Everyone knows someone in St. Johns County who was severely affected by Hurricane Matthew. Ryan Murphy, Jeremy Rogers and Andrew Seward, who play together in local post-punk band Deadaires and work together at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, escaped the storm’s wrath, but its impact cut close to the bone when good friend Jason Holloway saw his Davis Shores home inundated by floodwaters.
Since October, Jason, his wife Leah, and their seven-year-old son Kellen have bounced between short-term rental properties while their house is gutted and rebuilt. Witnessing the family’s struggles inspired Rogers and Murphy, who recently joined Holloway’s hardcore punk band Dredger, to organize a benefit show. “We wanted to do the most good with the money we raised, so we decided to be specific by helping this one family that is still displaced because of the storm,” Rogers tells Folio Weekly. “It might take them a year to rebuild. And let’s be honest: Jason plays 20 shows a year without seeing a dime, just to better the artistic community in the area. As a musician, it feels awesome to raise money for a member of our community when he honestly, truly needs it.”
The gentlemen of Deadaires recruited another friend to perform at the Dec. 16 benefit show for the Holloway family: Alkaline Trio bassist and celebrated solo singer/songwriter Dan Andriano, who’s lived in St. Augustine for nearly a decade. “I know how terrible that hurricane was for a lot of people around here,” he tells Folio Weekly. “I evacuated with my family but then went out of town, so I couldn’t help the way I wanted to right after the storm. And even though I don’t know the Holloways that well, any friend of Andrew’s and Ryan’s is a friend of mine. So when they asked me to help out by playing this benefit, I said of course.”
Locals accustomed to seeing shows in one of a small handful of venues will also be excited: the Friday night concert marks the debut of DOS Coffee & Wine’s new event space, The Parlor Room, off San Marco Avenue. Rogers, Murphy and Seward were actively trying to bypass obvious places in favor of alternate venues. So Rogers asked DOS owners Johnny and Julie Stoppelli if he could expand his regular solo gig into a one-time-only full-band rock show. “When I approached her, she just happened to have the new space done,” Rogers says. “It’s got two beautiful large bay garage doors that were blown out and refinished, and even though it will focus on weddings and parties in the future, she said we could use it. Johnny and Julie have been so supportive — this is an awesome way for them to give back to the community and for us to spread
the word for them.”
Another awesome side product of the benefit show? Music fans will get to see fresh takes from both Deadaires and Andriano. Dan describes his solo performances as “nerve-racking” but says he ends up having more fun with them: “It allows for a different connection. You can get more personal — do a little bit more storytelling.”
After releasing their hard-charging debut album this fall and playing a few strategically situated shows, Deadaires are already hard at work on new boundary-pushing material. “We’re going to continue to write the way we did on the first record,” Rogers says, “so it will all be done in bits and pieces. But we’ll be more focused on what the band sounds like and where it’s going — a year ago, we had no idea.”
Since Hurricane Matthew struck, Jason and Leah Holloway’s focus has rested squarely on rebuilding their lives while trying to provide some semblance of a normal holiday season for their son. Rogers adds that Dredger has its own finished album slated for release in 2017. When asked about Holloway getting on the mic to perform one of the new songs with Murphy and him, Rogers laughs. “Jason is the mastermind of that band, and Ryan and I are the newest members. But Dredger is important to us, too. That means Jason is more than just a bandmate — he’s a close personal friend.”
Most folks in St. Johns County will immediately recognize the sense of brotherhood that ties so many local musicians together. “I’ve been playing between St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Gainesville for 25 years,” Rogers says, “and there are a lot of people who’ve been doing it even longer who are still fueled by that camaraderie. We’re not drawing hundreds of people at our shows — we’re doing this for each other. We’re creating what we want to share with other people who happen to be creative.”
So although this week’s benefit show is all about raising money for the Holloway family, we’re guessing even they would deflect that praise and say it’s all about the spirit of St. Augustine’s thriving music community. “It’s a different animal, even from 10 years ago,” Rogers says with pride. “Coming from that DIY community, we know our music doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to have that passion. As long as you’re getting your ideas out there, there is no wrong.”
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If you can’t attend the show but want to contribute to the Holloway family, visit here.
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