5 Questions with a Planner of Hatfield Music Fest

Nearly $4,000 was raised for a nonprofit that aids people struggling with substance abuse or mental illness at an event recently.

The money was raised at a tribute on Oct. 2 to the founder of the in downtown New Port Richey. It was dubbed the Hatfield Music Fest in honor of the late .

Hatfield shot himself while in his truck in September, and the vehicle crashed into a New Port Richey home.

Proceeds from the event went to Jericho Road Ministries.

Mark Alan, a local musician, helped plan the tribute and answered some of the Patch's questions about it on Facebook. Hudson resident Patty Reeves took photos at the event.

Patch: What was your connection to Dallas?

Alan: I was 16 years old (around 1998) when I met him. He had just opened the Boulevard Lounge not too long before then and I heard words that there was an open jam night there on Wednesdays. I had a band with a couple of school mates and we were trying to find any place that would let us play, regardless of our age. With my father in tow as chaperone, we just showed up at the Boulevard, and Dallas, very kindly, allowed us to play.

The Boulevard was where I cut my teeth as a young kid developing his craft as a musician. Dallas provided that for many musicians and bands in the form of the open jam and it's still serves that purpose now.

Patch: What convinced you to hold the benefit?

Alan: For starters, it wasn't a benefit.

I was giving something of an impromptu speech at his funeral service when it came to mind. Being that he gave a lot to me and other musicians, I figured it would be fitting to give something back to him and his venue.

The initial idea was to just do a tribute to him and bring together whatever musicians or bands that has played the Blvd. Lounge's stage in the past or present. Really, I didn't want the thought of money to come into play as there was really no need to raise money.

Just a big jam session to send him off on a positive note. After the service, I ran the idea by one of Dallas' and mine close friend, Frank Abbondandolo, who agreed to help make this happen. The circumstances of the way that Dallas had died obviously left a rather negative impression on the locals. Frank was also having issues with having some sort of closure with Dallas being gone.

He came to me one day with the idea that we should raise money to donate to a local charity in Dallas' name. I thought that as long as it was done for the right reason (this being a tribute and not as some ploy to tug at the heart string for money), then we should go with it. With the approval of Eva, Dallas' sister, we got the ball rolling.

From there it became a charity event to raise money to donate to a nonprofit organisation in Dallas' name in hopes of bringing awareness of mental health. It's a topic that we don't ever talk about in the mainstream. Everyone talks about cancer, aids, MS, etc. and hold events for them but it seems like the mere mention of the words "suicide," "mental illness," or "depression" are something of taboo. It's something we seem to deny from not just from our friends and loved ones but from ourselves. Really, the only people that would be benefiting from the event would be the people who suffers from any form of mental illness.

The work between Frank and I were split into two avenues: business and creative. He worked on finding the right charity group, local businesses willing to donate, media advertisement, etc. I focused on creating the flyer, facebook cover and arranging the musical portion of the event.

Frank ended up choosing a great organization in Jericho Roads Ministries out of Brooksville and came with some wonderful items donated from local businesses such as Onstage Music, Applebee's, Jeri's Family Hair Care for the 50/50 and raffle drawing.

Patch: How many/ which bands participated?

Alan: I initially booked four bands to headline the event. These bands were a mainstay of the Blvd Lounge at some point in its history: The Orbs, Marshal Law, Wooden Nickel and my own band, Circle Sky.

As we were in need of filling out time, we ended up adding two new acts to the line up at very late notice: Shawn Paige Band and Tommy G.

Circle Sky gladly provided the backline of p.a., guitar and bass amps and a drum kit.

In running the musical portion of the day, I found that everyone was there for one reason/person: Dallas. None of the egos that one would encounter from musicians creep in at any given points. We all worked together as a team in making sure that all bands played their allotted time and exited the time when it was time to do so. For me, I will have to say the best band of the evening that night was the Marshal Law band.

Patch: How much was raised?

Alan: Surprisingly and fortunately, we raised near to $4,000, with a total of $3,915. The was from the 50/50, raffle, auction and a portion from that day's sales profit. This is what will be donated to Jericho's Road in Dallas' name.

Patch: Anything else you want to say to donors, attendees, people who knew Dallas or about the crash itself?

Alan: I can not thank everyone enough for coming out and giving support to Dallas. Dallas' family was overwhelmed by the response. It really showed that there is good amongst people in this community. We are in talks of doing another one next year. By doing that, we hope that this will further give Dallas' legacy and the Blvd Lounge a positive vibe.