newjerseynewsroom.com

New Jersey is known for its great diners and its great bands, like Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Unfortunately, today it's also known for being hard hit by job losses and the recession, resulting in thousands of newly hungry children, seniors and adults.

A New Jersey-based band, Kindred Souls came up with an idea to help. What if they performed at a diner in each of N.J.'s 21 counties and got the diner owners and patrons to donate to the N.J. Federation of Food Banks? And what if they hit all 21 diners in just 48 hours? That idea is now the Diners Donate Dollars Tour, slated for Friday, March 19 through Sunday, March 21.

The tour kicks off in Princeton on a Friday and ends in Jersey City on Sunday. The band and the 21 generous diner owners hope to raise enough money for the Federation to distribute 21,000 pounds of food.

"It's going to be a wild weekend for us as we race around performing in diners throughout the state," says keyboardist Lon Bachrach. "We hope that the community will come out and support this effort and remember that their diners went the extra mile for those less fortunate."

More information about the Diners Donate Dollars tour, including the full tour schedule, can be found at www.dinertournj.com.

And visit the Kindred Souls website for a free download of their latest release, Whatchagonnado.

About Kindred Souls: New Jersey based Kindred Souls is an original rock band flavored with blues, funk, jazz, and R&B. The founding members of Kindred Souls are lead vocalist and songwriter Jeff Rafferty and keyboardist Lon Bacharach. The band features bassist Stan Quincy Adams, guitarist Ted Heman, and drummer Paul Lavenhar.

— ANDY LAGOMARSINO, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM