Sean Caulfield wants younger people to start being aware of Alzheimer’s disease — and he’s booking the fund raiser to prove it. Tomorrow night at the Middle East, Caulfield, the creative director and co-founder of ARTZ: Artists for Alzheimer’s, teams his rock band Kangaroo Court with four other acts that run the gauntlet from hip-hop to to pop to garage rock: Bent Shapes, Boogie Boy Metal Mouth, Ariel & the Undertow, and CreaturoS.
Proceeds and donations will go towards ARTZ, a Boston-based non-profit that creates free arts and culture inclusion programs for people with dementia and their loved ones.
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[global_player artist=”Boogie Boy Metal Mouth ” title=”All I Want” stream=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/76362587/stream” cover=”http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000039119669-s7gvcp-large.jpg?b09b136″ backlink=”https://soundcloud.com/ihadanaccident/boogie-boy-metal-mouth-all-i” id=”58614″ fb=”” tw=””]
[global_player artist=”Ariel & the Undertow” title=”Kindness from Strangers” stream=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/69265486/stream” cover=”http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000035133142-d84mpv-large.jpg?b09b136″ backlink=”https://soundcloud.com/aatheundertow/kindness-from-strangers” id=”58614″ fb=”” tw=””]
[global_player artist=”CreaturoS” title=”James Days Milk Shake” stream=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/54743290/stream” cover=”http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000027655009-1dq1xc-large.jpg?b09b136″ backlink=”https://soundcloud.com/primordial-sounds/creaturosjames-days-milk-shake” id=”58614″ fb=”” tw=””]
While in most cases symptoms first appear after the age 60, Caulfield, says that as Alzheimer’s numbers continue to rise, some adults in their 50s are starting to experience memory loss and dementia. “Those individuals often have children who are around the high school, college age,” he tells Vanyaland. “So, in essence, Alzheimer’s is not a disease removed from our music scene — and this is one way to bring it out in the open and help, however small, reduce the negative stigma that accompanies a diagnosis.”
Experts suggest that more than five million Americans may have some form of Alzheimer’s disease. After a few Kangaroo Court shows at the Middle East, Caulfield started talking to the club’s promoters about organizing a fund raiser.
“The booking guy we work with, Jason Trefts, is a former social worker and teacher — he knew about my work with ARTZ and he just threw the idea out there,” says Caulfield. “As far as the bands go, we decided to approach those that had a local presence, and most importantly, were interested in playing for this cause. Also, it is our intention to have an Alzheimer’s event be associated with really cool, eclectic, bands — and a younger crowd.”
Raffle prizes for tomorrow’s show include ticket and signed memorabilia from the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Celtics, a six-hour recording session with the Record Company, gift certificates to the Somerville Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Institute for Contemporary Art, and other cool stuff.
Flyer by Jane Wiseheart