Eddie Trunk high fives world champion bowler Jason Belmonte after he bowled a ceremonial first strike. (Photo by Gene Kirkland)

Standing Room Only Event Hosted by Broadcast Personality Eddie Trunk Attracts Rockers, Celebrities and World’s #1 Bowler to Raise Awareness and Funds for Cancer Charity

The Fifth Annual BOWL FOR RONNIE Celebrity Bowling Party, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (www.diocancerfund.org), was held on Thursday, November 7, 2019 at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California. Once again sold out in advance, the event raised more than $50,000 for the music-based cancer charity.
Over 300 rockers, bowling enthusiasts, DIO fans and Dio Cancer Fund supporters made up the capacity crowd at the event hosted by broadcast personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM’s Volume channel and whose TV series TrunkFest airs on AXS-TV. Also joining the festivities this year was the number one bowler in the world-Professional Bowling Association world champion Jason Belmonte, who bowled a ceremonial strike to open the celebrity competition and show the crowd “how it’s done.”
This year’s attendees included Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses, Adler’s Appetite), Dennis Atlas (Rock the Vault), Ira Black (Lizzy Borden, I Am Morbid), Dewey Bragg (Kill Devil Hill), Phil Buckman (Fuel, Petty Cash), Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses), Jason Cornwell and Jimmy Burkard of Westbound, Fred Coury (Cinderella), Art Cruz (Lamb of God), Greg D’Angelo (White Lion, Anthrax), Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, Machine Head), Jeff Dewbray, Logan Nikolic and Patrick Stone of Budderside, Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint, DC4), Matt and Shawn Duncan of DC4, Bjorn Englen (Dio), Marc Ferrari (Keel, Cold Sweat), David “Rock” Feinstein(Elf, The Rods), Damon Fox (The Cult), Granny 4 Barrel, Marc Malsegna, Jared Peaseand Chase Potter of the bandGranny 4 Barrel, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Rita Haney, Sonia Harley, Terry Ilous (XYZ, Great White), Richie Kotzen (Winery Dogs), Frank Kramer (KLOS), actor/musician Sean McNabb (Lynch Mob), Dave “Chili” Moreno(Westbound, Puddle of Mudd), Todd Morse (Offspring, Petty Cash), Ronny Munroe(TSO, Metal Church), Sadie Nardini (Sadie and the Tribe), Rob “Blasko” Nicholson(Ozzy Osbourne), Ronald Osbourne, Cat Burglar and Slayer MacCheeze of Mac Sabbath, Kelle Rhoads and Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio, Rowan Robertson (Dio, DC4), Gonzo and Phil Sandoval (Armored Saint), Rudy Sarzo (Dio, Quiet Riot), Brett Scallions (Fuel), Pete Shoulder and Daniel Spree of Silverthorne, Steve Smyth (One Machine, Testament), Ernie Snair (The Loveless), Michael Spencer (Flotsam & Jetsam), Rufus Taylor (The Darkness), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake), Marq Torien (Bullet Boys), Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning), Scott Warren (Dio), Chas West(Westbound, Bonham), Brent Woods (Sebastian Bach), Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot), Roy Z (Westbound, Halford), August Zadra (Dennis DeYoung), actors Star Fields (Sons of Anarchy), Al Coronel (The Last Ship), Frankie Loyal (Mayans MC), James St. Vincent (Being, The Depths) and Susan Olsen, best known as Cindy Brady on the Brady Bunch, Sirius XM Liquid Metal host Jose Mangin and comedy stars Jeff Ross and Whitney Cummings. DJ Will, as he does every year, rocked the VIP pre-party music.
Also attending was eBay auction winner Dan Hayes of Stamford, CT, who was the winning bidder to play on Eddie Trunk’s celebrity team that comprised Steven Adler, Geezer Butler, Dave Grohl and Brent Woods. The winning bidder of the KLOS-FM Radio eBay auction James Helgager joined their team that included Frank Kramer of the Frosty, Heidi and Frank morning show, David “Rock” Feinstein, Blasko, “Biggest Legal Eagle Metal Fan” Sweet James Bergener and comedy’s Roastmaster General Jeff Ross.
From left: Dave Grohl, Wendy Dio, Geezer Butler, Gloria Butler, Jason Belmonte (Photo by Gene Kirkland)
Eddie Trunk and Wendy Dio greet KLOS Radio’s Frank Kramer and Metal Fan Sweet James Bergener on the event’s red carpet; from left: Trunk, Kramer, Dio, Bergener (Photo by Alex Kluft)
The celebrity competition was the scene of fierce competition, ending with both of last year’s top teams–captained by Eddie Trunk and Marc Ferrari respectively–defeated by a team led by Phil Buckman (Fuel, Petty Cash).
First Place winning team this year was made up of Phil Buckman, Greg D’Angelo, Damon Fox, Terry Ilous, Todd Morse and Brian Tichy. (Photo by Craig Newman)
“I want to dedicate our win to my friend, the late, great Dean Schachtel. Without him, I never would have been a part of the Dio family,” says Phil Buckman. “We had a great time, surrounded by a bunch of great people, for an amazing cause.” The Dean Schachtel Award, named for the late Dio Cancer Fund board member, has been awarded each year to the individual bowler with the highest overall score. This year, it went to Chris Dritz of Capital Mortgage Services with an overall score of 216, which he assured Jason Belmonte is at the low end for him!
Chris Dritz (center) with his Dean Schachtel Award for the highest overall score.   (Photo by Craig Newman)
The team from Rhino Records, comprised of Brian Dodd, Brian Hay, Chris Horvath, Royal Momberger, Mark Pinkus and Kevin Wyatt, was the second Place winning team. (Photo by Alex Kluft)
Third Place was won by the Davies Wegner Law team made up of Derek Brewer, Jacob Bunton,
Michael Davenport, Dave Downey, Phil Jaurigui and Kimberly Lord (Photo by Alex Kluft)
Rhino team member Brian Hay won Second Place individual bowler. (Photo by Craig Newman)
Michael Spencer of Flotsam and Jetsam (left) won Third Place individual bowler. (Photo by Craig Newman)
The Dio Cancer Fund presented Dr. David Wong, whose research team at the UCLA School of Dentistry is closing in on a simple, non-invasive saliva swab test for early cancer detection, with a check for an additional $25,000 toward their research. Dr. Wong thanked the Dio Cancer Fund for its support since 2016 that has financed the specific research of postdoctoral fellow Dr. Karolina Urbanowicz to pioneer research in the development of salivary biomarkers for gastric cancer detection and led to a number of groundbreaking outcomes. Their Saliva Liquid Biopsy Test for Early Cancer Detection received regulatory approval on March 22, 2019, and the financial support from the Dio Cancer Fund assisted his project in receiving additional funding from the National Institutes for Health to study biological markers in saliva to attempt to develop a tool for detecting stomach cancer and the NIH Common Fund Award to study the mechanism of early detection of stomach cancer in saliva. Dr. Urbanowicz is the recipient of the prestigious Debbie’s Dream Foundation Award for Gastric Cancer Research by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Dio Cancer Fund co-founder Dr. Sandy Kapoor tells the crowd about Dr. David Wong’s research into a non-invasive saliva test for early cancer detection; from left: Dr. Kapoor, Dio Cancer Fund
co-founder/president Wendy Dio, Jason Belmonte, Eddie Trunk, Dr. Wong (Photo by Sharon Weisz)
The BOWL FOR RONNIE is an evening of fun, food, a raffle drawing for prizes and memorabilia. and, of course, bowling with rockers and celebrities with open bowling prior to the celebrity competition and a VIP pre-party for lane sponsors, celebrities and theirguests.
A raffle, that included this specially designed bowling ball and pin, brought in additional funds
(Photo by Craig Newman)
From left: Steve Smyth, Art Cruz, Phil Sandoval, Jose Mangin, Bragg, and Gonzo Sandoval
(Photo by PG Brunelli)
Teammates Steven Adler, Dave Grohl and Eddie Trunk celebrate a strike. (Photo by PG Brunelli)
Sadie Nardini, Jason Belmonte and Marc  Ferrari (Photo by Sharon Weisz)
Comedy’s Roastmaster General Jeff Ross and Steve Adler (Photo by Gene Kirkland)
From left: Star Fields, Sean McNabb, Al Colonel and wife, Susan Olsen and Frankie Loyal
(Photo by Alex Kluft)
Geezer Butler, who bowled for the first time at last year’s Bowl for Ronnie, selects a ball for his turn. (Photo by PG Brunelli)
Dave Grohl greets Ronnie Dio’s cousin Rock Feinstein (Photo by PG Brunelli)
Highlights of the 2019 BOWL FOR RONNIE can be viewed here:
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund will host a 10th Memorial Awards Gala on February 20, 2020 at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Visithttp://diocancerfund.org/events/10th_Memorial_Awards_Gala.asp for updates and ticket information.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded in memory of the legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010. A privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has already raised over $2 million in its short history. Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research, the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Since 2016, the Dio Cancer Fund has also committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer, which is in keeping with the Fund’s mission of cancer prevention, research and education.
For further information, please contact:
For The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund,
Sharon Weisz, W3 Public Relations,
323-934-2700, w3pr@yahoo.com
For press inquiries and additional media information regarding
5th Annual BOWL FOR RONNIE, please contact:
Maria Ferrero, Adrenaline PR