Music therapy

Show raises funds and lifts spirits



TRIBUTE—Fleetwood Mac cover band Twisted Gypsy performs for an enthusiastic crowd during a benefit show at Nabu Wines in Westlake Village on Nov. 25 to remember the Borderline shooting victims. Upper right, band member Aaron Kusterer lights a candle in memory of the 12 who died in the Nov. 7 tragedy.

TRIBUTE—Fleetwood Mac cover band Twisted Gypsy performs for an enthusiastic crowd during a benefit show at Nabu Wines in Westlake Village on Nov. 25 to remember the Borderline shooting victims. Upper right, band member Aaron Kusterer lights a candle in memory of the 12 who died in the Nov. 7 tragedy.

A group of caring Ventura County residents helped raise around $30,000 at a Sunday event to benefit families impacted by the Nov. 7 Borderline Bar and Grill shooting.

The day of music, food and community took place at Nabu Wines in Westlake Village, where for four hours, nearly 1,000 people streamed in and out of the winery and its parking lot, while food trucks from The Habit, Chronic Tacos, Farm and Flame and Kona Ice served burgers, tacos, ribs and shaved ice for free, asking only for donations, which will all go to a fund for Borderline victims established by the Rotary Club of Westlake Village.

The Rotary Club and Borderline co-sponsor the annual Oak- Heart Country Music Festival in Thousand Oaks.

The Nov. 25 benefit was the brainchild of local Fleetwood Mac tribute band Twisted Gypsy, which regularly performs at both Borderline and Nabu.

“It was started by (band manager/ producer) Billy Derian, who created the band,” said T.O. resident Saul Escudero, who helped promote the event. “Billy is related to one of the victims, Mark Meza.”

Photos by JOSEPH A. GARCIA/Acorn Newspapers

Photos by JOSEPH A. GARCIA/Acorn Newspapers

The benefit idea first spread by word of mouth and then on social media, where Escudero learned about it.

“I was on my Facebook page checking out what was going on and I saw this and reached out to them and said, ‘I can help you,’” he told The Acorn. “I do charity fundraising, so I helped in organizing the event and we pulled it off in four days.”

Escudero, who works for promoter Ambient Solutions, helped secure items for a raffle and an auction and helped emcee the event, but he wasn’t the only volunteer to step forward.

Cathy McCann of Thousand Oaks was one of those on hand to collect donations. The mother of two has ties to two of the Borderline victims: She is friends of the family of Blake Dingman and she works with Telemachus Orfanos’ father.

“Blake’s dad coached my son’s baseball team,” McCann said. “My heart goes out to all the families.”

Nikki Lian, another volunteer at the benefit, also knew two of the victims. The owner of CKO Kickboxing in Simi Valley, Lian worked out with Daniel Manrique and Justin Meek. Witnesses have said both men died after running back inside Borderline after the shooting began rather than fleeing the scene.

Lian said she was moved by the number of people who showed up for the event.

“It feels good to see so many people want to give,” she said, adding that CKO will have its own fundraiser on Sat., Dec. 1 to raise money for a kickboxing team made up of veterans—a team Manrique helped to establish.

Benefit attendee Margot Hunt didn’t know any of those who lost their lives at Borderline, but she wanted to show her support.

“We’re all hurting and only now getting a chance to process it and support one another, and that feels good,” she said.