Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
A little rock ‘n’ roll next weekend will help a Sweet Home man pay for transplant medication.
Last week, John Picco was officially added to a waiting list for a kidney transplant. The operation, when it happens, will be covered by insurance; but insurance will not cover the cost of anti-rejection medications.
Last year, Picco and his friends and family held several fund-raising events. Picco talked about a music festival. Loran Koch of Lebanon, a former Sweet Home resident, picked up that ball and started putting together the festival.
“Piccofest,” as it has been dubbed, begins at noon on Sept. 17 and runs through midnight at the Rockin’ Red Ranch in Holley off Crescent Hill Drive.
“It’s a fund-raiser for Mr. John Picco to put a kidney in his stomach,” Koch said laughing. “I’d do it myself, but he won’t let me.”
“It’s because he loves me,” Picco said.
“That, and it just excited me to be able to do something like this,” Koch said.
Koch learned about Picco’s idea at a “turkey fry” fund-raising event for Picco last year. Koch attended with friend and karaoke deejay Robert Neal, known by his stage name of Patches, who put on a show at the event.
“I thought something like this would be nice for Sweet Home,” Picco said. “We’ve got the Jamboree in Sweet Home, and there’s a lot of rock ‘n’ rollers in Sweet Home that would like to see this.”
The show will include a variety of local and northwest acts.
“It’s like music in the valley,” Koch said. It’ll include blues, hard rock, rock ‘n’ roll.
When Picco began raising the money, he was told he needed to raise $50,000 before being placed on a list of transplant candidates to ensure he would be able to purchase the necessary medications following the surgery.
On Sept. 7, he received a call that he had been placed on the list although he has barely dented the $50,000 requirement. He must be ready to go to Portland at all times now and carries a cell phone with him waiting for the call.
He still needs to raise the cash to pay for treatment, he said. In the meantime, the former milkman is attending school where he hopes to learn a desk job that will land insurance benefits to cover the cost of his medicines, about $3,000 per month.
“If I don’t have this medicine, I would lose the kidney,” Picco said.
Picco is a diabetic and had already lost much of his kidney function when a dog bit him. The bite got infected, and he had to be hospitalized. The antibiotic he was given after the bite destroyed what remained of his kidney function, about 30 percent. Prior to the antibiotic, his doctors had estimated seven to eight years before his kidneys shut down.
Picco, who moved to California from Sweet Home last year, now undergoes dialysis treatment three times a week through a Samaritan Health Services treatment center near Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
Piccofest is a chance for bands to get some notice and also get together and have a good time, Picco said.
Patches will be the emcee for Piccofest.
“Patches has been a real trooper,” Picco said. “Even when he was on his sickbed in the hospital, he was still concerned about things being prepared for Piccofest. He was still thinking of me.”
Picco said he has been depressed by his condition, but Koch and Patches have both helped him with their empathy.
“Without Loran, this show would have never happened,” Picco said. “Without his drive and his pursuit of excellence, making everything perfect — words can’t describe how much I appreciate this guy and how hard he’s worked. He’s been a true friend.”
Picco said he wanted to thank Koch, Patches, his wife, Sandie, “and all of the other people. Even absolute strangers are coming together to help me with my cause.”
“I’d like to make it an annual thing,” he said. Koch agreed.
Picco would like to turn the show into something that helps an individual each year or set up a sort of medical bank for people who need help with health issues like Picco’s.
Piccofest will include events for children, like face painting, and people of all ages. Food vendors will include A and a booth selling noodles and teriyaki chicken.
The event kicks off at noon with Sweet Home’s New South.
David G. and the Blue Soles play at 1:30 p.m. Frontman David Germain is from Sweet Home.
At 2:30 p.m., solo artist Dana Fox of Sweet Home will play for about 20 minutes.
Elixxer of Lebanon plays at 3 p.m.
FJP of the Portland area plays at 4 p.m.
Full Throttle, with members from Sweet Home and Salem, plays at 5 p.m.
The Porch Dawgs of Albany play at 6:30 p.m.
Knockout John of Corvallis, featuring Koch, plays at 8:30 p.m.
Crazy Train, an Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath tribute band, begins playing at 10:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20 at the gate, 25491 Crescent Hill Drive, just outside Holley. Tickets are $15 ahead of time at Magnolia’s Audio in Albany, Frontier Lounge in Sweet Home, Stainthorp’s Music in Lebanon, Merlin’s Bar and Grill in Lebanon, The Library Lounge in Corvallis and the Platinum Promo in Crovallis.
For more information, visit http://www.piccofest.com.