Rock Band Road Crew Video Application

CBK at the Tonic Lounge 1/9/15

John Leslie

The following is from John Leslie’s story.
First, I want to thank you all for how you’ve helped me over this past difficult year.
My name is John Leslie, and I’ve been a diehard 311 fan since 1998. I also helped with a weekly Rock Band Night in Portland, Oregon, for almost six years. I used to play most Rock Band songs on expert guitar/bass, hard drums and expert keys. I even got an article published on Rockband.com about 311 and how much their music meant to me.
But on November 12, 2012, my life changed. I suffered a seizure at work that led to two strokes. A neurosurgeon had to perform emergency neurosurgery due to a blood clot in my brain to reduce swelling, or else I would have died. The stroke affected my ability to speak and think, and affected movement in the right side of my body. I was in the hospital for over a month, and for the first week or so it was uncertain whether I would survive or ever fully recover. Since then I have had to undergo a second surgery, have been in physical and occupational therapy, and still struggle daily with disabilities that I may have to live with for the rest of my life.

During this critical time, I had no medical insurance. Luckily, I had a lot of support from my family and friends. One of my good friends created an online fundraiser that raised almost $3,000 for my expenses. I also received over $2,000 from a fundraiser sponsored by Ground Kontrol, a retro classic arcade where I helped out at "Rock Band Night" every Tuesday. Not only did these friends, who I had regular contact with before the strokes, help me right away, I also was pleasantly surprised when the hobbies I had been so dedicated to came to show their support for me as well. My favorite band, 311, sent me rare and autographed merchandise to sell as a fundraiser, and Harmonix, the company that makes Rock Band, sent numerous items for me to auction off.
Although the initial cash fundraisers have now run their course, the help they gave was amazing, and I thank everyone who contributed. Now I am ready to begin the second course of fundraising, in which I offer the awesome items donated by 311 and Harmonix. If you would like to further help me out in my quest to recover from this unfortunate event, and also get your hands on autographed items from 311 and Harmonix, discontinued or rare Rockband controllers and a variety of swag bags, please bid on my auctions!
Maybe if none of the items strike your fancy and you still want to help donate to support my recovery, you might also be interested in donating directly to my fund. Scroll down to contribute money using paypal. Everything helps!

As I mentioned above, I used to play most Rock Band songs on expert guitar/bass, hard drums and expert keys. I still love Rock Band, although I now have to play most of the instruments on easy. After what I’ve been through, that’s a miracle in itself.
And I can still sing!
Thank you so much again for your interest and support.