[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]esterday news spread fast about two alleged attacks on Keytar Bear, the man who plays the keytar on MBTA subway platforms and other spots around town wearing a Ted bear costume. The Bear suffered a broken nose and damage to his instrument, putting the street performer not only out of commission, but dampening his motivation to head out to Boston’s public ways and play music for commuters.
One attack occurred after a male attempted to take a selfie with Keytar Bear, and ended up sucker-punching the performer in the face before running away.
“[I] gushed [through] the mouth of the bear suit and right in front of Faneuil Hall with cameras both facing the incident and the direction he ran off [to],” Keytar Bear told Boston Magazine.
Within an hour of our news report, Abigail Taylor of Workbar in Cambridge sprang into action, first announcing a fund-raiser event for May 8 at Workbar, then an Indiegogo campaign for those who wanted to donate to the Bear. Within 24 hours, nearly $2,500 has been raised — enough for a brand new keytar.
“I read your article about Keytar Bear being assaulted and I felt just awful,” says Taylor, who admitted to never personally meeting the performer personally. “All Keytar Bear wants to do is bring joy and music to the people. He puts smiles on people’s faces as they commute to and from work and makes children dance. For someone to treat him so violently just blew my mind. I thought it must be so hard for him to go back out there and keep on doing his thing after something so violent happened to him.”
She knew her home base of Workbar could provide a forum.
“Being an events manager for Workbar has its perks, and I realized I could help by doing what I do best; creating an event to celebrate Keytar Bear and what he brings to our community every day.”
The reaction to both the event and the fund-raising campaign was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. But efforts to get the Bear back on his feet are not limited to Boston: Keytar Fox of Nashville, who we profiled a few weeks ago, is chipping in all the way from Tennessee:
@Vanyaland617 Pls share-The Keytar Fox to play Nashville Thurs night. All tips go to Boston's Keytar Bear medical bills from recent attack.
— The Keytar Fox (@TheKeytarFox) April 30, 2014
“I know how much Keytar Bear means to the city of Boston,” Taylor adds. “I see tweets of him playing all over the city with videos of people laughing and dancing. I’m not surprised that the people of Boston have banded together to support a local guy who needs our help. It might take a bit to get into the hearts of Bostonians, but once you are in there, you’re there for life. We’re fiercely loyal to those we care about. Boston cares about Keytar Bear.”
There are roughly 260 RSVPs for the Workbar event, and donations are still coming in to the Indiegogo page, so there’s a chance that the money raised will go far and beyond the cost of purchasing a new keytar. But Taylor stresses that all money will go directly to the performer. She plans on handing the money directly to him on May 8 at Workbar. Keytar Bear prefers to remain anonymous, but he says he’ll be present next week at the fund-raiser party.
“At first I thought about raising funds to get him a body-guard so he wouldn’t ever have to play in fear, but after the show of support in Boston today for him, I’m guessing no one would dare to mess with him in this town again,” Taylor says. “I’m using some of it to buy him a very special secret gift, which I can’t reveal until the day of the event, with the help of another fan of Keytar Bear’s music.
“All of the additional funds raised will be given directly to Keytar Bear to assist him with his bills and keep this local musician afloat. My conversations with Keytar Bear have shown me that the man behind the mask is a very humble soul. I have a feeling he will be entirely overwhelmed by the show of support. I’m sure he’ll try to plan something to give back to the community for supporting him.”