On September 18, after more than two years of battling cancer, bassist and music enthusiast Byron Blackburn passed away.

To celebrate his life and his impact on the local music and arts community, Beatnik Studios is hosting a memorial Friday, Oct. 16 from 7 p.m. - midnight.

The evening will be filled with live music and art. A silent auction will raise money for the Byron Blackburn Memorial Fund. The fund will be used to create a scholarship for a student who plans on attending music school.

All of the musicians performing have either played with Blackburn or are friends of his. The Inversions, RACE!!!, Nagual, Norfolk Jacket with Michelle Tsilas, The Alegria Quartet, Fo Shang! and the Jalapeno Chocolates and others will be playing throughout the memorial.

Artists from Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose have donated just under 40 pieces for the auction. Some of the artists include Carlos Villez, Cinder, Deborah Barba, Evie Turner, Jill Allyn Stafford, John Stuart Berger, Mark Fox, Nicolas Caesar, Skinner, and Yoli Manzo.

Blackburn wasn't always a musician. He picked up the bass only six years ago after a friend of his needed a bassist in his band, Kro-nose. He had never played before but he was willing to learn and since then the Sacramento music scene has greatly benefited from his support and encouragement.

"He wasn't there to serve himself. He was there to serve the music," his wife Kathy Blackburn said. "It was about building community, giving a helping hand, guidance or a venue."

Byron and Kathy became part owners of the Java Lounge "because he cared so much about the music there," she said.

The couple invested their time and money into the all-ages venue to make sure there was a place for musicians and artists of all levels to come and be creative.

"What’s great about Java Lounge is they like to show art from a variety of backgrounds," Evie Turner, friend of Byron and one of the organizers of the memorial said. "It’s a good place for people who are breaking into the art scene to have a place to show. You can easily be rejected [elsewhere], but [Byron] never turned anybody away."

His friends remember him as a driving force and proponent for newer artists trying to make a name for themselves and break into the scene.

"[Byron] is the most supportive, most encouraging and biggest fan of local music; he really loved it a lot," Ross Hammond said. "If you played a gig, and there was three people there, guaranteed Byron was one of them."

Hammond has played with Byron at many shows and played guitar on his latest CD, Things Turn Black When They Burn. Hammond is also an organizer of the memorial.

Ryan Offield, bassist for The Inversions, also knew Blackburn through music and hosted the Weatherstone music series for about nine or ten months with him.

"He got some of the best jazz and rock talent available from SF through to Sacramento through him networking well. People wanted to be around him," Ryan Offield said. "He got world-traveling musician Ulher Birgit and Gino Robair into Weatherstone. My jaw just dropped at [what] he achieved - by pure good will."

Blackburn was diagnosed with cancer two and a half years ago, according to his wife, Kathy.

He endured two surgeries and many rounds of chemo, but didn't let the cancer bring him down.

"He always said, 'I have cancer. Cancer doesn't have me," Kathy said.

He was determined to do as many shows as he could, she added. "He probably did 300 shows in 365 days."

Offield remembers the first time he saw Byron after the diagnosis. "He wasn’t going to be deterred at all. no matter how afraid of it or intimidated he was, he was so aggressive toward it," Offield said. "[Byron said] 'I’m going to get the best doctors in the world. I’m going to look into traditional medicine, eastern medicine. This isn’t going to beat me."

Byron spoke on Capital Public Radio's Insight in June about his album and his fight with cancer.

"As I made this CD ... I really felt at the time that I was making it that it really had nothing to do with my illness," Blackburn said. "But when I got done and I listened to the music, it struck me that the music was very informed by what I was going through with my health."

"I didn’t know if this was going to be my last opportunity to record or what the future held for me in terms of playing so I really tried to just open up my heart and get a snapshot of what it is we had been doing for the last couple of years in live situations."

Kathy Blackburn said that music was one thing that kept his mind off of the pain the cancer caused.

"[Byron] said it was only when he was playing music that none of [the pain] was in his brain," she said. "I’d drag him to some gig and he’d be in terrible shape, [but when he started playing] you could see him light up and feel so good."

Hammond and Offield agreed that his appreciation of music went above and beyond anyone else's they knew.

"Everytime he would play a show with you - it could have been the greatest or the crappiest show – he would shake your hand and thank you for playing," Hammond said.

"He was excited about rehearsal. He was excited about gigs, about everything," Hammond added.

"[Byron] would inject himself into situations with players who were extremely talented and he wouldn’t be happy until he could sit and play with confidence," Offield said. "He was such a constant protagonist for getting everyone together and for working on things."

While he may have been hard on himself, Blackburn was nothing but encouraging toward others.

"He was so patient and energetic about everyone’s talent," Offield said. "He allowed everyone to go about being their best."

Beyond the music, his friends and colleagues say he was a joy to be around, regardless of how well you knew him.

"I would stop in [Java Lounge] once a week and what was fantastic was you didn’t just go in for a quick cup of coffee," Turner said. "He made you feel like you were welcome in his home. You weren't just a customer, you were a family member."

Offield said his signature grin put people at ease.

"When he was telling a story, he would get wrapped up in it and would have a serious look on his face," Offield said. "As soon as he was getting to the punchline – he had a huge grin from ear to ear– a Cheshire cat smile."

Byron recorded music for the last time on Labor Day with Ross Hammond. His wife Kathy had it playing on the stereo during his last moments.

"He always said his number one goal is to build the art and music scene in Sacramento. His second goal was to protect the venue and nurture the artist," Kathy said.

Friday, the art and music scene in Sacramento will give back to him.

"It will be a combination of somber and celebration," Offield anticipates. "[Byron] loved life too much for anyone to go about [this] in anything but a celebratory way."

The event is free. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the video slideshow will begin at 7:30 p.m. The musicians will begin performing at 8 p.m.

Cash and checks are the only form of payment accepted for the silent auction items.

Donations can be made to the Byron Blackburn Memorial Fund at Bank of the West on J Street.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141857289846

Beatnik Studios is located at 2421 17th Street.

Below are some of the art pieces that will be up for sale at the auction.

Photos provided by Kathy Blackburn. Paintings above were done by Kathy Blackburn. 

 Art by Mark Fox

 "Too Late To Go To Rehab" by Carlos Villez

 "Halloween PartyBot" by Cinder

"Saint Byron" by Nicolas Caesar