People who are lucky enough to live in Malibu know that there is something special about the community. When a person needs help or gets sick, the community, with no questions asked, rallies to support their own during the hard times.
Now, hard times have fallen on longtime resident, music producer/arranger and musician Marty Grebb who has been diagnosed with cancer. Grebb faces more than $200,000 in medical bills and requires two urgent surgeries in the near future.
The Grebb family is no stranger to the support of the Malibu community. Twenty years ago, Lolli Grebb had a couple of hundred thousand dollars in hospital bills that the Grebbs could not afford to pay. Their home was in jeopardy. With the help of Jennifer Pietro, a fundraising effort, complete with a performance from musician Bonnie Raitt, a silent auction with items collected by local Kim LeDoux and help from many more members of the community, enough money was raised to cover the bills.
Raitt has stepped up again, and will give a special fundraising performance at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills on May 27.
“Marty has been a dear friend and musical collaborator since my second album back in ‘72,” Raitt has said of Marty. “He is one of the most soulful and talented musicians I know … equally gifted and at home on sax, keyboards, a killer singer and songwriter. That kind of versatility is very rare indeed.”
Grebb has had an extensive career in music and has played, composed and sung with many artists, including Raitt, John Lennon, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell and many more.
Russell is also on the bill for the fundraising performance. He said, “One of the great pleasures of my life is knowing and working with Marty. He is one of a kind as a musician and human being.”
Joining Russell and Raitt is Ivan Neville, as well as 15 other musicians, including a performance by Grebb’s daughter, Anna. Malibu’s KBU radio station, led by local Hans Laetz, is the radio sponsor for the event, providing publicity through the station and social media outlets.
Other members of the community have also stepped up and donated items to the silent auction that will take place at the concert. Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers donated signed drum sticks and a cymbal. Another Malibu musician, Leslie Bixler, has donated tuition to a blues guitar and a songwriter camp. Each camp is five days long and takes place in Mississippi. Bixler also donated four, one-hour sessions of life voice coaching. Other items in the auction include a gift certificate to Casa Escobar and a guitar from McCabe’s Guitar Shop.
Proceeds from the evening will go toward ongoing medical expenses through The Marty Grebb Fund at Sweet Relief. Sweet Relief is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to providing support to musicians who are battling cancer, ALS and other debilitating diseases.
The event will take place May 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Canyon Club. For more information or to purchase a ticket, call 818.879.5016. A VIP reception will take place starting at 6 p.m.
