Buzzbox

The University of Kansas, like many other large public institutions, has had its share of well-known eccentrics, from the Tan Man of yesteryear to the That’s My Dillon’s Man of today. In the mid-’90s, students could count on encountering such free spirit on a daily basis — that is, if they rode the bus. Ron Gleason, better known as Rockin’ Ron, ran his bus route for years accompanied by the sounds of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and many other purveyors of rock’s falsetto wail. Like Otto, his Simpsons doppelganger, Ron turned up his tunes enough for passengers and passers-by alike to enjoy them, teaching lecture-worthy lessons about the therapeutic powers of “Sweet Emotion” and “Immigrant Song.” Unfortunately, when Ron passed away two years ago due to a sudden heart attack, KU students weren’t the only ones left missing the man.

“I started working with Big Brothers and Big Sisters awhile back, and I got introduced to this kid named Raymond,” says Damien Siwak of the band Preferred Villain, describing his first encounter with Gleason’s son. “I soon realized who he was, and his mother showed me a flier of a show that had been done at The Granada that, for whatever reason, didn’t work out that well. I thought about it and figured we could probably help this kid out.”

With the help of Mean Dean the Metal Machine, who offered up a date (September 20) and a venue (The Granada) for the Rockin’ Ron benefit, and a handful of Lawrence’s finest bands, Siwak devised a way to raise funds for a portion of Raymond’s college education while offering local music fans some eclectic entertainment.

“My goal in organizing this thing was to have something for everybody,” says Siwak, who also notes that the all-ages show will serve booze to those of age. “We (Preferred Villain) are doing the high-intensity hard rock, and the Sugadaddies are doing their funk, groove thing. Proudentall is doing their Fugazi stuff to start it off, and then Thulium will bring in their power pop and their legion of underage girls to the show.”

To those skeptics who look down on this metal kid doing good, Siwak has this to say: “I just hope that whoever has a heart and realizes that their five bucks will go toward this kid’s education will come out and see some of their favorite bands. All the bands are headliners, everyone gets an equal set time, and everyone can get exposed to something different.”