Musicians Step Up To Help Their Own

Benefit at HumBrews tomorrow for folk guitarist Phillip Twitchwell

Humboldt Sentinel
12/26/08
By Charles Douglas

A local group of musicians is coming together Saturday at HumBrews to help a friend in need with a marathon benefit concert dubbed “A Gathering Of The Tribes.”

Phillip Twitchwell, known as “Twitch” to his fans on MySpace and at local cafes and nightspots, was assaulted and had his jaw broken recently after a performance at Brogi’s Boiler Room on the south end of Broadway in Eureka.

“I got beat up for trying to calm down a situation after an all-night gig at the Boiler Room,” Twitchwell stated in an event listing on his MySpace page. “We still haven’t caught the guy but I think with a little help we can get him. Anyway I had to be flown down to San Francisco, and that racked up some bills…”

Twitchwell, a relatively recent transplant to Eureka from small-town Missouri “just to see how far west I can go,” has already made a name for himself at local Open Mic performances such as at Has Beans Café in Old Town on Saturday evenings. His support among other local performers is such that “Musicians 4 Musicians” has lined up a who’s who of local bands to rock the house from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., along with a raffle, all proceeds benefiting Twitch’s hospital bills and other needs.

“Should be a good time so come on out,” Twitch stated. “God bless, I hope to see you there…love, peace and chicken grease!”

The host of Open Mic at Brogi’s, Kingbee, is a natural for the line-up, along with his backup band, The Buzz. Other local notables include St. John and The Sinners, The Fickle Hillbillies, Sabrina On The Rock, Sour Cream and Them Damn Hippies. Making a special appearance to help their friend Twitch, 4 Star Bravado and the M4M Tribal Jam are set to appear as well, with Cowboy Dale, Dex, A Nodding Unconcious, Skeksis, Skunk’d and The Karma Brothers featuring Tommie Wilson dropping by too.

Twitch also thanks HumBrews, located at 856 Tenth Street in Downtown Arcata, for playing host with their great local beer on tap and delicious food in sore. Cover is on a sliding scale, since it’s a benefit at all, starting at a $5 minimum.

Come show your generosity this holiday season and help a starving artist get back on his feet! You can also pick up a copy of his debut solo album, “A Reach For Honesty” on his website, www.itstwitch.com, and check out his MySpace for the latest on what we hope is a speedy recovery.