Olive and the Dirty Martinis, Girl Named T

benefit for the Rex Foundation

There’s nothing like partying for a good cause, and tonight’s your chance to have big fun with Olive and the Dirty Martinis, along with a Girl Named T, and at the same time to do a good turn for the Rex Foundation, the Bay Area nonprofit founded by the Grateful Dead and friends to “help secure a healthy environment, promote individuality in the arts, provide support to critical and necessary social services, assist others less fortunate than ourselves, protect the… Show more rights of indigenous people and ensure their cultural survival, build a stronger community, and educate children and adults everywhere.” The foundation has been an innovative force in promoting positive social change since 1983.

Olive and the Dirty Martinis play rock and roll with gusto and passion. They’re an eclectic bunch from a wide range of backgrounds, but they all love to make music with a good dancing beat. Olive, aka Stefanie Coyote, is the intrepid lead singer. She takes the intensity of Janis Joplin, the fearless spirit of Grace Slick, and the cool crystal soul of Dusty Springfield, shakes it all up, and pours it into her heartfelt vocals. When she’s not belting a power ballad, she works in film, politics, and food, and serves on the Rex board. Drummer Justin Ganz is the regional director for the Bandworks program in Marin. He’s been playing at local clubs, festivals, and benefits for over twenty years. Keyboard player Steve Riffkin has worked in music and theater for the past 35 years. He starred in the hit Nickelodeon show Kids’ Writes and served as the Artistic Director of Peace Child International, becoming the first American to sing “Back in the U.S.S.R” in Russia with a Russian rock and roll band. In 1977, he was a landslide winner on TV’s Name That Tune, and he currently leads the performing arts program at Marin Country Day School. Lead guitarist James Redford is a screenwriter and filmmaker by day, and a woefully obsessed guitar slinger by night. Thanks to a timely liver transplant, he now is able to surf, ski, and spread the gospel on the miracles of organ donation. Self-proclaimed rock star Eric Lyons plays bass. And don’t forget Danny on saxophone. (We’re keeping his last name quiet.)

Berkeley’s Theresa Sawi is the Girl Named T. She’s only 22, she has a great new album called Wait by the Rabbit Hole, and one of her originals, "Raven Fly," was featured on the MTV show Awkward, which led to an interview on All Things Considered – and things are looking pretty bright for this multi-talented musician who sings with a sweet combination of lightness and authority.

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