February 20th, 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic fire at the Station Night Club in Rhode Island. Jack Russell of the band GREAT WHITE recently announced that he will be doing an acoustic performance on February 7th at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA, where proceeds will be donated to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation.

Russell issued the following update the next day:

"This morning my manager received an email from the Vice President of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, stating that they will refuse any donations from me to the foundation.

That being said, the proceeds from the show on February 7 will be donated to a different charitable organization, to be determined shortly.

I am saddened by the response of the foundation and the motives behind it, but we will put on a great show and make it for a worthy cause."

Doors for the show open at 5:00pm, tickets are $15.00. Click here for complete details.

Following is the official press release regarding the situation from the Station Fire Memorial Foundation:

On January 16, 2013 it came to our attention that a press release announcing a benefit show in Hermosa, California was being promoted by Jack Russell stating that proceeds would be given to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation. This event was not approved by, nor endorsed by the Station Fire Memorial Foundation. We require all third party fundraisers to be recognized and approved by our organization prior to advertising.

Upon hearing about this event, contact was made with Mr. Russell's management company. The Station Fire Memorial Foundation felt that this event was not something we wished to be associated with. This is due to the resentment and animosity still felt by many of the families and survivors that our very organization represents. We feel that the upset caused by his involvement would outweigh the amount of funds raised at this event. It is our intent as an elected board to put the needs and best interests of those we represent before any monetary gain.

Mr. Russell's manager, Ms. Valerie Ince, responded that she would remove the name of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation from the event and another worthy charity would be chosen. We thanked her, and tried to have all traces of the event taken down from various music news websites before any damage could be done. Instead of graciously adhering to our heartfelt and polite request, Ms. Inc then released an additional statement to the media.

We stand behind our decision that our organization represents the feelings and the needs of the family members and survivors above the need for the publicity or opportunity of one person.

The Station Fire Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) recognized charitable organization that was formed in order to procure, construct, and maintain a fitting memorial to those affected by our state’s most significant tragedy to date.

The Station Fire Memorial Foundation is a 100% Volunteer Effort. There are no administrative costs. Every dollar raised by the Station Fire Memorial Foundation will go directly to address the costs of construction and maintenance of the memorial. Construction is estimated to begin Spring of 2013.

More details may be found at StationFireMemorialFoundation.org.