Marcusen Park fundraising event Aug. 23

Published 1:44 pm Saturday, July 26, 2008

Gear Daddies, Austin’s arguably most-famous band, is organizing a music fest this August featuring several bands with local roots, with the intent of supporting Marcusen Park.

“We know that it is a facility that his pretty much run through the benefit of volunteers and donations,” coordinator Dan Raden said during an Austin City Council meeting Monday.

Gear Daddies, Leep 27, Summit Avenue, Plan B and Amish Playboys are scheduled to perform during the daylong Aug. 23 benefit at the historic ballpark. Raden said he expected Plan B to open around 3 p.m., with the four other performances to follow.

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Gear Daddies will headline at 10 p.m.

“There is already a fair amount of interest already,” Raden said. “Tickets will be handled locally.”

Tickets are priced $29 in advance or $35 at the door, and will be available for sale Aug. 2 at Ticketmaster and Hy-Vee in Austin.

Featuring singer/guita-rist Martin Zeller; Randy Boughter on guitar; Nick Ciola on bass; and Billy Dankert on drums and vocals, the Gear Daddies enjoyed national success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with hits such as “The Zamboni Song,” a hockey favorite.

“The Gear Daddies is something that has put Austin on the map,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said Monday.

Zellar, backed by bassist Ciola, went solo after the Gear Daddies split in 1992, though the four members have reunited for varieties of gigs and reunion shows. They are scheduled for about a dozen performances between July 23 and Aug. 27, including one Aug. 1 at the Minnesota Zoo.

Raden said he and Ciola were the brainchild’s for the Austin event, having met while playing baseball years ago, including in fields like Marcusen. A monument at the base of a flag pole there is also dedicated to Ciola’s father, Lou.

All proceeds will be donated to the Marcusen Park Baseball Association, which works to maintain, restore and insure the area.