Local rock guitar virtuoso Jeff LaBansky and his band “LaBansky” are celebrating John Lennon’s birthday for the third consecutive year in Salem with music and a canned food drive. This year’s event will be from 8 p.m. until midnight on Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6 at Your Place.
Admission is $7 and three cans of food. There are no advance tickets, both nights are expected to be packed, so show up early.
“Each night we’ll start with an acoustic Beatles set, and then we’ll play Sabbath, Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles, Hendrix and some originals off the older stuff electric,” said LaBansky.
The guitarist also mentioned that there will be special guest appearances by popular area musicians like multi-instrumentalist Jesse Ruggles and singer Brian Phyll Miller.
LaBansky rose to near-superstardom in the 80’s, performing with members of L.A. Guns, W.A.S.P. and Quiet Riot, hobnobbing with the likes of KISS (Gene Simmons was LaBansky’s agent when he performed with legendary Portland heavy metal band Black ‘N Blue) and lending his songwriting talents to television shows like Cagney and Lacey and movies like Faye Dunaway’s “Beverly Hills Madam” and Emilio Estevez’s “In The Custody of Strangers.”
“The part where Emilio‘s driving drunk before he gets arrested – that’s my song,” said LaBansky nostalgically.
Due to debilitating arthritis in his hands the guitarist said he gave up guitar around 2000, but found life without performing too depressing so he returned to his iconic Flying V a little more than three years ago.
At the time of the interview, LaBansky said he was in talks with the Roseland in Portland about a show this Winter – one of the guitarist’s old stomping grounds.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/Jeff.LaBansky, and for music, go to www.ReverbNation.com/JeffLaBansky.
Birthday Party
music and canned food drive
October 5 & 6, 8pm – 12am
Your Place, 3165 River Rd. N
