A.C.Paw Concert

In December WKLT radio morning show hosts Omelette & Finster caused some excitement when one of their listeners called to report what appeared to be an abandoned RV in the parking lot of Sam’s Club in Traverse City with a starving cat in the window. While on the air, the morning guys called animal control and the sheriff’s department. It appeared the authorities were helpless and said they would monitor the situation.
As the guys put it, “The People” (loyal morning show listeners) stepped in and took matters into their own hands. The cat was lured out of the RV by listeners, then taken to Pet Smart and looked over by a veterinarian, and turned over to A.C. Paw, a no kill animal shelter in Northern Michigan. The TV 9&10 News Team gave the story three days of coverage and “The People” called the morning show for days to inquire on the cat’s status.
Another animal saved. It is all in a days work for these two animal lovers.
Omelette and Finster have adopted A.C. Paw as their morning show charity. Finster, a wannabe bass player, formed Twisted Finster last July with a mission of trying to raise $10,000 in one year for A.C. Paw, which is non-profit and operates solely on donations. To date Twisted Finster has raised more than $6,000 and will take the stage, January 5, at the Leelanau Sands Casino to raise even more money, but this concert will have a different twist than the previous ones.
“There is no charge,” said Finster. “The Leelanau Sands is going to give one dollar to A.C. Paw for every person that walks through the door that night.”
His morning show partner chuckles:
“It is actually Finster’s birthday party and we knew no one would pay to come to his birthday,” said Omelette. “Unlike mine, which sold out.”
Omelette’s birthday party last August was the band’s debut, and a sold out crowd at Union Street Station raised nearly $2,000.Concerts since have been at Northern Lites in Petoskey and the Monster Bash at the Big Eazy in Traverse City.
Twisted Finster is made up of Poundin Paul on drums, Jimmy Six-String on lead guitar and Ninja Dave on vocals. The band was formed last June when Finster put a call out on his show that he was auditioning musicians for a band he hoped to form.
A side note: Ninja Dave was one singer away from becoming the new lead singer of Journey. The legendary rockers were ready to offer the lead-singer’s job to Ninja Dave a few weeks ago, until out of the blue, a last minute entry from the Philippines won them over. So it was Journey’s loss and Northern Michigan’s gain.
There has been some speculation that a couple of rock stars will take the stage with Twisted Finster this Saturday. Finster remains silent and responds, “It’s the music business, you never know.”
Regardless of who takes the stage with them, the real winners will be A.C. Paw. According to “Blind Brian” (all morning show listeners have nicknames) they have already come out on top since connecting with the morning duo.
“We have had sporadic media coverage since our inception over 10 years ago, but since Omelette and Finster have come onto the scene, that has all changed,” said Blind Brian. “We now have non-stop coverage–they seem to talk about us daily. Our donations and awareness are up since they came to town.”
After the concert benefit, WKLT has a dog house building promotion in the works for A.C. Paw, and Omelette & Finster have no intention of letting up in their efforts of informing The People about A.C. Paw.
“They provide such an awesome service,” said Omelette. “They fill a void that the government and other animal agencies have ignored. We hear all the time from the people who have adopted these wonder animals, these dogs and cats that otherwise would have been put to death.”
Twisted Finster takes the stage at the Leelanau Sands Casino (just north of Suttons Bay) on Saturday January 5 at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m. and there is no cost for the concert. The group will perform rock and roll covers from the past 30 years. Grand Traverse Resort Casinos will donate one dollar to A.C. Paw for everyone in attendance. For additional details listen mornings from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 97.5 or 98.9. For more information on A.C. Paw, go to acpaw.org. Editor’s note: Rick Coates appears every Friday on The Omelette & Finster Show from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.


View On Our Website