The new generation of musicians that make up the rock scene in Green Bay dipped their toes into live performances with help from the Tommy Foundation.
Local Green Bay rock band Annex opened for Jackyl on November 25 at the EPIC Event Center in Ashwaubenon, accompanied by other local musicians as a tribute to Annex’s previous bassist, Tommy Steinbruecker, who died in 2003 in a motorcycle accident.
“When he passed, he was so young that he didn’t have things lined up like life insurance and all that stuff,” said the front man of Annex, Paul Hanna. “We did the first one to help with the funeral expenses, to help his family out.”
Since then, the Tommy Foundation has become much more to the guys from Annex than just helping their friend’s family. In recent years, Annex has been pulling young musicians up onto stage to perform in front of their first live audience before giving them their own new instruments.
“I came up with the idea to raise money and give instruments to kids, get them up to jam, give them a taste of what it’s like,” said Hanna.
So that’s exactly what the Annex members, along with a few guest musicians, have been doing. These yearly shows have transformed into a life changing experience and opportunity for young musicians in the Green Bay community.
“We’ve all been lucky enough to still be here,” said Annex member John Turpa. “It’s a blessing for all of us to be here.”
This year, one of the musicians chosen for this experience was 12-year-old Brody Seubert, an aspiring guitarist taking lessons from local rock musician, Chris Dame.
Brody has been working on his musical skills on the guitar since he was young, so taking the stage with the iconic “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” riff was a huge moment for him.
“My favorite guitarist is Slash,” Brody said. “I want to be like him.”
After his performance, Brody was presented with a brand new Gibson Les Paul from the band. Many kids like Brody have been inspired to play music and the Tommy Foundation has provided them with the resources to do so.
“When people get these instruments, it changes them,” Hanna said.
Since 2003, kids have been given guitars and drum kits using the money raised from these shows.
“You gotta love playing the instrument,” says Dame. “You don’t think about the success, you don’t think about the money, you don’t think about any of that stuff. When everything’s taken away, when there’s no crowd and no money, when there’s no band, you have to love playing the instrument.”
