Cade Aid

In my former life as a snarky “Tempest” writer, one of my favorite issues of the year featured the annual “Get Out of Town” list,. The staff would pick ten people, primarily politicians and media types, that we believed had done enough damage to our fair little city.

Was it classy? Of course not, but we were young and stupid.

Towards the end of that publication’s existence, a deal was struck that brought this feature to KRRO on a weekly basis. Who better to bring the bile but this silly music writer? It was especially humorous to me given that a few former KRRO staffers had made the list in previous years.

At first, it was a bit awkward. Some morning personalities enjoyed having me on the air, while others pretty much humored me. At some point, though, I was introduced to “Cade”, who demonstrated a similar sarcastic sense of humor as me.

For close to a decade, Wednesday mornings were the highlight of my week. Cade gave me free reign to talk about anything I desired, and the “Get Out of Town” topic gradually evolved into a forum for me to complain about anything I wanted. I was guaranteed at least one smile in the room, even if Cade didn’t agree with my viewpoint.

More importantly, Cade became a friend. He went to bat for me with management multiple times over the years when I may have crossed the line a little bit in my rants. More importantly, he was one of the few people who could get me to leave the house at night.

Unfortunately, new ownership ended my weekly segment a couple of years ago, and my self-imposed seclusion meant that we had few encounters. Whenever it did happen, though, I was greeted with his patented snide smile.

You can then understand why I was devastated to hear a few weeks ago that Cade, aka Ben Anderson, had been rushed to the hospital with brain seizures. Days later, he had brain surgery to remove the majority of a mass on his right frontal lobe. He’s already recovered enough to return to work, but he’s looking at a future of uncertainty...and a mountain of medical bills.

This Sunday, The District is hosting a benefit for the much-loved radio personality. Cade Aid was created by his former on-air co-host, Ryder and We’re No Angels frontman Seth Tornow to help raise money and, more importantly, to raise the spirits of Anderson and all of his friends. Besides a silent auction, The District will be donating a portion of their proceeds. Artists appearing at the event include We’re No Angels, March In Arms, Southside Pine, The Cartwright Brothers, and The Merdtones, a new band featuring former Janitor Bob vocalist Martin Dill.

If you can’t make the show, there’s also a site set up that I hope everybody considers donating whatever they can.

If, by chance, Cade sees this, all I want to say is rock on, my friend.