Tony Pallagrosi has been with the Light of Day Foundation since its inception. What began as a birthday party for Bob Benjamin has grown into approximately seventy shows in thirteen countries on 3 continents including the United States, Canada and Australia raising over $2.5 million in the fight to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.
New Jersey Stage recently spoke with Pallagrosi via email about the Light of Day concerts and the organization's growth.
What are some of your favorite memories from Light of Day shows over the years?
My hands down favorite musical memory is standing on stage at The Paramount with Bruce Springsteen, Bob Benjamin, other board members and our extended Light of Day family from around the world as Bruce led the entire theater in singing an acoustic version of Thunder Road. That was priceless. Also the very first event before it was called Light of Day comes to mind. After Bob's initial Parkinson's diagnosis, Rich Russo, Jean Mikle and I put together a surprise birthday party for Bob at the Downtown in Red Bank to lift his spirits. A few days before the party, Bob called me up and said "You know that "surprise party" you guys are throwing for me, why don't you collect some money and donate it to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in NYC" and that's what we did. It showed what kind of guy Bob was and as they say, the rest is history!
With Light of Day moving across the globe, what are some of the biggest challenges in putting the shows together? (venues, getting artists, scheduling, etc.)
As a concert promoter, the issues are always the same regardless of where the shows are. The key to any successful show is putting the right artist or artists in the right venue at the right time at the right ticket price. The digital world has reduced the effects of distance when organizing and tracking a show and tour but it's still very important to have good reliable location people on the ground to deal with the details because as we re-learn everyday in this business the devil is most definitely in the details! Joe D'Urso makes the routing and travel arrangements work and he's done a stellar job of utilizing his European contacts to create a great network of partners that support the cause, find us appropriate venues and who work tirelessly to make these show work. He oversees all of that craziness and I oversee the Asbury Park festival which is fine with me:)
If you could hold a Light of Day show anywhere - where would it take place?
I would love to see Light of Day shows in Moscow and Beijing. I would have said Australia but this past summer marked our first show in Australia, Ocean Grove (Can you beat that!), Australia to be exact.
What do you hope people attending these shows get out of the experience?
I hope they come away knowing that even though the music and the social experience that the festival provides was great, the real reason they were there was to join in the battle to defeat Parkinson's disease and the related neurodegenerative diseases, ALS and PSP in our lifetime. I hope that they come away with a better understanding of these diseases and the daily battle that all who live with them have. In our minds that's why they laid their money down and that's why we are there. Our greatest hope every year is that it will be the last time that we have to do this!
Who are some of the new artists this year in Jersey/NYC shows that people should keep an eye out for?
If you're talking about artists that are new to Light of Day then I would say Suzanne Vega, Matt Jaffe, Remember Jones, The Karen Mansfield Band, Frank Lombardi, Soraia, Steve Conte NYC, The Weeklings, Carter Calvert's Tribute to Patsy Cline, Stolen Rhodes, Stone Baby, Karmic Juggernaut, Milly, Ben Arnold and Aaron Freeman of Ween to name a few:) That's a real mix of ages groups and musical genres which is what I really try to achieve as much as possible.
