.
“As soon as we started to see the lineup, we new we were going to draw a lot of people, but it wasn’t something where we wanted to keep the money, so we thought about donating whatever we could make to charity,” said Mike Riddle, one of the organizers and a fixture of Bay Ridge’s music scene. “We knew we had the Guild for Exceptional Children right here in Bay Ridge, so we figured this is a Bay Ridge event so lets keep it all Bay Ridge.”
Bands rocked as volunteers raffled off iconic photos of Brooklyn and a Gretsch guitar to benefit the Guild, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities. So far, the musicians raised $8,000, and one guitar is still up for auction on eBay, said Guild director Paul Cassone — himself a musician and Cove alum.
The show was a who’s-who of Ridge rockers.
Performing at the fund-raiser were Al Lama (formerly of Southern Comfort), Cove alums Cassone and Matt D’Emic, Piranha Brothers (formerly Nasty Habit), The Lynch Boys, and Riddle’s own band City Kids, Riddle said.
Riddle still plays along with wife Jane T. in their band Prodigal Child, and his rock-and-roll attitude is still turned up to 11.
“Back in the day at The Cove, the City Kids and the Lynch Boys were the two biggest acts,” he said. “Some people might get mad at me, but its pretty much indisputable.”