A Fine Recipe for Charity Concerts in Denton

With all the baked goods made by area bands for the Decemberfest "Rock Concert AND Bake Sale," one couldn't help but wonder what concoction the gang from Rival Gang—or any of the other five bands on the bill—would whip up for the event. But despite the jokes on the Denton Rock City message board to the contrary, none of the baked goods brought by any of the bands were "special."

Well, none that we know of.

Held last Saturday night at Dan's Silverleaf, the fund-raiser for the Denton Community Food Center was a bit of a Denton's who's who. Even The Baptist Generals' Chris Flemmons' dog Brunswick (the pup on the cover of his act's first album Dog) was scarfing down baked goods—on the back patio, of course.

For the second year, Shiny Around the Edges' Mike and Jenny Seman organized the event and, like last year, they decided to raise funds for the DCFC because, Mike says, "They are a very efficient, well-run charity organization." For more than 25 years, the DCFC has provided food to those in emergency situations, and as an independent, nonprofit service agency, it can only function through donations from individuals and organizations in the community.

"So many people in Denton have benefited from the Food Center," said Rival Gang's Leanne Macomber (who also plays in Fight Bite) before her band's set. "Some people I've known, friends of mine, have needed their help. So, the fund-raiser is a great way of giving back."

But Decemberfest was just one in a string of Denton's recent benefit shows. Last weekend, Hailey's hosted a benefit show for Dallas' Austin Street Center. The previous weekend, Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios held a Mustache Pageant to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and on Friday night RGRS will host a show benefiting the Family and Medical Leave Act.

As his contribution to the Decemberfest bake sale, Handbrake's bassist and part-time vocalist, Ryan Williams, brought chocolate chip cookies sandwiched together by a layer of peanut butter. "Honestly," Williams shared midway through the night, "at first, I hadn't really given the baking part of the show that much thought, but I stopped caring about the music a while ago.

"Now, I'm all like, 'Did you try my cookies? What did you think of them?'"

His cookies proved to be a crowd favorite: "We sold out of them," Mike Seman proudly said. "Ryan definitely ended up being the undisputed champion of the bake sale."

And by the time the lights went on at Dan's, Decemberfest managed to raise $490, a hundred dollars more than last year's bake sale.