Rockin’ for Recovery: Elliott Cohn Benefit at Skipper’s Smokehouse
There is a special show schedule for Sunday, August 4, at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa for one of the area’s favorite musical sons, Elliott Cohn. The show, which begins at 5, features a host of Bay area musicians playing in benefit for Cohn, including Have Gun, Will Travel, Rebekah Pulley, Dean Johanesen, MWE (Music with Experience), The Sunsetters with Derrick McDonald and featuring Juanjamon, and House of Trouble.
I would like to tell you about him. If you knew him, you’d never forget that triple braided goatee down to his waist, long hair usually under a cap, and that remarkable smile.
A generation ago, I was teaching high school mathematics and computer science. During some sort of weird event, we had a couple of classes in the computer lab when the electricity went out, and we were entertained by a young man playing acoustic guitar. It’s not every day you hear a teen playing “Hear My Train A-Comin’,” but then it’s not every day you get to meet Elliott Cohn.
Turns out Cohn was already a guitar phenom, winner of blues and Hendrix competitions. He graduated, and we lost touch for some time.
Fast-forward to 11.07.03 at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, Florida, where The Bird Street Players, with Cohn on guitar and vocals, opened for Mofro. It was a spectacular night for both bands, highlighted by Mofro’s encore, when JJ Grey called Cohn on stage to join him. DAMN!
Two months later, he was on stage at The Masquerade with Galactic for “You’ve Got to Change (You’ve Got to Reform).” That was downright nasty. Cohn then moved to New Orleans and formed his Cosmic Sweat Society. I saw that band a number of times, none so memorable as when, at Skipper’s 09.19.08, he was joined by Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane and Starship fame for the amazing “If I Had a Rocket Launcher” (a Bruce Cockburn tune). Another Tampa musical star, Christie Lenée, opened.
In fact, Cohn just posted about that show this afternoon:
Yet another wonderful memory made at Skipper‘s Smokehouse!! I became friends with Marty Balin (founder & co-lead singer of Jefferson Airplane/Starship) when I was 14 years old. He came out to see a 1960s-themed band/Tampa favorite called “The Mod Squad.” After I sat in with the band (who was kind enough to have me as a special guest regularly), he walked over, introduced himself, and said, “That was one hell of a version of ‘Voodoo Child,’ young man!” That begin a friendship which lasted until he left this world to be with the spirits like Jimi, Jerry, Janis, Jim,and so many others!!
On this night, my New Orleans-based band was playing a show at Skipper’s as part of a fall tour of the U.S. Barack Obama was running for president, our country was STILL at war, many lives were being affected and lost, so Marty said, “I’d like to play this song called ‘Rocket Launcher.” I said, “OK great, man, how’s it go?” We had a quick rehearsal backstage, and this was the result. That’s just one of many memories I have with Marty Balin. I miss him dearly, but his spirit lives on Eternal!!!
I should also mention that at this time Christie Lenée was a budding superstar and opened the show with an amazing acoustic set!!! Later that night we of course had a “super jam” with Larry Ingram of the Backtrack Blues Band and Christie contributing some stellar guitar work!! I looked at Marty and motioned for him to come up on the stage and join in. He looked at me, smiled his unforgettable smile, and put his hands behind his ears, opened wide to let me know that he was listening and very content to do just that!! This unspoken exchange/complement only fueled the passion of all of us on stage and in the audience!! I’m surprised that no one broke a string, drumstick, or leg… LOL
OK, I know this is a rather long post, but I wanted to paint the picture from an inside perspective. Anyways, I hope y’all enjoy!!! Peace, love, happiness, and prosperity to ALL!!
The last time I saw Cohn perform was at Crowbar in Ybor City when he brought Cosmic Sweat Society to town 04.01.11, with his brother Shane’s band Her Name is Victory opening.
Cohn released two albums in 2003, Elliott Cohn and the Bird Street Players and a solo album with my all-time favorite name: “don’t MAKE me come turn that stereo up!!!” He recorded an album titled The Stem with amazing bassist Felix Pastorius. His Cosmic Sweat Society album (2008) It’s Time was dedicated to the memory of Ted Freed, the late music promoter on the forefront of bringing great music to Florida.
He was also a founding member of Grin, the Tampa-area band that also featured Juan ‘Juanjamon’ Montero and Derrick McDonald, whose 2000 album 7 Flavors still tastes great. And Cohn played in Big Sam’s Funky Nation and co-produced Big Sam Williams’ 2006 album Take Me Back, did the original tracking, and played guitar and sang background vocals.
So there’s a benefit. To explain, I will share Kirk Groff’s words from the GOFUNDME he set up for Cohn:
My friend, Elliott Cohn is in medical recovery after rapidly going from a medical concern to preemptive cancer surgery within 11 days. Help me to help a Good Man, a Phenomenally Talented Musician and a Generous Philanthropist. With your help we can ease his financial concerns for the next 2 months as he recovers from his procedure safely at home as medically required.
I’m putting this fundraiser together to help my longtime friend Elliott Cohn. He recently had a major cancer scare, and went through a very invasive surgery to remove a lump of precancerous cells (dysplasia). The surgery was wonderfully successful and thank God! However, as a result of such a sudden life change, he is looking at eight weeks of mandatory bed rest to properly heal. He will not be able to work in his profession as a studio musician and engineer and certainly not perform live. Elliott is a lifelong self-employed musician that has dedicated himself to bringing people together through the power of music. As a community, I feel the time is upon us to rally around him and give him some love and support in return. We need good people like Elliott Cohn on their feet moving and working in our community. With so many people using crowd-sourcing platforms for frivolous things like buying a new TV and going on pleasure trips instead I ask you to make a real difference in someone’s life.
Elliott has already overcome a severe spinal cord injury in 2007, which almost ended his career and then a major auto accident where he was the victim of a drunk driver in 2012. Those new injuries amplified and exacerbated all of his previous injuries which he still deals with to this day. Elliott didn’t have any benefit concerts or fundraisers on his behalf back then because he never believed in asking for charity (any of you who know the man also know that he can be proud to a fault), besides, he was used to raising money through his musicianship to benefit others. While his exterior exudes nothing but confidence and a joy for life, I’ve seen his vulnerability and struggles firsthand, and amazingly, he’s always found a way to get himself back to where he needs to be.
It is not a coincidence that this special benefit show is at Skipper’s Smokehouse. That Grin album’s first dedication is to “Tom White, Vince, John, and the crew @ Skipper’s Smokehouse.” Cohn played there often and was a favorite son.
There will be raffles throughout the evening and a silent auction as well. The links are below.
It would be a fabulous day of music in any event, but this benefit for the beloved Elliott Cohn will be very special indeed. Your support is most surely appreciated.