The BOWL FOR RONNIE Celebrity Bowling Party, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (www.diocancerfund.org), made a splashy post-pandemic return by attracting a sell-out crowd well in advance and bringing in over $72,000 for the music-based cancer charity. The November 17 event at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California was the charity’s first public fund-raising event in three years.
Some 300 rockers, bowling enthusiasts, DIO fans and Dio Cancer Fund supporters made up the capacity crowd at the event, hosted by broadcast personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM’s 103 Faction Talk channel.
This year’s attendees included Doug Aldrich (The Dead Daisies); record producers Joe Barresi and Jay Ruston; singer Em Beihold; Jack Black (Tenacious D); Ann Boleyn (Hellion), Mark Chaussee (Danzig), Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman); actors Al Coronel (The Last Ship) and Star Fields (Sons of Anarchy); Matt Duncan (DC4); Shawn Duncan (LA Guns, DC4); Lita Ford; Abby Gennet (Slunt); DJ Will (KNAC); Jesse Hughes and Jennie Vee of (Eagles of Death Metal); Ari Kamin (Adler’s Appetite); guitarist Bobby Keller; Richie Kotzen (Winery Dogs); Julia Lage (Vixen); Ministry members Roy Mayorga, Cesar Soto, Monte Pittman and John Bechdel; actor/musician Sean McNabb (Lynch Mob); Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine); Dave “Chili” Moreno, Jason Cornwell, Chas West, Roy Z and Jimmy Burkhard of West Bound; Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (Ozzy Osbourne); Marty O’Brien (Daughtry); Tim “Ripper” Owens, Harry Conklin and Sean Peck of The Three Tremors featuring Tim “Ripper” Owens; Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats); Rowan Robertson (Dio, DC4); Brett Scallions (Fuel); Howie Simon (Winger); Zak St. John (Black Star Riders); Dio band members Bjorn Englen, Scott Warren and Simon Wright; Ricky Warwick (Black Star Riders); Brent Woods (Sebastian Bach, Chevy Metal); entrepreneur Ahmet Zappa and his sister actress Diva Zappa.
The late Steve Strange, legendary agent who represented Eminem, Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, Snow Patrol and Alice in Chains, among many others, was celebrated by friends and colleagues with photos throughout the venue. The Dio Cancer Fund inaugurated the new Steve Strange Award for the individual celebrity bowler with the highest overall bowling score. All of the trophies and medals awarded this year bear his photo as a further tribute to him.
Dr. David Wong, whose team at the UCLA School of Dentistry has had the support of the Dio Cancer Fund for its research in the development of salivary biomarkers for gastric cancer detection since 2016, announced that, with support from the Dio Cancer Fund, his research has developed nine saliva RNA biomarkers that can mark patients with gastric cancer with high clinical performance. This progress has allowed them to submit their finding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a “Gastric Cancer Biomarker Characterization Center” grant. The Board of Directors presented him with a check for an additional $25,000 toward his team’s research on a simple, non-invasive saliva swab test for early cancer detection.
The celebrity bowling tournament was the scene of fierce competition, with the team headed by Tim “Ripper” Owens and members of his band The Three Tremors featuring Tim “Ripper” Owens capturing the 1st place trophy.
Dan Hayes of Stamford, CT, the 2019 winning bidder to play on Eddie Trunk’s celebrity team, returned this year with his band LiegeLord to sponsor the 1st place winning corporate team.
Highlights of the 2022 BOWL FOR RONNIE can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHG1wWxMjlM
In addition to all of the celebrities who continuously participate in our events, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund would like to thank:
–the sponsors who generously donated to purchase a lane: BMG, Clair Global, Danny Zelisko Presents, Eyellusion, Global Merchandising Services, Goldenvoice, HHO Sin City, I Like You, Kapoor Medical, LiegeLord, Magica Tarot, McBride Wealth Management, Metal Blade Records, Nederlander Concerts, Niji Entertainment Group, PRG, Rainbow Bar & Grill, Rhino Records, Rick Sales Entertainment, Spectacle Entertainment Group, The Strength Code, TKO, Upstaging Inc, W3 Public Relations and X-Ray Touring;
–the volunteers who generously gave of their time: Lauren Aloy, Kia Anderson, PG Brunelli, Maria Ferrero, Delilah Gimenez, Jeff Gray, Scot Kaufman, Ann Kirkland, Gene Kirkland, Alex Kluft, Jessica Kusnier, Rebecca Kusnier, Sabrina Ment, Craig Newman, Paula Newman, Olivia Pilson, Teresa Schachtel, Kyle Smith, Sarah Weiss and Sharon Weisz;
–and California Love Drop for serving Yogurtland Frozen Yogurt to our players and guests!
The acclaimed documentary, “DIO: Dreamers Never Die,” has its television premiere on SHOWTIME today, December 1st. It will also be available to stream via the SHOWTIME app. Visit: https://www.sho.com/titles/3519882/dio-dreamers-never-die
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded in memory of the legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010. A privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has already raised over $2 million in its short history. Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research, the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Since 2016, the Dio Cancer Fund has also committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer, which is in keeping with the Fund’s mission of cancer prevention, research and education.
Check out our photo gallery and post-event recap from contributor Joe Schaeffer here.
All Photos by contributor Joe Schaeffer (Joe Schaeffer Photography)
For more coverage of this year’s festival line-up, check out our archives, and follow us @ThePureRockShop for more local concert coverage like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and festival coverage in 2023 including RokIsland Festival, the Monsters of Rock Cruise and M3 Rock Festival and more.
