• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published July 20, 2008 at 11:53 p.m., updated July 20, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

After hearing about how the Boys & Girls Club of Victoria was robbed in June, local band Slap Jesse is coming to the rescue.

The band is holding a free concert on July 27 to help garner donations for the nonprofit. Called SlapFest III, the show will feature performances by the newly reformed Slap Jesse, Dotado, AR-15 and Speed Limit 10.

“We love to put on these free concerts for the community, but the main reason we are putting on this one is to help out the Boys & Girls Club,” guitarist Ruben Alvarez said. “We heard about the robbery and wanted to help out in any way we could.”

On June 4, the club was broken into and several items were stolen, including cash, electronics and backpacks. According to the band, they will be accepting monetary donations as well as school supplies at the concert.

This is the third SlapFest the band has put on and each time the band has picked a local nonprofit to raise donations for, Alvarez added. In addition to helping out the community, the band is also trying to bring back free concerts in the park.

“Years ago, they held several free concerts throughout the year, but that all stopped. It’s just a way for us to get the community together to come and have a good time,” he said.

However, there will be one notable difference this year at SlapFest. The original members of Slap Jesse broke up about a year and a half ago and three new members will be joining Alvarez, the only original member left, onstage. The other members of the band decided to go a different direction and form a new band called Revolution Unleashed, Alvarez said.

The new Slap Jesse members are Daniel Monroe, drummer and vocals, Opie Beltran, vocals, and Joe Garcia, who goes by the name Jgar, on bass. According to Monroe, so far the new version of Slap Jesse has been going great.

“Every band has their ups and downs, but in the end, we’re just like a family,” he said. “We’ve all been in the music scene for a long time and as long as we still enjoy it, we’ll still do it.”

Beltran echoed his sentiments.

“If the band turns into something bigger, by all means we’re for it. But in the meantime, we’re going to have fun playing,” she said. “Playing music is a way to escape from the hectic week.”

Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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