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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 14, 2005 Tunes, grub and football Fundraiser to help send Ashland High students to Japan By Ezra Mannix Tidings Correspondent The band is one of the area’s most rocking groups, the emcee is one of the area’s most listened to radio hosts and the food is from some of the area’s best restaurants. If that isn’t reason enough to attend “An Evening Out,” at the A Street Marketplace, then consider the cause: All the production’s proceeds are for the sole purpose of sending the Ashland High football team to Japan for nine days this summer. The Rogue Suspects, a local blues group that has played for the likes of blues star Keb Mo and opened for the James Brown concert at the Britt Festivals, will headline the April 16 event. The Rogue Suspects, formerly The Usual Suspects, have also composed music for shows on PBS and the Discovery Channel. Jeff Golden will emcee the affair. Golden is the popular morning radio host of the Jefferson Exchange, a local show about issues facing Southern Oregon and Northern California as well as the nation and world. Both the Rogue Suspects and Jeff Golden are donating their time and services, except for minor setup costs for the band. “It’s great that our kids will be going to Japan,” said Golden, whose two children graduated from Ashland High. “I get asked to do a fair bit of these things and I have to say no a lot,” but he jumped at the chance for this cause. While in Japan, the Grizzlies will play the Osaka All-Stars football team in a cultural exchange that has continued since the late 1980s. But the game is just a thin slice of an entire cultural experience, which will be perhaps be highlighted by the widely celebrated Tenjin Matsuri Festival, the city’s largest and one of the top three major festivals in the country. Participants move in an elaborate procession with mini-shrines, horses, and a dragon dance. They then board more than 100 boats where they light countless lanterns at dusk. The 1,000-year-old festival supposedly began when a halberd, a 16th-century, axe-like weapon, was discovered floating in the water near the Osaka Temmangu Shrine. The Japan experience includes rides on the bullet trains, a visit to the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima and visits to other cultural shrines. “We thought it was such a great cause,” Greg Frederick, the bassist for the Rogue Suspects. “We are also trying to kick start the new owners at A Street.” In addition to the space, the A Street Market Place’s food vendors donated all three courses of food. Cozmic Pizza is donating appetizers, fresh and organic Mexican food will be donated by La Familia, and Indulgence by K&S is donating an array of desserts. The dinner is a large buffet. Many other Ashland restaurants turned down the chance to host the event, said Barbara Schiller, parent of Ashland running back Dylan Steeves. La Familia, which will serve the main course, was only too happy to help the community. “Once I got them, everything started falling into place,” she said. Creatapotomis, a ceramic store in the marketplace, will donate a large serving platter to be raffled off, in addition to a Ronnie Lott autographed football donated by Mercedes-Benz of Medford. During dinner, the Rogue Suspects will play atmosphere music before they begin rocking afterwards. “We are kind of a mix between Steely Dan and Stevie Ray Vaughan,” Frederick said. “I have no alternative but letting people have fun.” Schiller said. “There is no other motive but having a good time.” Tickets for “An Evening Out” are $50 for singles or $80 per couple and are available at the Music Coop or Nimbus, or by calling 840-5453. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams