CREDIT: JOHN SING, PHOTOGRAPHER FOR FANSHAWE'S CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
The Memphis Jam headline Aeolian Hall on Jan. 14, with all proceeds going towards Fanshawe's United Way campaign.

Fanshawe staff and students are getting set to host one of the final projects for this past year’s United Way campaign.

The social event, which takes place on Jan. 14, will feature a concert by The Memphis Jam, a wellknown, four-piece London band that includes two Fanshawe VPs, alongside Head and Tail, a band from Fanshawe’s music industry arts (MIA) program. DJ Styles will be emceeing the night at Aeolian Hall.

The Memphis Jam includes Gary Lima, VP of academics as lead guitarist and Jeff Wright, VP of corporate strategy and business development on vocals and guitar, alongside Hayden Vialva on drums and Paul Fleury on bass.

The men have been playing in this band since 2014 and this will be there third time they are playing for this particular event.

According to Candace Miller, Fanshawe’s chair for the United Way campaign this year, all proceeds from the event will be going directly to the campaign.

This year’s event is also a bit different from previous years, since it’s happening in January rather than it’s usual time frame in November, Miller said.

The campaign technically finished in December, but there are still a few trickling events in the new year, with the final wrap up and campaign goal and closing in February.

“It’s a bit of a culmination and a bit of a celebration of all of the United Way campaign and the efforts behind the campaign and a great way to culminate the campaign for this year so we’re very excited,” Miller said. “It involves so many Fanshawe people, but it also involves the community which is great. Not only does it involve employees, but it involves students as well too, so that’s why it’s so important for us and it’s just more of a celebration in terms of people getting together and enjoying and having a night out, but all for a great cause.”

Miller said marketing for the event has been big too, by posting on the college’s social media and website, as well as with posters and even talking to local radio stations in the community about it.

“It’s a big thing and I think it’s just representative of Fanshawe, our students are very talented individuals, our faculty, our staff and VPs are talented individuals, I think it’s a great way to showcase a lot of what we have here at Fanshawe,” Miller said.

Wright said he’s excited and looking forward to the big event, but that it’s also an event to help a cause.

“I think that obviously there’s considerable need in the city, along multiple human service areas and the United Way seems to touch most or all of them and so it’s a very important organization and that’s why we like to support them,” Wright said.

According to Wright, the band took roughly a year off to find and work through material that they wanted to perform, and will do so along with a few originals at Aeolian Hall.

“What I like about the current show is that each time you do it, you find songs you like more and more so playing them is that much more fun,” Wright said.

The band will be well prepared for this event, including a final session before the show to pull it all together Wright said.

Though other members of The Memphis Jam, such as Lima and Vialva, who recorded music with the likes of Mick Jagger and toured with names such as Billy Idol and John Cougar Mellencamp, this will be the first time Wright will be performing some of his own songs.

“I myself played in garage bands growing up and never really got out of the garage and so the opportunity to get to play with these guys is unique for me,” Wright said. “That’s an interesting kind of dimension of this whole thing is that we have these very experienced seasoned, long in the tooth, former rockers and then there’s their buddy, who through our friendship we’ve created a band and this is all new to me, so it’s that much more exciting,” Wright said.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online, at www.aeolianhall.ca/ticket-sales, at the box office or at the Fanshawe Bookstore for $25.