Teens’ benefit snares Lion
By Bob Young
Boston Herald
Friday, January 13, 2006

How do you get an African superstar to share the bill with a bunch of teen rock musicians from Needham? Just ask.

That’s what happened when Tom Pugh, bassist, guitarist, singer and co-founder of the Plugged In Teen Band program got in touch with the singer known as the Lion of Zimbabwe, Thomas Mapfumo.

”He really liked the idea,” said Pugh’s wife, program co-founder Sandra Rizkallah.

The result: an eclectic booker’s dream. Appearing with Mapfumo on Sunday at the Regent Theatre in Arlington for the ”I Am Strong If You Are Strong” benefit event are rocker Chad Urmston (Dispatch and State Radio), Simunye (a teen band from Zimbabwe) and a dozen teen rock and blues bands that practice in a converted garage space in Needham.

Proceeds from the show will go to the Elias Fund, started by Urmston and members of Dispatch to help educate the children of Section 17 in Zimbabwe.

That connection to his homeland certainly got Mapfumo’s attention, but so did the work and mission of the organization Pugh and Rizkallah run in the Boston suburbs.

The nonprofit they founded in 2002 not only teaches kids about rock bands, it educates them on the importance of giving back to the community and making a difference in the world. Sunday’s show is one of two the program holds each year, with the student musicians voting on where the proceeds should go.

”It’s a noncompetitive environment that’s very supportive,” said Rizkallah. ”The kids connect with other people through music and it builds their self-confidence. It’s a place where they feel comfortable taking risks, and it’s a way for them to connect to the community through music.”

Pugh, a member of the blues-funk band Lois Lane and the Daily Planet (a finalist in the 2004 Boston Blues Challenge), is the program’s primary instructor. Though there is a fee for the 14-week program, Rizkallah said no one is turned away for financial reasons.

”We want them to understand that music isn’t just about MTV and money and fame,” said Rizkallah. ”It’s unbelievable, the difference it has made in some of the kids.A lot of them come in facing traditional adolescent issues of low self-esteem or ADD or depression.

”They have a place here where they can succeed at the thing they like to do, and meet other kids who like the same thing. They gain so much self-confidence. It’s been incredibly rewarding.”

The ”I Am Strong If You Are Strong” benefit concert with Thomas Mapfumo, Chad Urmston and others takes place Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m. at the Regent Theatre, Arlington. Tickets: $15 (students) and $20. Go to www.regenttheatre.com or call 781-646-4849.