Renowned Montreal musician, founder and director of
the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir and MUHC cancer patient Trevor W. Payne is teaming up with the
Cedars Cancer Institute once again to put on an unforgettable benefit concert
to help the fight against men’s cancers. A Night at the Music Hall will take place on
Wednesday, February 20 (7:30 p.m.) at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall at
Concordia University’s Loyola Campus (7141 Sherbrooke West) and feature a
fabulous lineup of local artists such as the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir
Buzz Band, featuring Jerry Mercer
and Breen LeBoeuf from April Wine and John McGale from Offenbach, 12-year-old piano sensation Daniel Clarke Bouchard and other great acts.
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| John McGale, Jerry Mercer and Breen LeBouef |
I caught up with legendary drummer Mercer last week
over the phone . The Verdun native now resides near Kingston, in town called
Bath. He spent 38 years with April Wine, leaving four years ago after locking
heads with band mate Miles Goodwin. “There was a situation I could not resolve
with Miles,” he said. “But two months ago they came to perform in Brockville,
not far from where I live now. I said to my wife, ‘I have not seen them in four
years. I’d like t o go.’ So we did. I did not advise them in advance I would be
there. During the encore the drummer now in place called me to the stage. I
went up and kept the vibe. It was okay. It was fun. The bottom line is that I love
to play.”
The Buzz Band was actually started back in 1984.
Both April Wine and Offenbach had ceased operations, albeit it turned out
temporarily. Mercer, Leboeuf and McGale decided to come together and do some
concerts. In 1990 they even produced an album. “What basically evolved was that
the Buzz Band would unite about once a
year,” he explained. “We take a gig, which we’d never rehearse for. It just
always worked out.”
Proceeds from the February 20 concert will go
towards the Trevor W. Payne Men's Cancers Fund at the Cedars Cancer Institute
as a means for Payne to give back to what he calls his “dream team” of medical
professionals at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) who successfully
treated his prostate cancer in 2009.
“I cannot thank the medical team at the MUHC enough
for their kindness, support, and for helping me find the services I needed to
help me get through that difficult time,” Payne said. “My goal is to help raise
awareness about men’s cancers, which can sometimes be overlooked, and help
other cancer patients have greater access to services and support to get them
through it.”
This is a cause close to Mercer’s heart. “I had a
serious case of prostate cancer 15 years ago,”
he says. “I did not get examined every year after I tumed 50. When I was 58 they found it and I had quite a
battle on my hands. Thank goodness the treatment worked. As for Trevor, the two
of us go back a long way. We played R&B together for five years some time
ago.”
Check out a Mercer drum solo below:
Dr. Armen
Aprikian, chief of the MUHC’s Cancer Care Mission and the physician who
personally treated Payne says, “A Night at the Music Hall will not only bring
together a wide variety of musical talents, but it will bring the community
together in support of a cause that touches so many men in our community. On
behalf of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals at the MUHC,
I can’t thank Trevor enough for his personal efforts to ensure our psychosocial
experts have the resources they need to continue addressing the social,
psychological, emotional, spiritual, quality-of-life and functional aspects of
cancer.”
“Once again, Trevor is lending his good name and
extraordinary talents to a cause that is very important not only to those of us
here at the Cedars Cancer Institute, but to all men who have been and who will
be faced with cancer,” said Bruce
Shadeed, president of the Cedars Cancer Institute. “It is heartwarming to
see Trevor take the compassion he received from the caring staff at the MUHC
and continue to pay it forward many times over through his efforts in the
battle against men’s cancers.”
Info: cedars.ca/events.
