Before Joey Gomoll passed away in 2010 at the age of 5 from a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome — which resulted in severe learning challenges and an inability to speak — Joey and his dad, Mike, shared a love of music.
“One of the things he responded to and that helped him communicate was music,” says Gomoll, who used to deejay at the late, great Madison club Headliners and now works for IBM. “He would hear songs, bop around and try to get other people to dance with him.”
That precious memory inspired Gomoll to create Joey’s Song — a volunteer organization that raises awareness and money for epilepsy research and services for children with special needs by creating CDs and sponsoring benefit concerts.
“There’s no successful treatment today for Dravet Syndrome,” says Gomoll, who lives in Sun Prairie and has two children. “But we want to help make life easier for families like ours.”
Gomoll used his industry connections and his son’s story to recruit musicians such as Del Amitri, Ralph Covert, Lowen & Navarro, Rosanne Cash, Slaid Cleaves, Michael McDermott, Cowboy Junkies and Sam Llanas to contribute rare or previously unreleased songs for five benefit CDs.
The organization also hosts an annual live event, headlined in recent years by the Know-It-All Boyfriends — a collective of musicians with Madison connections, including Garbage drummer Butch Vig and guitarist Duke Erikson.
The Boyfriends also top the bill for the Joey’s Song 2017 Benefit Concert at the Barrymore Theatre on Dec. 8, an event co-sponsored by Isthmus and New Belgium Fat Tire. At some point during the evening, Cory Chisel, Syd Straw, Dan Navarro and Mascot Theory also will take the stage.
Three vintage Madison bands — Chaser (rockers who appeared on Star Search), Spooner (featuring a pre-Garbage Vig and Erickson) and Electro Lovekit (power poppers whose members went on to work with Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby and others) — will perform reunion sets. In the case of Elektro Lovekit, the original members have not played together for almost 32 years.
“It’s such an awesome event, and it truly shows the character of Madison artists when so many legendary musicians come together to support a cause,” says Roy Elkins, founder of the online music promotion company Broadjam Inc. and the Between the Waves Madison Music Festival & Conference for DIY musicians.
“Mike’s enthusiasm and love of music was what drew me to working with him,” says Vig. “Besides getting involved with a good cause, it gives me an excuse to play with a lot of my friends. Like John Belushi said in The Blues Brothers, ‘We’re putting the band back together!’”
The Know-It-All Boyfriends jam a couple times a year (usually for special events), and the band’s eclectic set lists include songs by both Bachman-Turner Overdrive and The Carpenters.
“Our drummer, Wally Ingram, has been sharing drumming duties with Butch in The Know-It-All Boyfriends,” says Phil Lyons, bassist for Elektro Lovekit who teaches art at Madison West High School and plays in Madison bands Steely Dane and VO5. “We all worked with Butch a lot back in the day at Smart Studios. Butch and Wally got to talking, and the reunion idea built momentum and took hold.”
Gomoll, 56, says this will be the final Joey’s Song benefit show — at least for awhile, as he and others involved with the organization pursue new ways to raise awareness and dollars. But he promises: “We will keep Joey’s Song going.”
Tickets for the Joey’s Song Benefit Concert are $20 in advance and $23 the day of the show. Live auction items include a guitar signed by members of R.E.M., a Cheap Trick tour poster and game cleats signed by Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Editor's note: This article was changed to correct the spelling of Mike Gomoll's name.
