to host area musicians
as boost for Vini Lopez
Headliner in Neptune
to host area musicians
as boost for Vini Lopez
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
At least a dozen Jersey Shore-based musical acts are banding together to assist one of the founders of the Asbury Park rock scene.
"May Day for Mad Dog," a marathon benefit concert designed to raise funds for Steel Mill Retro drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, will feature bands on two stages May 2 at the Headliner, Route 35 south, Neptune.
All funds raised through the rain-or-shine concert will help Lopez defray the medical and funeral expenses he incurred through the long illness and recent passing of his wife, Laurel.
Laurel Lopez, 50, died unexpectedly on April 13. The couple did not have health insurance and Lopez has been struggling with hospital bills and other bills related to months of care.
Lopez, a fixture on the Jersey Shore music scene since the late 1960s, is known as "the first beat from E Street." He was the original drummer for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Springsteen’s current band evolved from Steel Mill, a band founded by Lopez and E Street Band organist Danny Federici. Lopez and Federici brought Springsteen into Steel Mill in 1968, noted Al Faucera of the Woodbridge-based Brothers Management Associates, the main organizer of the upcoming benefit.
"Vini was an original member of the E Street Band and one of the originators of the Asbury sound. He brought Bruce into the band," said Faucera, who is Lopez’s manager.
From 1968 until the early 1970s, Steel Mill played many bars and clubs in the area around Asbury Park, then a thriving resort city and entertainment hub.
Lopez remained Springsteen’s drummer after the soon-to-be "Boss" was signed to Columbia Records, and was behind the kit on Springsteen’s first two albums, "Greetings from Asbury Park" and "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle."
Lopez, who left the E Street Band in early 1974, now works as a freelance musician, disc jockey and as a part-time golf caddy.
Steel Mill Retro, Lopez’s own band which now plays many of Springsteen’s earliest songs, is one of the acts booked for "May Day for Mad Dog," Faucera said.
Beginning at 3:30 p.m. May 2, concertgoers will be treated to performances on stages inside and outside the Headliner, said Faucera. Acts booked include the B Street Band, a Neptune-based Springsteen tribute band that Lopez occasionally drums with, and Runaway, a Bon Jovi tribute band.
Also booked are Boccigalupe and the Badboys, Jo Bonanno, Blue Plate Special, Joe D’Urso, Lance Larsen, Jason Shain, Sonny Prewitt Band, Chick-A-Boom and Dawne Allynne, according to Faucera.
Anyone who cannot attend the concert but would like to make a donation to Lopez’s charity fund can mail a check or money order to Brothers Management Associates, c/o Vini Lopez, 141 Dunbar Ave., Fords 08863.
"We’d really like to see people step up and help him," Faucera said.
The Headliner can be reached at (732) 775-6200.
With Steel Mill Retro, Lopez, of the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold Township, has participated in area fund-raisers for many causes. Most recently, the band joined Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and others for a Valentine’s Day concert at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, to benefit local families of Sept. 11 victims and other area charities.
Earlier this year, Lopez played the role of Ed Norton in The Honeymooners, part of a "Classic TV Night" dinner and show fund-raiser held to benefit the Old Bridge Cultural Arts Committee. The organization stages free concerts and cultural events during the year.