Every year around January/February many of the key players from the worlds of music, management, touring, entertainment and finance come together for a charity golf tournament, which could be an excuse to get out of the freezing cold and enjoy some 80 degree SoCal weather. Music industry vets Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour, Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival) and John Reese (Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Funny or Die’s Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, SGE) for the 5th consecutive year, gathered with their music industry and celebrity friends for “Duffing For Dollars,” a day of golf and a night of cocktails, wild awards and auctions. Hosted by Joe Sib of “Complete Control Radio” and “The Bare Bones Comedy Show,” this year’s event raised over $45,000, totaling over $250,000 since it’s re-launch in 2010 for the “Unite The United” and “MusiCares” charities.
The day started bright and early with 120 players dropping off their golf bags, checking-in and enjoying complimentary coffee and pastries thanks to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Golfers picked up their player gift bags containing great items from Vans, Punky Pets and Volcom including a custom event golf shirt and t-shirt donated by Kings Road Merch. Joe Sib and his reggae tunes kept the crowd entertained as well as informed of the day’s activities while everyone enjoyed a few hand-crafted Bloody Mary’s thanks to Chopin Vodka while partaking in the putting contest or warming up on the driving range before their round. Throughout the day golfers enjoyed an array of beverages courtesy of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Azunia Tequila, ColdCock Whiskey, Rockstar Energy Drink, POPwater, People Water as well as relaxed with a massage from Hands That Rock and learned about the future of RFID-enabled Live Event Technology from the folks at Access Pass & Design.
As the sun set, the cocktails continued to flow in the clubhouse where everyone got a chance to mingle and socialize before dinner and the evening’s “extremely live” awards ceremony. A raffle drawing was highlighted by airline tickets from United Airlines and a 50” LCD television from Toshiba. The first place trophies this year went to Imagen Records with a score of 59; Rockstar Energy Drink came in a close second. The hard fought last place, which was actually a tie this year, previously known as “Worst Team (Best Partiers) Trophy,” was taken home by Team Oakes for “Highest Score.” Christina Martin of the Backstage Artist Lounge held it down for the ladies, garnishing the “Best Dressed” trophy. Celebrities included Morgan Rose of Sevendust, M. Shadows & Zacky Vengeance of Avenged Sevenfold, Duddy B of the Dirty Heads, Zoltan Bathory of Five Finger Death Punch and Cameron Liddell of Asking Alexandria. This year’s handmade Rocket & Robot-inspired trophies were commissioned by Vans and once again created by artist Frank Stanley.
"Duffing for Dollars has grown into a must-attend event, mixing great people, great golf and a whole bunch of shenanigans that make it a truly fun day for a fantastic cause, MusiCares," states Kevin Lyman.