Clamshell Quintet raises $10,000

Councillors Mike Layton, Maria Augimeri and Paul Fletcher

Toronto City Councillors in the newly formed band Clamshell Quintet set aside their political differences last night and raised more than $10,000 for Variety Village in their musical debut.

The general consensus was that the band, which includes Councillors Gary Crawford (drums), Mike Layton (guitar), Paula Fletcher (vocals) and Maria Augimeri (vocals), hit it out of the park.

Other members of the band are activist Dave Meslin (bass) and special assistant to the mayor Tom Beyer (keyboards).

Councillor Gary Crawford on drums

Rob Ford:  “They blew me away”

Mayor Rob Ford attended the benefit with his two children and praised the councillors for “working for the common good”.

“I’m so proud of them, I can’t describe it,” said Mayor Ford, who introduced the Clamshell Quintet. “They were fantastic.  Everyone’s heard about it, but I didn’t think they were going to be that good.  Honestly.  I was shocked. They sort of blew me away.”

You can check it out for yourself by watching this video clip:

Flood Relief in Ward 36

The band was organized by Dave Meslin but the idea of doing a fundraiser for Variety Village came from Councillor Gary Crawford, who also played last night with his regular band Gently Bent.  Crawford’s constituents in Ward 36 experienced devastating basement flooding this summer.

Not only were almost 400 homes flooded with sewage and stormwater, but Variety Village sustained approximately $200,000 in damages and has a $70,000 shortfall after the insurance claim.

Clamshell Quintet

Variety Village thrilled

Supporters paid $50 a ticket to attend the fundraiser, which included food and a silent auction.  Someone in attendance made an anonymous $1,000 donation to the Variety Village Emergency Flooding relief campaign.

“This was beyond our wildest dreams,” said Variety Village Director of Development, Donna Richardson.   “The place was packed. The capacity of the room was about 210 and I believe we hit that.  This is beyond what we ever thought imaginable for a first year event.”

People wanted more

The band played one set that included covers of “Proud Mary”, “Where The Streets Have No Name”, “Imagine”, “Stuck in the Middle with You” and “Fever”.

Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher

Supporters who turned out at the Tara Inn on Kingston Road were actually left wanting more.  (really!)

“I thought it was pretty darn good,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher, noting that the band has only had four rehearsals. “We had a warm crowd. They forgave any of our little mistakes and I think they had a good time.”

There’s already talk of more charity gigs for the Clamshell Quintet and it’s hoped that the Variety Village fundraiser will become an annual event.

If you would like to make a donation to the Variety Village Emergency Flooding Relief campaign, please click here.