PREVIEW

The Last Waltz of the It*Men

What: Ken Janssen Medical Fund and Benefit.

When: 8 tonight.

Where: Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Road, in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood.

Performers: The It*Men, Cobra Verde, Hot Rails, New Lou Reeds, Charles Hill Jr.

Suggested donation: $10 (each donor will get a copy of the vinyl rerelease of the It*Men's "Greatest Its").

Info: beachlandballroom.com, 216-383-1124.



It has taken the terminal illness of their lead singer for members of the band that created punk rock — or at least claimed credit for its creation — to reunite.

Ken Janssen, sitting in the upholstered lift chair of his Collinwood home just feet from the crashing shores of Lake Erie, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — Lou Gehrig’s disease — in November.

"When you find out your time is coming," said Janssen, a much-loved fixture on the Cleveland rock music scene, "you focus on legacy."

That’s why the benefit for Janssen at the Beachland Ballroom tonight is called "The Last Waltz of the It*Men." Some of Cleveland’s best will join with the "legendary" (at least in their own minds) band — Cobra Verde, Hot Rails, the New Lou Reeds and Charles Hill Jr., with hosting help from DJ Alr!ght and DJ Csi-Fi. Several singers in those and other bands will step in for the weakening Janssen on the microphone, singing those "iconic" tunes.

ALS is rapidly taking its toll on Janssen. He uses a wheelchair now, and even shaking hands is tough — he uses his left hand to raise his right. But he’s adapted well; he also uses his left hand to heft his glass of Glenlivet scotch.

But there’s not a darn thing wrong with his mind and especially his sense of humor — even if the latter does trend a little toward the dark side. That became clear when he was discussing the planning for tonight’s show, which is his baby.

"I didn’t want it to be something like an ‘I’m sick, you guys give me money,’¤" said Janssen. But he joked that having ALS made it easier to get people to cooperate:

"When you’re dying, they HAVE to do it!"

Laughs and love were common in that small living room, even though the reality of the situation was clear, courtesy of the bottles of medicines and the hospital bed that now occupies the dining room because Janssen can no longer make it upstairs. His wife of just five years, Kathy, sleeps on a makeshift bed next to him.

Two of Janssen’s It*Men bandmates — guitarist Matt Cassidy and drummer Charlie Druesedow — were there to share stories of gigs played, songs written and pranks pulled. Missing were bassist Dave Molnar and guitarist Ben Gmetro.

Cassidy and Janssen were roommates at Kent State University in a huge, unfinished home that the owner built for his family .¤.¤. right before his wife left him and took the children. The home’s fireplace had only the mantel, so the quintet — "five guys with huge album collections" — that occupied Stow House turned it into a puppet theater.

Molnar, Gmetro and Druesedow also attended school together, at the University of Akron.

The reality is that the It*Men came together partly because of a shared love of music and partly because of their uniquely twisted senses of humor. That became clear upon reading the over-the-top liner notes for The It*Men’s first — and only —album, "Greatest Its."

The notes for the 2004 CD are full of stories — none true — of the history and miscues of a band that formed only that year. They include everything from repeated references to the band’s "creation" of punk rock after meeting in 1965 to the critical faux pas six years later of naming their fourth album "Zeppelin 4."

As the liner notes observe, Janssen’s cryptic comment upon learning that Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones had just followed "Zeppelin," "Zeppelin II" and "Zeppelin III" with an album that became known as "Zeppelin IV":

"Who knew?"

But it would be a mistake to dismiss the album. The reality is that it features really good punk songs, like "Come and Get Some," "Altamonster" and, especially, "Baby I’m Your Man."

Still, as Cassidy, Druesedow and Janssen all noted, it was a great time for a bunch of guys who all got the joke. Besides, who else would come up with songs that rhyme words like Yukon and futon?

Stow House was known for its great parties, all organized by Janssen, and in a way, he has continued that tradition. A planner by nature, he’s personally overseeing the festivities tonight, which also is his 40th birthday.

"Basically, Ken’s been doing typical Ken stuff," said Beachland Ballroom owner Cindy Barber, for whom Janssen worked as a booker and bartender for five years. "He’s putting the whole thing together [and] organizing the vinyl pressing of the record."

That’s right, vinyl. Those who attend and come up with the suggested donation of $10 get a free copy of a new vinyl version of "Greatest Its," which also includes six new songs. The songs have been rerecorded, sometimes with Janssen having to do his vocals line by line, and it’ll all be released under something Ken and his friends call Stow House Records, and that is the legacy he meant. In addition to being a fundraiser for Janssen, the festivities tonight will serve as a launch for the label.

The It*Men won’t be the only group in the label’s stable. Janssen and his friends have always been huge supporters of local music — that’s how he became known to Barber in the first place.

And local music has been a supporter of Ken Janssen. ALS causes the gradual weakening of muscles, including the diaphragm, the muscle that makes breathing possible. Janssen’s friends —and the music community — rallied around him to raise money for a critical operation that inserts a device that helps the diaphragm do its job.

At the time, Janssen wasn’t sure he’d be able to get VA benefits from his time in the Air Force (asked what he did in the Air Force, he joked, "tried to get out"), and the operation cost $20,000. His friends raised $21,000 from 250 donors.

"Everyone wanted to start sending checks, and I said, ‘I don’t mind making money off you guys, but let me earn it,’¤" he said, which led to tonight’s show.

Janssen has thrown himself into this fundraiser/concert and the creation of Stow House Records, even in the face of a disease that he knows will kill him sooner than later.

"I cried a lot the first week [after the diagnosis was confirmed]," Janssen said, "mainly because my wife couldn’t stop crying.

"There’s a new normal every month," said Janssen, discussing the degradation of his body as the disease progresses. But even in the face of that, he’s remained true to who he is.

"I like to make long-term plans, and out of habit, I’ll still do that. But then I think, ‘Dummy, you’re going to be DEAD!’¤" he said with a burst of laughter.

On the surface, Janssen may seem resigned to his fate. But it’s not as though he’s planning to make it easy on the Grim Reaper.

After all, there’s an It*Men Reunion Tour to plan.