A local rock band with a hard rock edge and a high school filmmaker are on a mission to raise money for cancer research. Clifton-based band Blisserine and Clifton High School senior Victoria Korty created a music video for fan and cancer survivor Michelle Dolcemascolo of Toms River. On March 25, the band will hold a benefit concert and video screening at Lua, 1300 Sinatra Drive in Hoboken, beginning at 8 p.m.
Half tof he $10 cover charge and all of the proceeds from the auction of a signed guitar from Scott Stapp, lead singer of the rock band Creed, will go to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization helping to fund blood cancer research, education and patient services.
A screening of the band’s new music video for the song, “Spirit of the Fight,” documents Dolcemascolo’s experiences through real-life footage and reenactments of her cancer treatment.
“I have melodies in my head twenty-four seven.” – Sebastian Barbagallo
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The video was shot all over New York and New Jersey, including the Ace Hotel in Manhattan and various spots in North New Jersey, said Blisserine lead singer Sebastian Barbagallo. “We shot it at the top of a hotel in New York City, and some shots in Montclair. And, when we mixed the footage with clips of Michelle going through treatment, it was really powerful.”
The song called “Spirit of the Fight,” was not easy for Barbagallo to write, the singer said. “When I went home that day, I had no idea what to write [the song] about. What can you write for someone who might die from cancer?”
But the musician used his own personal struggles to help him come up with the song. “I thought about what it would be like to have a limited time on earth and what I would do,” he said. The song called “Spirit of the Fight,” is now available on iTunes. Thirty per cent of the profits are also donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization which has awarded more than $680 million in research funding since 1954.
“Michelle is one of the most courageous humans I know,” Barbagallo said. “She’s an inspiration to all people to keep fighting.”
Above all, he said that struggling with life and death issues, like Michelle has, puts life back in perspective. “Getting to know Michelle makes me see that life isn’t really that bad. And what we think are huge problems, aren’t really problems at all. You just have to stay positive.” Dolcemascolo’s cancer is currently in remission.
Rap ‘n’ roll
But the hard rocking band isn’t only about rock ‘n’ roll. The band collaborated on a new single with hip hop legend DMC from the ground breaking rap group Run-DMC. The remix, reminiscent of Aerosmith’s single “Walk This Way,” features DMC rapping over one of the band’s newest rock songs. “He spits some lines that are phenomenal,” Barbagallo said. “He’s a rocker, I mean really loves rock n’ roll.”
The song called “Stone Crazy” was recorded at the famous Treehouse Studios in New York City and is featured on iTunes. “He was an amazing guy and a great person to work with because he’s very talented,” Barbagallo said.
After meeting DMC at his local gym, the legendary rapper listened to the band’s music and liked what he heard. “He’s all for the musician,” Barbagallo said. “He’s an awesome, humble dude who has worked with Kid Rock and Aerosmith – just an endless amount of musicians. Now he’s singing my song.”
For more information about the event or the band, visit: www.myspace.comblisserine.
The benefit will be held March 25 at 8 p.m. Fifty percent of the $10 cover charge, and all of the proceeds of the auctioned guitar, will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com