Journey drummer donating $10,000 after Albany 4-alarm fire
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 5:06 pmJourney drummer donating $10,000 after Albany 4-alarm fire
Posted: Apr 02, 2015
By Kelsey Watts
http://www.kptv.com/story/28700848/jour ... alarm-fire
ALBANY, OR (KPTV) - An international rock star who also happens to be a native Oregonian is stepping in to help after a 4-alarm fire ripped through South Albany High School, destroying the cafeteria as well as choir, cheer and band equipment.
Journey drummer Deen Castronovo grew up in Salem, and was a high school band member himself.
“That was the only reason I stayed in school. I was terrible in every subject except band,” Castronovo joked on the phone with Fox 12 on Wednesday.
Castronovo is out of state on tour, but when a longtime friend from Salem told him about the fire he knew what he had to do.
“I called my wife and asked her if we could do this and if she'd be on board with me,” he said. “And instantly we [agreed] – yeah, it's the right thing to do.”
The announcement is music to the ears of so many people affected by the loss. While the damages are still being tallied, Castronovo and his wife are prepared to give $10,000 to replace equipment that was lost.
And that's not all.
He wants to come to Albany to personally deliver it.
“It was the least we could do, to do what we can to build that program back up for the kids,” he added.
While the journey ahead won't be easy, with a little help from one band member to a whole lot of others, a famous lyric holds true:
“Keep your heads up,” Castronovo added. “This is a bad one, but it's true – don't stop believin'.”
Posted: Apr 02, 2015
By Kelsey Watts
http://www.kptv.com/story/28700848/jour ... alarm-fire
ALBANY, OR (KPTV) - An international rock star who also happens to be a native Oregonian is stepping in to help after a 4-alarm fire ripped through South Albany High School, destroying the cafeteria as well as choir, cheer and band equipment.
Journey drummer Deen Castronovo grew up in Salem, and was a high school band member himself.
“That was the only reason I stayed in school. I was terrible in every subject except band,” Castronovo joked on the phone with Fox 12 on Wednesday.
Castronovo is out of state on tour, but when a longtime friend from Salem told him about the fire he knew what he had to do.
“I called my wife and asked her if we could do this and if she'd be on board with me,” he said. “And instantly we [agreed] – yeah, it's the right thing to do.”
The announcement is music to the ears of so many people affected by the loss. While the damages are still being tallied, Castronovo and his wife are prepared to give $10,000 to replace equipment that was lost.
And that's not all.
He wants to come to Albany to personally deliver it.
“It was the least we could do, to do what we can to build that program back up for the kids,” he added.
While the journey ahead won't be easy, with a little help from one band member to a whole lot of others, a famous lyric holds true:
“Keep your heads up,” Castronovo added. “This is a bad one, but it's true – don't stop believin'.”
