Piper Leigh to lead benefit for Skin Cancer Foundation

Originally published March 11, 2004

by Jedd Beaudoin
jbeaudoin@f5wichita.com

SONGS FOR SKIN: Piper Leigh and a half-dozen other musicians will put on a benifit for the Skin Cancer Foundation at 4 p.m. Sunday at Cabaret Old Town, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. Courtesy photo

n Sunday, March 14, Kansas songstress Piper Leigh will lead a benefit for the Skin Cancer Foundation at Cabaret Oldtown in honor of the late Eva Cassidy (who died in 1996 of melanoma).
     Leigh said that the benefit, titled "The Soul of Eva Cassidy," had simple origins. During a conversation between Leigh and her friends, Jim and Ann Keefer, some parallels her own life and Cassidy's began to emerge.
     "We both started playing guitars when we were nine, we both started playing on Harmony guitars. She started performing with her dad at a young age and so did I. I also read that she used to spend more time practicing guitar than doing homework," Leigh said with a laugh. "My transcripts are definitely an example of that."
     Leigh added that her own appreciation of Cassidy grew based on a simple realization: Cassidy was a songwriter but also a great song stylist.
     "She could take a song that you're familiar with and turn it into something that was completely her own," Leigh said. "It was her own arrangement, her style and that could make you completely forget about the original. That's always been my talent."
     That, along with some physical similarities between the two, not only made for interesting conversation, it spurred an interest in bringing the late singer's music to members of the public, especially those unfamiliar with her work. But, she added, both she and the Keefers felt that it should be more than just a concert.
     Ann Keefer spoke with local dermatologist Dr. Chris Moeller and asked for his assistance in making the event a benefit. Moeller, who has worked with skin cancer patients for close to two decades, agreed and, with his help, the show quickly became a reality.
     But the event will also serve as an afternoon of entertainment (part of an ongoing series called Sundays @ 4, put together by local promoter Barney Byard), including songs from Leigh that are not part of Cassidy's body of work.
     "It is a tribute to Eva Cassidy but the second half is the Piper Leigh portion of the show and it's a continuation of Eva's influence in my music," she said.
     The event will also be recorded, Leigh said, and, she hopes, this performance will not be the last.
     "My vision is that we can take the show national," Leigh said. "Eva was from the Washington, D.C. area and I'd like to see this travel into that area, where she was widely known. And I hope that the Skin Cancer Foundation can continue to benefit from it."
     Other musicians involved in Sunday's event include Lee MacDonald, Jim Keefer, Jim Sanders and Tim Henry. Tickets are $15. For more information call 265-4400.