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Community Corner

Band Brings the Rock to Help Parsippany Family

Musicians do their part to help a childhood friend whose Lake Shore Drive home was lost to fire.

A New Jersey band will rock out to raise money for a family whose last month.

A benefit concert featuring the group Smackwater Jack takes place May 26 at 9 p.m. at Parsippany's . Voluntary donations made at the door will go to help Patrice and Angelo Nicita and their two young children.

The Succasunna-based rock band has been together for several years. Its stated goal is to “play on a consistent basis and ... keep it fun," said singer-guitarist Jason Tremper.

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Smackwater Jack doesn't want to sound like other bands, according to lead guitarist Eric Benson.

“We play hard rockin' classic hits, as well as all the newest and freshest songs that most of the other bands don't play," he said. "We keep things fun  by constantly adding new songs to our repertoire so that you never hear the same set list twice."

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Tremper and Benson say this benefit concert carries a lot of personal meaning for them.

 “Eric and I went to school with Patrice," Tremper explained. "We’ve known her since seventh grade, so once we heard [about the fire], we began of thinking of ways to help."

Nicita Family Fire Relief Facebook page was established quickly, but organizers decided they needed something more, including a Web page that accepts donations for the family.

“The Facebook page was great, but we wanted a website where everything could easily be navigated through, all in one place,” Tremper said. “Then we set up an account on Shutterfly, so that people can upload any photos that they have of the family."

The Nicitas lost practically everything—including beloved family photos—in the fire.

"This idea came to me when I was up brainstorming about ways to help around 3 a.m. when I got an email frmm Shutterfly saying I had this free share site where everyone could share photos on one page," Tremper continued. "Spam won that one. Now there’s hundreds of photos up there."

According to Tremper, raising money is the primary goal of this event.

“They got so many [donated] clothes in the beginning that we had to tell people to stop," he said. "Patrice was coming home to her porch covered in bags of clothes, which was amazing, but as of now the necessities are taken care of. The family has plenty of clothes and is staying with family…Keep them in your thoughts and prayers, its going to be a long haul and they may need some things down the road.

"Right now, we’re just trying to get them money, because we know that they’ll need that money at some point."

Tremper says the support for the Nicitas has been eye-opening.

“It's somewhat restored my faith in humanity a little bit," he said. "You see perfect strangers, and well, everybody, just jump on board to help the family out, and it’s been pretty amazing. I know it’s been overwhelming for them too. Their heads are still spinning. They can’t believe the amount of people who jumped to their aid so quickly.”

Before the band even had a chance to suggest the idea of a benefit concert, others within the community were making the suggestion.

“We had the show booked with the Blackthorn already, “ says Tremper. “So after  the fire, I called them and asked if we could turn it into some kind of benefit. I thought I was pretty quick about it, but it turned out others had been suggesting this idea to the owner before I even brought it to the Blackthorn’s attention.”

Tremper said that he and Patrice Nicita had lost touch after school, but re-connected through Facebook about five years ago.

“We had a lot of the same interests and our kids are around the same age, so we naturally became very close," Tremper said. "I can easily say she’s one of my closest friends right now."

Close friends such as Tremper and strangers alike continue to band together to help raise money for future expenses. People can visit the Nicita Family Fire Relief Facebook page, which presents the family's most current needs for clothing, household items and more. People are encouraged to upload any photos that they have of the Nicitas to the Shutterfly page. Online donations are still being accepted via their website.

Cash donations will be accepted throughout the benefit concert. Special food and drink specials will be available to those opting to pay the cover charge.

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