Impaired Faculties to give benefit concert for Columbia Theatre, Fanfare

Monday, October 24, 2016 Impaired Faculties
by: Tonya Lowentritt

IMPAIRED FACULTIES – “Impaired Faculties,” a band made up of Southeastern Louisiana University faculty members, will play a benefit concert for Fanfare and Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts on Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in The Ghost Light of the downtown Hammond Theatre. Pictured from left are Joe Burns, Randy Settoon, Bill Robison, Ralph Wood, and Dan McCarthy.


     HAMMOND – Impaired Faculties, an energetic band comprised of Southeastern Louisiana University faculty members, will return to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5, for a fund raising event celebrating Guy Fawkes Day.
     Department Head of History and Political Science Bill Robison described Guy Fawkes Day as “the other big autumn holiday celebrated by America’s ally, friend, and mother country, Great Britain, with bonfires, effigies, fireworks, libations, satire, and no shortage of tricks and treats.”
     As with the band’s previous performances at the Columbia, all proceeds from ticket sales for this benefit concert will support Fanfare and programming at the Columbia Theatre, according to Columbia/Fanfare Director Roy Blackwood.
     All five members of Impaired Faculties serve on Southeastern’s faculty, though the band has no official affiliation with the university. Joe Burns (guitar/vocals) is a professor of communication and coordinator of the Master of Arts in Organizational Communication program; Dan McCarthy (keyboards/vocals) is dean of the College of Science and Technology and professor of physics; Robison (guitar/vocals) is department head and professor of history in the Department of History and Political Science; Randy Settoon (bass/vocals) is professor of management and former dean of the College of Business; and Ralph Wood (drums/vocals) is assistant dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and professor of Health Studies.
     “Impaired Faculties is really excited about performing at the Columbia Theatre again, particularly as Director Roy Blackwood has agreed to our request to play this time in The Ghost Light venue, a more intimate space in the Columbia, where we will be closer to the audience and where they can get up and dance if the spirits move them,” Robison said.
     Robison said the band is delighted to be able to help raise money to support the Columbia Theatre and Fanfare and give back to the community.
     “This show will also give us the chance to further publicize our new single, ‘Waterline,’ which is available on iTunes and from other online music vendors. All proceeds from the sale of the song benefit victims of the August 2016 flood.
     “We plan to rock hard. By now, people who have heard our recordings and seen us live know we are not a novelty act or a bunch of cute-but-sad old guys trying to recapture their youth,” he added. “We are committed to the notion that rock and roll is not a function of age but a matter of attitude and ability. Besides, we are all younger than Keith Richards.”
     Robison said those in attendance can expect to hear a high-energy and intense mixture of old and new covers, Impaired Faculties originals, and a Beatles set.
     “We urge Southeastern faculty, staff, and students and community rockers alike to join us for an inexpensive evening of fun that also will benefit the arts. Let’s rock!”
     Tickets for the Nov. 5 Columbia show are $10. Tickets can be purchased at the Columbia Theatre Box Office at 220 East Thomas Street in Hammond, which is open 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday-Friday, or by phone at 985-543-4371.
     For more information, contact the Columbia Theatre at 985-543-4366.




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