PORTLAND, Ore. — A funky jazz band reunites once a year in Portland, but they do more than just rocking out. "The Bitchins" hold a concert every year to raise money for people with Parkinson's disease.
That includes one of their very own band members, Philip Hodapp, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1997.
"We wanted a band where we could play the songs we want," Hodapp said. "Coincidentally, those end up being the songs that people dance to."
Their talent can't be overstated. Hodapp's saxophone skills and their collective jazz melody can get even the shyest people on the dance floor. The band became so popular that they had to start selling tickets and booking venues.
"That’s the best part of the whole thing — standing up on the stage and watching people smile, laugh, dance and have a good time," said Hodapp.
But the musicians always wanted to benefit a cause bigger than themselves. In 2015, they had a chance to support one of their own. That's when Hodapp decided to tell his friends that he had Parkinson's disease.
"They were shocked, most of them," Hodapp said. "They knew something was wrong."
But his story with Parkinson's began long before that day.
"My neurologist at Kaiser sat me down. He said, 'You have Parkinson’s. You have five years until you’ll be in a nursing home and 10 years to live, so you should start making your plans,'" said Hodapp.
The lifelong musician, husband and soon-to-be father had to face the fact that life as he knew it could be silenced in a few short years. But Hodapp said the birth of his son became a pivotal moment.
"I promised him that I would stay alive long enough to watch him graduate from high school," said Hodapp.
Hodapp kept that commitment by staying active and eating right. He also credited his faith for defying the disease.
"I have a pretty deep faith. 'Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say: It is well with my soul,'" Hodapp said, quoting a hymn. "Whatever the disease takes, it can't take that."
Alongside the spirituality, Hodapp relies on the sound that's comforted him for over 50 years.
"You can say a lot with this that you can't say with words," Hodapp said with his fingers on the saxophone. "Playing music has helped, so forcing my fingers to move and do that stuff has helped."
The saxophone became an escape from his daily battle. Parkinson's is a degenerative disease, and it often causes tremors, trouble balancing and difficulty thinking.
"The disease is the disease, and it will do what it wants to do," Hodapp said. "You can’t by sheer force of will stop it, but you can stop the progression, slow the progression."
On Saturday, Feb. 3, Hodapp and The Bitchins will play a concert benefitting a local nonprofit, Parkinson's Resources of Oregon. They support families in Oregon and southwest Washington for free.
"This place fills a very unique and interesting gap in the Parkinson’s community," PRO Special Events Manager Jeannine Walker said. "We provide services, resources and education to people with Parkinson’s, their families and caregivers."
Hodapp said he wants each person who faces the diagnosis to know they're not alone. That's one of the reasons he still performs.
"If somebody can look at me on a stage and go, 'Holy crap, he’s played that long? And he’s had it that long? And he can still do that?' Maybe my life isn’t over because I have a diagnosis," said Hodapp.
Hodapp said the fundraiser will be a song of celebration for each person fighting the disease.
"This really is a celebration of what you can do and the fun you can have," Hodapp said. "It’s a celebration of being alive."