Plum musicians rock for Rustic Ridge

Support for Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood continues with the help of some musically inclined residents.

Janet Schoedel, who sings for the rock band Barracuda, and Ken Joy, drummer for MoJo — The Band, live near the site of an Aug. 12 explosion that claimed six lives.

Their groups will join Acoustic Boombox in performance at Rockin’ for Rustic Ridge, a concert to benefit families in the neighborhood. Scheduled from noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Plum Creek Masonic Hall, 9521 Saltsburg Road, the event features auctions, raffles, food and beverages. The suggested donation is $25.

Steve Zummo, Barracuda’s bass guitarist, said that Schoedel went to the scene of the explosion to see what she could do to assist emergency personnel.

“She actually came to us and wanted to do something before all this came about,” Zummo said about the concert.

Joy lives about a block from where the blast occurred, according to MoJo — The Band member John Collins, another bass player.

“He was at home when it happened,” Collins said. “Everything shook in his house. His refrigerator doors blew open.”

He and Zummo are Plum High School graduates who still live in the borough, as is Mike Kuhn of Acoustic Boombox, on acoustic bass, vocals and washboard.

In fact, Collins and MJ Smittle, MoJo — The Band’s lead singer, are fellow members of the Class of ’83.

“It took us about 30 years to finally get back together and start playing music together,” Collins said. “We were good friends in high school. We were both actually voted the most musical.”

Their band performs what they call “rock ’n’ roll from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, with a twist,” which relates to Smittle lending her vocal talents to music by the likes of Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie-era Fleetwood Mac, along with hits from the Beatles, Allman Brothers, Stevie Wonder and other greats.

And for fans of Robert Plant’s singing:

“She really nails the Zeppelin stuff,” Collins attested. “So we’ll probably do quite a bit of those.”

Led Zeppelin songs also are favorites of Schoedel and Zummo’s band, for which Plum business owner and resident Benny Palombo plays guitar. Prominent in the band’s repertoire are selections from Pat Benatar, Aerosmith and, of course, Heart, which scored a sizable 1977 hit with “Barracuda.”

As its name implies, Acoustic Boombox takes a bit of a different approach, providing non-electric, yet high-energy, versions of New Wave, alternative and hip-hop songs.

Rockin’ for Rustic Ridge’s primary organizer is Mark Carney, who has lived in Plum for 22 years and started putting on benefits for his late wife, Alicia, when she was undergoing treatment for carcinoid cancer. He later planned similar events for community members, including Zummo, facing health issues.

Carney credited Theresa Martin, a lifelong borough resident, in helping substantially with the Sept. 17 concert, and said that none of the musicians hesitated in agreeing when asked to participate on behalf of those affected by the Rustic Ridge tragedy.

“Everybody’s sort of connected,” Carney said, “and it hit home.”