...who really knows what it means to support his Wisconsin library, the Franklin Public Library. I’ll let Justin Weis (14 years old and resident of Franklin WI) tell the story in his own words:
“I am in what some may call a garage band. We practice about twice a week and we’ve been playing for about 3 years now. We also have albums on iTunes if you want to check them out at http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/dark-vortex/id284443748?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Anyway, I was always complaining about how my dad’s band got all the cool gigs and such, and so he told me that I had to go out there and make it happen. So, I started to look for places my band could play. Most places my dad’s band played were bars and other non-children friendly places, so I decided to do it at a place that didn’t have the constant faint aroma of liquor, A.K.A. the library. My dad suggested that I make this a benefit concert to raise money for the library since the library was in need of more books and because he thought that way Mrs. Roark (Barbara Roark, Director, Franklin Public Library) would most definitely accept my proposition.
I asked Mrs. Roark if and when I could do this and she elucidated how it would need to be run by the library board. All of them were apparently overjoyed by the idea of a fundraiser and even more so that it was a concert. So, a date was set up. In the meantime, I got two other bands to join us for the concert (the Curb Farmers, a comedic funk ensemble which contains Phil Kirst -- if you don’t know Phil, you don’t know what you’re missing says Eli Smith, my band’s guitarist -- and Midnight, an 8th grade rock band).
We all sold tickets in advance for $3 each and about 250 tickets were sold, thus leaving us with about $750 right off the bat. At the concert on January 30th, we sold water, soda, and assorted candy for about $2.50 on average. The total at the end of the night was a whopping $1000. At the next Common Council meeting on February 16th we presented an oversized novelty check to our library director and we all got certificates of recognition from the mayor. And that’s what went down!”
I wonder if Justin’s band is free the night of our next WLA Foundation Fundraiser at the Kalahari in November?
The positive feedback received both statewide and nationally for the WLA Foundation's Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese! A Day in Pictures 2009 event has encouraged the Foundation's Campaign Action Committee to plan a similar day in 2010.