Benefit Show Raises Funds For Injured Tower Of Power Members
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- As two members of the Oakland-based R&B band Tower of Power continue to recover at a hospital, a benefit concert was held Tuesday night at the same Oakland jazz venue where they were scheduled to play just before being hit by a train while crossing the street last week.
The Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy played a benefit show for drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc van Wageningen at Yoshi's Oakland on Tuesday night, performing to a sold-out crowd, Igoe said in a post on Facebook.
"Get better Dave and Marc, we love you," the crowd at Yoshi's roared in a short video from the event Igoe posted on Facebook.
Garibaldi and van Wageningen were crossing Embarcadero just outside of Yoshi's on Thursday when they were struck by a southbound Amtrak train at 7:39 p.m. Tower of Power had a show scheduled there for 8 p.m.
As of early this week, van Wageningen, who was filling in for the band's regular bassist, remained in intensive care. Garibaldi is in stable condition and according to percussionist Peter Escovedo was able to go to van Wageningen's room to visit with him.
"They are truly lucky to be alive. Major, major medical bills await both musicians with costs that will surely be astronomic. This is going to be a LONG medical journey back," wrote drummer Igoe on one of the two GoFundMe webpages set up for the pair. "Insurance or not, this is the kind of thing that can derail families, and careers. Let's all come to together to help lighten the financial impact as much as possible and give our fellow artists support when unforeseeable tragedy strikes."
So far the GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $46,000 but has yet to reach its goal of $50,000. A second GoFundMe effort started by Peter Michael Escovedo (son of Latin percussion great Pete Escovedo and brother of equally notable percussionist Sheila E.) has raised an additional $59,000.
According to Union Pacific Railroad officials, it appears that Garibaldi and van Wageningen were waiting for a northbound Union Pacific train to pass and then moved around the gate arms and started crossing the tracks, not noticing the Amtrak train coming from the other direction.
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