An unexpected tooth abscess thrust Eric Katchmore into the emergency room the same day he was set to audition for Scranton-based band Behind the Grey.
At the last minute, he decided to leave the hospital and head straight to his audition.
With a trash can next to him for emergencies, he sang through a Deftones song with the band. The rest of the group knew he was the singer they had been looking for, and he joined the lineup.
Following more ER visits for kidney stones, flu-like symptoms and a sinus infection, doctors suggested Katchmore submit to additional testing.
Only a few months into working with their new frontman, Behind the Grey faced crushing news: Katchmore was diagnosed with late-stage, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
But the band isn’t going down without a fight.
Following more than a month of preparations, the blue-collar metal band will present A Concert for Katchmore at 9 p.m. Saturday at The V-Spot, Scranton. The benefit will feature dozens of guest singers and musicians from local and out-of-state bands supporting the ailing vocalist.
Internal struggle
For two years, Katchmore kept his illness a secret, but as his health declined, the band was forced to announce it to their fans at the beginning of May.
Bassist Steve Saypack came up with the idea to invite other musicians to play with them for the fundraiser, inspired by a common gimmick the band practices at shows.
“We always have people coming up and jumping up on stage with us. They’ll come in and do a verse, not just choruses,” Saypack said. “With the mix of people around here, and we’ve been doing it for so long, it just kind of happened.”
Guest singers for the night include Johnny Jones of Ashfall, Kenneth Norton from Graces Downfall, Nick Necro from The Curse of Sorrow and Dom Vito from Judas Fled South, among many others.
“In the early stages of planning, (the band) asked me to (sing), and without even thinking, I had to say yes,” Vito said. “I’ve been good friends with these guys for as long as they’ve been in existence, and depending on what band I was in at the time, I always try to play shows with them and get out to see them.”
In addition to dozens of local artists sharing the same stage, there will be special raffles up for grabs throughout the night. From band merchandise to tickets to Shiley Acres music venue in West Virginia, donations have been rolling in, guitarist Will Perna said.
Larger raffle prizes include a six-hour recording session at JL Studios in Olyphant, a gift certificate to Conflict Artistry in Edwardsville and a guitar donated by Northeast Music and signed by members of Sevendust.
When Behind the Grey discovered Katchmore’s illness, members immediately wanted to help him. But the singer’s extremely private personality caused him to push away the idea of any fundraisers.
“At the time, we had an Indiegogo campaign to fund our album,” Perna said. “We said, ‘Why don’t we have a benefit concert and change the Indiegogo to help (him).’
“But he wouldn’t do it,” Perna added. “(He) didn’t want to take a penny from the band. He just told us that he wanted the album to kind of be like his legacy and he wanted it to be perfect.”
Perna figured his friend looked at delaying the album and accepting help as a sign of defeat, and watched as he pushed forward as if nothing was wrong. For two years, Katchmore suffered through.
The guys in Behind the Grey helped Katchmore in the studio as much as they could, keeping him from moving equipment and giving him breaks whenever necessary.
“The recording process, we had it so spaced out for him,” drummer Mike Boniewicz said.
According to Perna, each show was another struggle for Katchmore, whether he threw up beforehand or passed out afterwards, although he never stopped pushing forward.
“He gave us no room to ever complain,” Perna said. “If he’s going to make that huge sacrifice and do all of this and put his heart into it, then I have to do twice as much, because I’m able to.”
“His strength has definitely pushed us all beyond what we ever thought we could do,” Saypack agreed. “Like (Perna) said, he shows up. He’s there. It doesn’t matter what was going on 10 minutes ago, he’s ready to sing. It didn’t matter how sick he was, because as soon as he walks through the door. ... it was just, ‘Alright, time to do it.’ ”
Community support
The outpouring of support amazed the bandmates. Each day, members of the band receive phone calls or messages from someone who wanted to donate an item to raffle off or who is interested in joining the lineup of artists.
“We didn’t expect them to ask,” Perna said of the offers. “Not like we weren’t friends or anything, but it was just a whole different genre. We have blues players coming to ask and do songs.”
At least three bands canceled shows set for the same night so they could attend or participate in the benefit show, Perna added.
“You’re not going to see a lot of these people in the same spot on a Saturday night,” Boniewicz noted.
The camaraderie shared by area musicians made organizing the event a success, and will go a long way to help Katchmore. For that, he and his bandmates are most grateful.
“We’re very unique here to look out for each other and to help each other when we need it,” Perna said.