website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nKyle Harvey is coming home. The one-time Ventura resident and hip-hop star \u2014 formerly known as K.i.D., currently known as Super Duper KYLE or frequently just Kyle \u2014 returns this weekend to bring positive vibes, good times and great music to the fire-ravaged community when he performs at the Thomas Fire Benefit Festival on Saturday, Feb. 3, in Downtown Ventura\u2019s Plaza Park.<\/p>\n
Kyle and his good friend and manager Nolan Smith \u2014 another hometown boy \u2014 both live in Culver City now, but news of the December fire still hit them hard. Smith\u2019s family had to evacuate from their home near Poinsettia Elementary. Kyle had lived in the Ondulando neighborhood when he was a Ventura High School student, and that house (along with those of several people he knows) was destroyed. (Kyle\u2019s mother and siblings moved away from the area some time ago, and were not in any danger.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the hardest part for me,\u201d Kyle says. \u201cI have friends and neighbors who actually lost their homes. When I think about the fire, it\u2019s not how it\u2019s affecting me. It\u2019s about how it\u2019s affecting everybody I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
After getting news of the fire, Kyle and Smith immediately drove up to lend a hand. \u201cWhen this first went down, we started passing out water,\u201d Smith recalls. \u201cIt became clear really quickly that there was plenty of water \u2014 the community needed something more. We decided we needed to do something we\u2019re\u00a0good\u00a0<\/em>at<\/em>\u00a0for the community.\u201d<\/p>\nSmith promptly contacted John \u201cJD\u201d Drury of Surf Rodeo fame to \u201ctry to rally the troops.\u201d Ventura City Councilman Matt LaVere, music manager Mark Hartley and California Beer Festival organizer Vincenzo Giammanco also came onboard, and the planning began for the star-studded fundraiser. Local organizations involved with the benefit include the Ventura County Human Services Agency, the Ventura County Community Foundation, Ventura Education Partnership, Ventura College Foundation, Help of Ojai, Downtown Ventura Organization and the World Central Kitchen. Local musicians Zon Candela and Rob Write will perform. One hundred percent of proceeds will be put toward recovery.<\/p>\n
The big draws, of course, are the famous names who once called Ventura County home that will be attendance: Kyle, Kevin Costner (performing with his band Modern West), Grammy-winning singer\/songwriter Colbie Caillat and swing revivalist band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.<\/p>\n
One of the most anticipated performances will be given by pop superstar Olivia Newton-John. Although she\u2019s not a Ventura County resident, she notes that \u201cwe\u2019re all connected. The Ventura fire affected everyone. Mark [Hartley] and his wife are dear friends, and were very affected by it. . . . That touched my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
The singer from down under is no stranger to the destruction such natural disasters can cause. \u201cWe have devastating fires in Australia, too, of course,\u201d Newton-John says. \u201cIt\u2019s such a reminder of how vulnerable we all are. . . . It\u2019s a difficult and emotional time. If I can do anything to help, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a career that stretches back decades, there\u2019s much to look forward to with Newton-John\u2019s upcoming performance. She says that she\u2019ll probably stick with the hits that audiences look forward to hearing \u2014 material from\u00a0Grease<\/em>,\u00a0Xanadu<\/em>\u00a0and some of her country albums as well. Newton-John is especially excited by the presence of Tom Scott in her band. \u201cOne of the world\u2019s leading musicians. He was musical director on my Physical Tour \u2014 and I haven\u2019t seen him since. It\u2019s going to be an exciting night!\u201d<\/p>\nNewton-John is impressed by the talent coming out for the festival, and is looking forward in particular to Colbie Caillat\u2019s performance: \u201cI think she\u2019s got a beautiful voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Kyle, Caillat does not currently live in Ventura County (she moved to Nashville a year ago), but she grew up in Thousand Oaks and her mom and several cousins are all from Ventura. One cousin lost a home, while several others had to evacuate \u2014 some for weeks at a time. The singer\/songwriter was shocked when she saw the affected areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw the mountains and the neighborhoods [that burned], it was just unreal,\u201d she says. \u201cSeeing the road between Ventura and Santa Barbara . . . it\u2019s just something you have to see with your own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caillat is grateful for the opportunity to help the fire victims, and is inspired by the resilience and generosity of Ventura County residents. \u201cIt\u2019s so amazing to me that the community can come together to support all the people affected by the fire,\u201d she says. \u201cEveryone staying [together as] a community and helping each other \u2014 it\u2019s the best thing. It\u2019s going to be a really beautiful day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle feels that taking part in the festival is the least he can do for Ventura, which he still considers \u201chis\u201d community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still come up pretty often, maybe once or twice a month,\u201d the rap artist says, noting that he has lots of friends and a girlfriend in the area. Favorite places include Corrales, Spencer Makenzie\u2019s Fish Company and the downtown thrift shops. \u201cAnd Lure, when I\u2019m feeling fancy,\u201d he says with a chuckle. Most of all, he appreciates the serene vibe, which is a marked contrast from the pressure cooker of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Kyle\u2019s schedule these days is more hectic than ever. In addition to frequent touring, he has a new album in the works (no release date has been announced, but some new music may be debuted on Saturday) as well as a performance at Coachella in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my first year to perform, and I\u2019m so excited!\u201d Kyle says with obvious joy. \u201cWhen you go to Coachella, it\u2019s the best day of your life. [Performing there] is the only way to surpass that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll be in high spirits on Saturday, too. \u201cI just want everybody to come to the benefit to come celebrate with us. We\u2019re celebrating the strength of all the people in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming back to Ventura after touring all across North America, Kyle says that he now knows a few things for sure: \u201cThis is the best place there is. And Ventura High School is the best. That\u2019s a fact, not an opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thomas Fire Benefit Festival takes place on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2-10 p.m. at Plaza Park, 651 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura. For tickets and more information, visit\u00a0www.thomasfirebenefit.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-coverage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}