The Kansas City Jammers will perform a free-concert as part of the Ohio Wesleyan University Community Day on January 16 in Delaware, Ohio.
Ohio Wesleyan University will be Delaware’s grooviest place to be Jan. 16 when the Bishop Backers and the university host “The Grateful Red,” a’70s-themed community celebration that includes free admission to a women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader and free admission to a folk-pop and psychedelic-rock concert by the Kansas City Jammers. Canned food will be collected at all three events to benefit Delaware’s People In Need, Inc.
The fun tips off at 1 p.m. when the Battling Bishop women’s basketball team takes on the Wittenberg Tigers. At 3 p.m., the OWU men’s basketball team will battle the Hiram Terriers. Both games will take place in Branch Rickey Arena.
At 5:30 p.m., everyone is invited to walk to nearby University Hall to hear the Kansas City Jammers perform inside Gray Chapel. The band features 1972 OWU graduate Jasey Schnaars, a lifelong Delaware resident, and 1971 graduates Geoff Greif and “Bullet” Bob Thompson.
The Kansas City Jammers formed in the late ’60s and cut two albums in the early ’70s – “Got Good (If you get it) and “Tracks.” The group’s biggest hit, “Sing Me That Rock & Roll,” was among the songs burning up WNCI FM 97.9’s “Hot Half-Hundred” in spring 1973.
The musicians decided to reunite recently after Schnaars discovered copies of their “Got Good” vinyl album selling for more than $200 on eBay.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the renewed interest in the Kansas City Jammers. “I called the guys and we started asking ourselves, ‘What can we do to crank up the weirdness?’ ”
The answer, they decided, was to put themselves up for auction on eBay. “Of course, you can’t auction a person,” Schnaars said, “but you can auction off a charity concert, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Kansas City Jammers will videotape January’s OWU concert and post clips of themselves on stage prior to the auction, expected to occur in mid-April. The winner gets a private Jammers concert, with proceeds being donated to Ohio Wesleyan. Since reuniting, the band has written and recorded “On the Cover of AARP,” a lighthearted nod to their newfound success.
“The Grateful Red” community day celebration is being organized by the newly reorganized Bishop Backers, a group of university and community members interested in strengthening ties between the university and local community.
“The January 16 celebration promises to be a great time for the whole family,” said Brenda DeWitt, director of Alumni Relations and a Bishop Backer organizer. “We’re pleased to be able to offer free admission to all three events and hope people get into the ’70s theme. It’s going to be a ‘dyn-o-mite’ day in Delaware.”
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And1 is the greatest period. Sucks that they split up.