Kids rock as money rolls into Mercy Corps

Benefit concert earns 14-year-old big points in world of young bands

By peter korn

The Portland Tribune, Jun 25, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Eli Hirsch seems a bit young to be speaking about his fan base, or his abilities as a concert promoter. It would be easy to dismiss the 14-year-old would-be rock star’s enthusiasm as a blurring of the line between wishes and reality.

Easy, that is, except for that Friday night in April when 800 people, most of them Hirsch’s age or younger, rocked the downtown Crystal Ballroom listening to four bands, including Hirsch’s band, Blind Einstein. The benefit concert raised more than $6,000 for nonprofit Mercy Corps’ work in underdeveloped countries.

The most amazing thing about the event? It was conceived, booked and even promoted by Hirsch and friends, not a 15-year-old among them.

Hirsch speaks fast, like a born press agent. He’ll wax enthusiastic about playing in a rock band (Blind Einstein had only been together five months before the Mercy Corps concert). He’ll talk your ear off about the rush that comes from playing in front of a crowd of people. But what really pushes him into hyper-speed is when the subject becomes turning ideas into reality.

He says the idea for the April concert came to him after a viewing of Academy Award winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire” – an inspiring rags-to-riches story that detailed poverty among children living in India. He wanted to use his music toward some positive social benefit, and his mother had contacts at Mercy Corps. One conversation led to another until Hirsch found himself arranging Kidsrock4kids. Crystal Ballroom managers became interested once Hirsch mentioned he could get local kid band Still Pending, which had already developed a following among middle schoolers.

Mercy Corps spokeswoman Minda Seibert says the nonprofit has had teens raise money for its work, but usually by putting on bake sales or read-a-thons. This was kid-organized fundraising on a scale she hadn’t seen before.

“What’s amazing is the way they could energize the youth and get them engaged and make them feel they could take part in something bigger than themselves,” Seibert says. “The fact that he was in eighth grade blows your mind.”

Hirsch had some assistance. Lake Oswego resident David Ellman had helped Still Pending, for which his son Grant is drummer, get started at local venues. Still Pending’s members are all 12 and 13 years old. They were 10 when they began performing publicly.

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