TAMPA, Fla. — A new year means a new partnership between the Tampa Bay medical community and the Tampa Bay heavy metal community. Over the holidays, they teamed up to raise money for a cause that’s very dear to both, finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.
“The Parkinson’s program here at USF is one of the best in the world,” said Dr. Clifton Gooch, with USF Health. “We are doing really groundbreaking work in helping to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.”
WATCH: Doctors and musicians team up to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's
So, Dr. Gooch was pleasantly surprised when musician and talent agent, Brad Balsama, with Tribute Bands LLC, approached him about doing a benefit concert for USF Health in honor of Ozzy Osborne, who died from Parkinson’s Disease last year.
“I made a commitment when I was a kid that the day Ozzy passed, I was going to get his name tattooed, and I did,” said Balsama. “I was in a tattoo chair an hour later, getting a drill, and it just started coming to me, ‘we have to do this, we have to do this show,’ and we started putting it together."
Over the holidays, 35 heavy metal musicians from across the bay and beyond rocked Jannus Live on a night the medical community and heavy metal community will never forget.
“Being at the concert, interacting with the bands and the fans, there was an incredible passion across the board, every single person I talked to was so happy to be there,” said Dr. Gooch. “They were just as enthusiastic about the cause of Parkinson’s disease, and I have to say USF as well, as they were about the music itself.”
Musician Josh Rodriguez has been performing in front of audiences since he was a kid, but he said this show was different.
“To be able to stand up there with some really awesome friends, some newfound family, and do that very same thing for a good cause meant the world to me,” said Rodriguez.
The concert ended up raising more than $11,000 for the USF Health Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, as Ozzy would say, ‘all aboard,’ to finding a cure.
“I never thought that music would lead me to this environment, so it’s very heartwarming, fulfilling and just amazing,” said Balsama.
“Brad is already cooking up additional concerts, so I don’t think this is the end of that partnership, and certainly we are always looking for great partners across the board and maybe this will inspire other musicians to do similar things,” said Dr. Gooch.
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