By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

A former Hopkinton High School student helped organize a benefit concert to preserve the skateboard park that he took part in creating.

Bill Preston Sr. and Bill Preston Jr. of Dunbarton swoop down the ramps at Hopkinton's Spirit Skate Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, during a benefit concert. The event was sponsored by the Manchester-based Eleven27 Records to raise money for the skate park, which was built in 2003 in memory of Rob Carr and Jake Shumway. (Nathan Duke Photo)

Ryan Nicholson, 20, and record label Eleven27 hosted Influence, a benefit concert for the Spirit Skate Park located adjacent to Hopkinton High School on Saturday, Aug. 6.

The event featured a variety of local and Boston bands, including headliner Gone Baby Gone, Lucky Caderra, Krumb Snatcha and No One's Kind. Music styles varied from punk to hip hop to metal.

Nicholson, who works as a promotion and graphic artist for the record label, said the concert was one of many town activities geared to benefit the skate park.

"I live here in town and grew up here," he said. "I was on the committee that originally helped build the skate park. I just wanted to help raise some more money for the park."

The Hopkinton Spirit Skate Park was built in 2002 in memory of Jake Shumway and Rob Carr, two Hopkinton High School graduates who died at Vermont's Stratton Mountain ski resort while attending the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in March 2000.

The two men had built a snow tunnel for shelter near a parking lot, but during the night a heavy snow fell. A plow cleared the area, dumping snow on top of the tunnel and the men suffocated.

They were the sons of Bob and Carole Carr and Don and Miriam Shumway.

The community rallied together to build the park.

Nicholson organized the Aug. 6 benefit concert with Joshua Casper, 23, of Manchester, who runs Eleven27 Records and produces and manages a number of its artists. Casper said the event cost about $12,000 to $15,000, however, much of the sound equipment was provided by the bands and the stage was donated by Taylor Rental, said Casper.

Many volunteers, including label supporters and family members, helped sell tickets and food at the event.

Nicholson and Casper said they hope to raise about $3,500. Casper said the benefit concert originated because he wanted to better publicize his label, which mostly features hip hop artists.

"We were just brainstorming for publicity for Eleven27," he said. "This is the first time we have done this, so we did not really know what to expect. But we are definitely going to try to do some more events."

Casper will soon move to Atlanta to try to branch out the label. So far, the company has released several demos of its artists, Eleven27 rapper Fate released a CD in July.

The seven-hour event featured a number of bands as skaters and bikers performed stunts on park ramps.

Eleven27 also held a raffle for hoodies, CDs, T-shirts and stickers.

Casper said the concert was a good opportunity to introduce people a different musical styles.

"There are a lot of groups (at the concert) that would not normally come together."