The Garden City Telegram
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Rockin' out
Published 9/8/2008 in News : Area coverage
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
sfarley@gctelegram.com
Styx is one of Garden City resident Robert Ortiz's favorite bands.
"It was an awesome show," he said Saturday night as he held onto one of the drumsticks the band threw into the crowd after they were done performing at the Finney County Fairgrounds.
Ortiz said he had his hands up in the air waiting for one of the drumsticks or any of the other items the band was throwing out to fall into his hands. Ortiz said his wife, Vita, also had her hands up. And the rest of the crowd gathered around them had their hands up.
But as the drumstick traveled through the air and fell into the crowd in front of the stage, it was Ortiz's hands that got lucky. For Ortiz, the words "awesome" and "great" summed up the night.
On Saturday, Styx, a band popular for hits in the 1970s and 1980s, including "Too Much Time on My Hands," "Renegade" and "Come Sail Away," rocked out Garden City, as Mosaic of Garden City, a service provider for people with disabilities, raised money for the organization.
The concert was a continuation of a series of events Mosaic hosted in April as part of its fundraiser Run, Rock 'N Roll.
In conjunction with those events, about 800 music fans attended the Battle of the Bands in April at the Clarion Inn. Nine bands from four states competed for the honor of being the opening act for the Styx concert -- the first-place winner, "Ask Vinnie," of Dodge City, opened for Styx. The Battle's second-place winner, "The Smokin' No-No's," performed during a VIP cocktail party before Saturday's concert.
"There's nothing not to like about Styx," Ortiz said.
Other area residents backed up Ortiz's opinion of the band as they gathered at the fairgrounds for the concert. Michael Hensley, 20, of Garden City, stood in front of the stage before the show -- keeping warm in a Styx hoodie.
Jeff Davis, 54, Cindy Livengood, 45, and Nancy Ward, 52, also were waiting for Styx to come on stage.
"We normally would not mix, but look at us," the three said as they stood together with the rest of the crowd waiting in anticipation for the band.
Livengood and Ward said they thought the event was great and for a great cause.
"It really takes a village to put on something like this...," Mosaic Executive Director Debbie Reynolds told the crowd. "Mosaic rocks, and we're going to rock southwest Kansas."
Daylight gradually disappeared as Styx took the stage and started performing, making it possible for the cell phones, lighters and other lit-up objects to be seen moving around as the band performed "Lady." Other people sat in their vehicles in the fairgrounds' parking lot, listening to the music through rolled-down windows.
Proceeds from the concert went to benefit Mosaic.
Genea Lee, who works in the medical department for Mosaic, is familiar with the band's music, but she said she mostly attended the concert to support Mosaic and have a good time -- and to "listen to all the songs your mom and dad talked about," she said.
Lee has worked at Mosaic for about six months and said one of the organization's goals is "to help the individual become more independent." She said she sees the organization accomplishing that goal, striving for the best possible health and well-being of the individuals Mosaic serves. It's been humbling to work for Mosaic, Lee said, adding it puts life into perspective.
Her parents and other members of Lee's family joined her for Saturday's concert. They had stage-front tickets.
"If you're going to do it, you might as well do it," she said of the seats.
According to Mosaic, the organization "strives to create positive awareness of people with disabilities, as well as build a bridge to the community by giving something back." Mosaic provides, among other things, individualized services, living options, work choices and advocacy to people with disabilities in more than 250 communities across 14 states and Great Britain.
Keith Schmode and Kris Maples, both with the national Mosaic office, said the local Mosaic organization thought outside the box to bring Styx to the community as a fundraiser for the organization. Schmode said Mosaic agencies across the country host events to raise money, but he was amazed by the amount of community support and involvement for Saturday's event.
"So comparatively speaking, this is a big deal for us," he said of Mosaic and the concert.
Saturday's events started with a VIP cocktail party that included "The Smokin' No-No's" performing. Chef Q served up food for the party.
Doug Staab sat with his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Rylee, 10, in the grandstands. Staab said he'd never seen Styx perform live until Saturday but that he'd always wanted to.
"We grew up in the '70s," he said, adding Styx was a big band then and that he brought his daughter "for nostalgic reasons."
Staab said entertainment can be hard to find in this part of the state, and it's "something to do on a Saturday night."
"This is an entertainment-deprived area," said Mosaic Community Relations Manager Lynn Ballinger.
Ballinger said the area's had concerts before, but "classic rock, nobody's done that."
Ballinger said there are great memories for some attached to the band and their era. She said bringing Styx to Garden City has been about a year in the making, "and it was so hard to get a band of this size to come."
To make it happen, Ballinger said they partnered with the Kansas State Fair, which had Styx perform Friday.
The amount of money raised was unavailable this morning.
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