John Varvatos Benefit With Peter Frampton & Denis Leary 2010

Peter Frampton and Denis Leary rock a sold out show to benefit Road Recovery at John Varvatos Bowery NYC (formerly CBGB)

January 12, 2010 — NEW YORK, NY — John Varvatos hosted a SOLD-OUT benefit concert on January 7, 2010 for the non-profit organization Road Recovery, with a one-time performance given by Grammy-Award Winning Artist Peter Frampton and FX’s Emmy nominated Rescue Me star and comedian Denis Leary, along with his band The Enablers. The concert, which took place at the John Varvatos’ 315 Bowery NYC store, was part of Varvatos’ Thursday Nite Live Concert Series and was held at the space that formerly housed the seminal underground music club CBGB’s. This special concert had WRXP Radio 101.9-FM’s Leslie Fram & Matt Pinfield as emcees including a musical performance led by Matt Pinfield with Road Recovery’s mentor staff.

Road Recovery’s house band Crazy James, in addition to participants from Road Recovery’s youth program with Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services (JBFCS), performed songs for which they wrote the music and lyrics. These youth, ranging in age from 15 to 26, have been sober anywhere from one month to over five years and their set kicked off the evening and rocked the crowd.

Denis Leary and his band, The Enablers, took the stage and treated the sold out crowd to such Leary classics as “A**hole” and “Traditional Irish Folk Song” as well as a soon to be classic version of the Faces song “Ooh La La” substituting the lyrics for “I wish that they had all of these drugs, when I was younger.”

“Without benefits like this, people like me would never get to use our music to bring attention and raise money for such a worthy cause. Keeping kids off drugs is important and the fact that I get to play with Frampton is priceless.” – Denis Leary

On a pure note, Peter Frampton hit the stage with a smile and open arms. Guitar, bass and keyboards were all that he needed to send the crowd of diehard Frampton fans into a frenzy during “Baby I Love Your Way,” “Show Me the Way,” and “Do You Feel Like We Do?” As if Frampton’s signature talk-box and guitar playing wasn’t enough to please even the most jaded of downtown New Yorkers, he chose to close his set with a beautiful rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

“It’s very humbling to be a part of a night like this. Knowing that I can be of help in some small way to Road Recovery, is the best feeling. I can only hope that I helped them as much as they have helped me.” – Peter Frampton

Frampton participated in a pre-show 45-minute Master Class with members of Road Recovery’s Crazy James where he shared his knowledge and lifes experiences as a Grammy award winning recording artist in the music business for the past forty years. At the end of Frampton’s set both Denis and his band and John Varvatos joined him on stage for an encore performance of “A**hole.”

John Varvatos was excited to have two talented artists performing on one night for an important cause.

“It’s an honor supporting Road Recovery. The work they do is remarkable. Just look at the faces of the kids who are part of their programs. Rock On!!!” – John Varvatos

Denis Leary and The Enablers are unbelievable musicians and have the best sense of humor in rock n’ roll. And it goes without saying that having Peter Frampton on stage in our Bowery NYC store was a dream come true!” The store was filled to capacity and the event raised more than $20,000 for the charity.

Road Recovery wishes to THANK… John Varvatos & his team, Peter Frampton & his band, Denis Leary & The Enablers, 101.9 RXP Radio – Matt Pinfield & Leslie Fram, Ken Levitan & Lisa Jenkins – Vector Management for Peter Frampton, Bartow Church, Sawyer Williams & everyone at Apostle, Road Recovery mentor staff, Major Who Media, Dworkin & CO, Mary Guibert & Jeff Buckley Music, Gibson Guitars & Shanon Chaiken, Ready To Roll Transportation, UC, the Source & Una Cote, Alec Gold & CondomCents, Jewish Board For Family & Children Services, Graham Windham Services, The Village Voice, Icelandic Glacial Water.

Launched in 2000 with a collection of tailored clothing and sportswear, John Varvatos now represents an entire men’s lifestyle that includes footwear, bags, belts, eyewear, limited edition watches, men’s and women’s luxury skincare and fragrances, as well as the younger, edgier John Varvatos USA Collection and Converse by John Varvatos. The designer has been recognized three times by the CFDA with an American Fashion Award for New Menswear Designer (June 2000) and Menswear Designer of the Year (June 2001 and June 2005) and was honored as GQ’s “Designer of the Year” in 2007. The collection is distributed in freestanding John Varvatos boutiques across the US, as well as in better specialty stores throughout the world. www.johnvarvatos.com