December People is in its fifth year of giving.
Giving to those in need is perhaps the most powerful and fulfilling gift during the holiday season, which is why five well-known classic rock musicians and a number of venues work endless hours to make the band December People a success.
The band doesn’t play concerts for personal financial gain, but instead asks concertgoers to bring food to each show for local food banks in order to feed the hungry.
Many in America live impoverished and barely have enough food to eat, but thanks to the generosity of musician Robert Berry and his band mates, he’s able to help kids and their parents put food on the table.
In its fifth year of existence, December People travels to intimate concert venues that seat anywhere from 500 to 5,000 guests, asking each attendee to bring food. The food is then distributed in the community in which the concert was held.
“It’s infectious. People feel good about helping others when they come to our shows,” Berry said.
Berry invented the Classic Rock Christmas concept, and called upon other classic rock legends to help launch the effort. Berry was the perfect artist to undertake such an endeavor, as his musical career helped him develop strong contacts and friendships in the music industry. He’s played with Sammy Hagar, Ambrosia, Carl Palmer and Keith Emerson, to name a few.
When he came up with the concept to support local food banks, he called Boston guitar player Gary Pihl who was on board immediately, especially after hearing that the gigs would provide sustenance to those in need.
“When Robert first told me the idea, I thought that sounds great and that should be a lot of fun,” Pihl said, noting that the gift of giving is powerful.
“Our present at the end of the show is when we get to see the barrels and barrels of food that people brought in,” Pihl said. “I get choked up just thinking about it.”
Pihl’s generosity is second to none, Berry said, highlighting how he finishes his tour with Boston each fall only to dive into charitable concerts with December People.
“Gary got off the road with Boston two weeks before December People began to tour,” Berry said.
Berry and Pihl are joined by classic rock musicians Jack Foster, of the Jack Foster Band; David Medd, keyboard player for The Tubes; and David Lauser, who played drums for The Sammy Hagar Band.
Aside from helping feed the hungry, perhaps the second most notable aspect of December People is the type of music they play.
They perform Christmas music in the style of the greatest rock bands of all time, such as ZZ Top, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Tears for Fears, The Who and Train.
“The first one I tried was The Who. I tried Joy to the World as if The Who would do it,” Berry said. “I sent it to the record company, and they said, ‘It’s genius.’”
Berry and band mates also recorded Silver Bells with the tune sounding very familiar to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
Venues equally love the music and the concept, Berry said. Most venues charge for the ticket so that they pay for the show, and the band spares no expense in lighting and stage equipment.
“We bring a very, very expensive production with us,” Berry said. “It takes a semi-truck to put all the stuff in it. We want to make sure it’s fun for the audience and that it means something to them.”
This year, December People will play 10 venues before the tour ends on Christmas Day.
In each city they play, attendees bring bags and bags of food, Berry said.
The band teams up with local food banks and United Way to make sure food gets to the right people.
“I have worked with many celebrities in my past and it has been absolutely amazing to work with this group of rock legends,” Al Hammons of United Way in Topeka, Kansas said in an email. “Not only does each member deserve their own marquee at any venue, but coming together like they do to promote hunger awareness is unbelievable. The show is amazing and the people who attend are left speechless at how incredible the band sounds, the renditions of the songs and that incredible light show.”
Topeka’s school system has at least 71 percent of the kids on food subsidies, Hammons said.
“This program actually packs bags of food for kids to eat over the weekend. It’s hard sometimes to think that the only meals kids get are the ones at school and have nothing to eat when they go home. Food donations, like the donations we received here, goes back into Harvesters to support programs like that here in Topeka,” Hammons said.
Additionally, December People administered its first sock drive this year, collecting thousands of pairs of socks for the homeless.
“I had no idea that the most needed item for homeless people was socks,” Berry said.
The band has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. Berry hopes to make the production bigger and better every year.
Interviewed for this story: Robert Berry and Gary Pihl, (212) 532-3934; Al Hammons (785) 228-5129.