Saw this while in Boston last Saturday. In town to pick up my son Hayes and catch a Red Sox game at Fenway, I stumbled across this trio playing in Faneuil Hall:
Mom and two sons in the well-branded and very aptly-named College Fund Band. Throughout their lengthy set of pop classics, Mom maintained a steady presence on keyboards and the two boys bounced back between vocals, guitar and drums; think the Partridge Family in a recession. While CFB won't challenge Coldplay, AC/DC or Green Day for live tour receipts this summer, safe to say that this is a novel, heartwarming (and as the less-than-perfect video below shows, quite successful) way to accomplish a very positive and simply-stated goal. Truth in advertising indeed!
More fun than spending weekends working in a fast-food joint or factory (not to say that either boy is old enough to do even that), not only do I think that this will raise the funds necessary, but will probably raise enough awareness for a scholarship at some business (or music) school...or at least for an appearance or two on a talk-show (seems perfect for a 10:00 p.m. Leno).
Update on June 22: Ignore my beef below; "Mom," namely Debbie Gantt, reached out (see comment below) and assured that the site www.collegefundband.com is now up and running. Read more about her, Jack and Dan by clicking the link above, or checking out this piece from the Boston Globe.
That said, my only beef is the emptiness--and I do mean that literally--of the trio's website. Flashed full-frontal on the bass drum, www.collegefundband.com leads you only to a static silhouette logo, so I can't even tell you the names of these people. Nonetheless, I hope Mom has another kid at home--or at least a cousin, niece or nephew--with a modicum of web-savvy to improve their digital presence...and their potential to raise funds.
All that said, kudos to the kids for doing something so upbeat, and to Mom for knowing where her kids are on the weekend. The family that plays together rasises together...