Danny Zelisko surrounded by memorabilia promoting Arizona music history.
Veteran Phoenix concert promoter Danny Zelisko has put his personal music archive up for sale online, offering more than 2,100 pieces of memorabilia collected over five decades to help homebound cancer patients. The collection is being sold through an eBay storefront called Danny ZeliskoтАЩs Closet. It includes items gathered during more than 10,000 concerts he has produced throughout his career. Part of the money raised from the sales will go directly to The Joy Bus, a Phoenix-based non-profit that prepares and delivers fresh meals to people living with cancer. Reporting by radio station KTAR News 92.3 FM and local outlet Hoodline says the collection includes vintage tour T-shirts, signed photographs, original concert posters, backstage passes and ticket stubs dating back to the 1970s. "This isn't just memorabilia тАФ it's a lifetime of memories," Zelisko said in an official statement about the sale. "Every poster, backstage pass, ticket and photograph has a story behind it."
Rare items and prices across the archive
The online store covers a wide range of prices, offering something for both casual fans and serious collectors. One of the lower-priced items is an R.E.M. backstage pass listed for $50. At the other end of the catalogue is a James Dean collection priced at $3,750. The package includes a signed photograph, commemorative stamps, an album and a guitar. Other notable items listed by KTAR News include:
A 2008 Jonas Brothers package with an autographed guitar and tour poster priced at $2,275.
A vintage 1993 Sade concert T-shirt listed for $2,000.
A signed poster from rock band The Who priced at $700.
Every item sold through the store comes with an official certificate of authenticity personally signed by Zelisko, confirming where the item came from.
Five decades of Arizona concert history
Zelisko began his career as a live music promoter after starting Evening Star Productions in Phoenix. In 1976, he began booking performers at DooleyтАЩs Nightclub, a 750-capacity venue in Tempe. During the following two decades, the club hosted early Arizona shows by acts including The Police, KISS, Talking Heads and Nirvana. His work later expanded to major arenas and stadiums across Arizona, New Mexico and Las Vegas. During more than 50 years in the business, Zelisko produced concerts for major rock and pop stars including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Prince and Alice Cooper. His personal archive captures the growth of the Southwest concert scene, preserving physical reminders of everything from small club shows to large stadium tours.
Funding meals for local cancer patients
Money raised from the archive sale will help support The Joy Bus, which was founded in 2011 by Chopped champion chef Jennifer Caraway. She created the organisation in memory of her friend Joy Seitz-Butz, who died from ovarian cancer in 2012. The charity operates from a 6,700-square-foot facility in North Phoenix. The site includes a commercial kitchen, an organic food pantry and a public social-enterprise restaurant called The Joy Bus Diner. Profits from the diner and other fundraising efforts help pay for free, chef-prepared meals and home visits for people undergoing cancer treatment. According to health reporting by AZ Big Media, the non-profit received a $149,780 grant from Mercy C.A.R.E.S. earlier in the year. The funding will help expand its More Than a Meal Delivery Project, with a goal of reaching 2,500 home visits each week across the Valley. Zelisko, who is also a cancer survivor, has worked with the organisation before to support its nutrition programmes. As more items are added to the online store, collectors can buy pieces of ArizonaтАЩs music history while also helping provide food and support to vulnerable local residents.
