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Local band hosting benefit to help local singer and mother battling cancer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local mother and singer in a Jacksonville band is battling cancer but she won’t let that keep her off the stage.

Lisa Taylor is the lead singer of the band Lisa and the Mad Hatters.

“She’s crazy, she’s so energetic, she gets the people into it,” said Tommy Welch, a friend.

While the Jacksonville group has been going strong for 15 years, the local mother and performer isn’t always able to hit the stage with her husband and other bandmates.

Welch says she was diagnosed with colon cancer that ended up spreading to other parts of her body. She’s been fighting over the last few years and underwent several rounds of chemo.

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“Some days you know she’s able to play, you know she feels strong enough to be able to sing that night and some nights she’s not,” he said.

Welch plays in a band called “The Ride,” but many years ago the two friends shared the stage in a group called “Spanky the Band.”

“I sang a lot of backup with Lisa and she was like one of the guys, you know?” Welch said.

He will be taking the stage at Cliff’s Bar and Grill on Monument Road on Saturday, August 17 from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., where he’ll be joining three other bands as they work to raise money for Lisa and her fight against cancer.

Everything raised by these groups will go back to Lisa and her family as she continues her battle.

“She’s got a heart of gold and a great personality. She is a fighter, she is strong. Lisa strong,” said Welch.

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