- Fight Like a Girl, a benefit concert in support of Sandra Brock's battle with cancer. Performers include: Debra Whyte, The Reckoners, Rae Armour, Honey and the Money, Colin Bullock, Rene Worst, Jennifer Scott and Jim Foster, Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at Anne MacDonald Studio (at Presentation House) in North Vancouver. Tickets: $25 at the door, email [email protected] to reserve.
Local musicians are banding together in support of a North Vancouver woman who was a strong supporter of their craft.
Sandra Brock ran The Wired Bean Coffee Shop on Esplanade for four years. In its last two years of operation, from 2008 to 2010, fellow North Vancouver resident Debra Whyte partnered with the entrepreneur to present the Wired Bean Songwriters Showcase and Concert Series.
The well-attended series saw the coffee shop transformed into a live music venue on Saturday nights, and attracted an array of artists, more than 300 over the course of its run. The venue also received a nod from CBC Radio 3, seeing it named in 2009 one of the top 50 best live music clubs in Canada, according to Whyte.
"We'd be packed. It became a regular place people would go to check out local talent," the singersongwriter says. Whyte recently released a video for the song "You Can Cope," in support of suicide prevention and awareness.
Whyte and Brock became fast friends and Brock has continued to be an incredible supporter of Whyte in both her professional and personal life. When the musician heard of Brock's September 2014 diagnosis with ovarian cancer, she knew just what to do. Whyte is presenting Fight Like a Girl, a benefit concert in support of her friend, Sunday, Feb. 22 at North Vancouver's Anne MacDonald Studio. The event's name is derived from the fact that Brock is an avid kickboxer and the goal is to recreate the concert series for one night.
Concert proceeds will help Brock, who has recently been working as a self-employed personal assistant, cover the costs of her medical bills and support her while she undergoes chemotherapy and eventually surgery.
"She was a super supporter of all the artists, did so much for everybody, it was unbelievable. And being a musician I know how valuable it is to have an owner treat artists well," says Whyte.
"She's just the sweetest. She quietly does kind things for people all the time and never expects anything in return, ever, and so I figured this was the time to step up and be there for her," she adds.
It was easy to get performers on board for the show. Whyte reached out to many who had been featured at the Wired Bean concert series and all were happy to lend their support.
Now Whyte is working to spread the word among community members. It's not uncommon for both Brock and Whyte to be stopped by former patrons when they're out and about, expressing how much they miss the coffee shop and concert series. "(Sandra is) painfully shy and I don't think she even has any clue what a difference she made for people," says Whyte. "She had the coffee shop for over four years and she did a lot for people. She's just the kindest soul. I know she doesn't know how special and important she was and is to people.. .. I have the hope of her being able to see that when people find out what's going on, they're going to want to come and support her."
