Chucky Hansen SPOTSWOOD — Bands rocked to a capacity crowd at the American Legion recently to honor a beloved musician and teacher recalled as much for his talent as his desire to help others.
“A Tribute to Chucky Hansen” raised money for the Lupus Foundation of America in the name of Hansen, who died in 2006 at age 43 after a long battle with lupus.
Hansen worked as a music teacher and founded the Rising Star Music Studio in Monroe. Most of the performers at the December benefit were friends or former students of his, or both, as were many in the audience.
Hansen was a source of encouragement and inspiration to seemingly all of them.
“He was the glue that kept us all together,” said Katherine DaVille of Manalapan. DaVille is a professional singer with her own band. Hansen gave her a job teaching at his studio when she was 17. “When I was having trouble with a piece of music and was ready to give up, he would help me,” she said with a smile.
Kelly Grinzo, 22, of Monroe started studying drums with Hansen when she was 9.
“He helped me get through a rough adolescence,” she said. “He really listened to me. I could talk to him about anything. He believed in me.”
Hansen was an accomplished musician who had been in several bands, including Trox.
“They were a really popular group like Bon Jovi and Skid Row [at that time],” said Daville.
Danny Slater, who played in Trox with Hansen, described him as a “great guitarist and the type of guy who would do anything he could for people.” Slater said the two last worked on a song about a family member of Slater’s with Alzheimer’s disease. Hansen gave him input about some of the lyrics and music.
“It’s just a real loss not having him around,” he said.
Hansen’s Rising StarMusic Studio became a second home for young talented musicians.
“Chuck cared about music and people. If someone wanted to learn and didn’t have the money, he would teach them for free. If a kid couldn’t afford an instrument, he’d give them one,” said Neal Magenheim, a retired businessman who studied guitar with Hansen. “I used to advise him about the business side of things,” he said with a smile. “He was a much better musician and teacher than he was a businessman.” Hansen went out of his way to find opportunities for his students to perform. He arranged from them to play at local events and concerts, and even helped secure professional gigs when possible.
Finding a place to practice is essential to the success of bands. Family members and neighbors can quickly grow tired of noise from performing in garages and basements. Studio space is ideal, but can be fairly expensive. Hansen nurtured young bands by letting them rehearse in his studios when paying customers weren’t using them.
This generous spirit touched Joanne Liapes of Sayreville.
“Chucky arranged a benefit concert to help a friend, Joey, who had Hodgkin’s disease. When Joey died, Chucky held another concert to pay for the cost of the monument. He gave what was leftover to Joey’s kids,” Liapes said.
Magenheim, Liapes and Daville came up with idea to organize a show in Hansen’s honor.
“Once the word got out that we were putting this together, everybody wanted to be a part of it,” said Daville, referring to the close-knit network of musicians in the Central Jersey scene.
And they were happy with how the event turned out. Local artists included Robin Casserly, Sam Rice, Lance Green, Old Enemy, The Stewart Dolly, Driveway Daves, Joe Cullinan and Frank O’Donnell of Destructicus, Midnight Phoenix, The John List Symphony, Debbie LaGola, Danny Slater, Katherine DaVille, Henry Scardaville, Neal Magenheim, Emily Magenheim, Carrie Trubenstein, Matt Schunneman, Tragedy Anne’s Kellie Grinzo and Morgan Smeraglia.
“We were able to make a substantial donation to the Lupus Foundation of America,” Liapes said. “If Chuck could have seen this, he would have been so proud of his students playing up there on the stage,” she added.
“I think he would have cried,” DaVille said. “I don’t think he had any idea how many lives he touched and how many people loved him.”