Special to the Breeze Local musician Bill Logsdon will benefit from a fund-raiser for his medical bills Oct. 4 at Harbourside Tiki Bar. He's pictured with server Liz Adams.

Harbourside Grill & Tiki Bar on Marinatown Lane in North Ft. Myers is known for hostingbenefits for musicians who have had catastrophic illnesses – with little or no heath care funds to provide treatment.
Not being fully insured is a curse of their trade, many musicians say. They swap a 9 to 5 lifestyle to pursue an occupation that rarely offers health benefits.
And many times, they fall ill, while still working as much as an average corporate or retail worker, yet not having the same health care coverage.
On Sunday, Oct. 4 the Harbourside staff and fellow musicians will host a benefit for local musician Bill Logsdon, who performs there on Wednesday nights.
He has racked up enormous medical bills stemming from his large intestine opening up into his bladder, then turning septic. “I have to get an operation to put me back together,” he said. “I’ll probably be down for at least a few months after the surgery.”
He’s been a musician for the last 35 years.
“Musicians just don’t make enough money to pay for healthcare,” he continued. “Sometimes it’s a struggle just to keep a roof over their heads.”
Of the upcoming surgery, he said, “It’s overwhelming. It’s a serious surgery.”
The benefit funds will go toward surgery costs.
He said when he initially became ill, he didn’t realize how serious it really was. “I was sick for a month and I just kept thinking I’d get better.”
Then he went into the hospital.
“I don’t even remember it – my whole body went into shock,” he said.
Logsdon said his illness, and now the benefit, has been a mental as well as a physical journey for him.
“Having people help me out – you don’t know what that means to me,” he said.
Liz Adams is one of the servers that is working on the benefit. “I’ve worked with him every Wednesday. He’s a very good musician,” she said.
Adams asked that the community come out and support the event.
Logsdon was born in Germany but now lives in Cape Coral resident.
“This is an open invitation for all bikers and musicians to come to the event, as well as the public,” the avid biker said.
He has been in Florida for the last 26 years after moving here from Columbus, OH .
“I’ve played the music circuit here since the 1980s,” he said.
He said he’s known for playing with the Alley Boys and the Richard Cranium Band.
There will be an appearance by the Budweiser Girls and a bagpipe band along side local rock bands like Jak’d, The Bomb Boleros, Black Water and Tim Grobe and the Palm Rats.
Tim Grobe is a popular local musician/singer/songwriter who has been in several bands over the years, and who was in a life-threateningcar accident last year. At Harbourside, a benefit was thrown to offset his medical bills. It was wildly successful.
Logsdon himself will try to play that day, depending on his health.
Harbourside General Manager Jeff Hurtt said he feels it is important to do events like this to help members of the community.
“It comes down to the fact that he doesn’t have insurance to properly recover. He’s done a good job for us with entertainment, and adjusted his cost to fit the off-season and current economy, so we want to help him back. He needs to have a down payment for the surgery he requires,that’s our goal,” he said.
There is no cover charge but donations will be accepted. To thank the crowd, Hurtt and staff will offer drink specials including $2 domestic bottles of beer and more.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Harbourside Grill & Tiki Bar, located at 3442 Marinatown Ln. For more information call 997-7110.