DNR to Open the Simi Valley Street Fair on 10/30
DNR IN ACTION—Orthopedic surgeon David Auerbach, center, belts out a tune with his band, Do Not Resuscitate, which he formed with fellow physician Brian Grossman (not pictured). The group also features, from left, Jean Stewart, Fory Niles, Herbert Perdomo, and Pete Matsuoka. Courtesy of Dr. David Auerbach
Rock ’n’ roll is the best medicine for two local orthopedic surgeons who wield guitars and saxes when they’re not in the operating room deftly maneuvering scalpels.
Either way, the results are spine-tingling, ’cause these docs love to rock.
Drs. David Auerbach and Brian Grossman are both members of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, which has offices in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. They’ll take center stage Oct. 30 at Simi Valley Town Center when their classic rock band, Do Not Resuscitate, opens the Simi Valley Street Fair at 11:30 a.m.
The pair formed DNR in 2014. The group’s name comes from one of Auerbach’s patients, a record producer who suggested a play on words using either Do Not Resuscitate or Doctors Not Rockers. The members of DNR answer to both.
“We’ll be the band to kick off the entertainment at the street fair, so I hope we’re able to rev up the energy, get people excited and wake them up from their Saturday morning doldrums so they can enjoy the fair all day,” Auerbach said.
Auerbach, DNR’s lead singer and saxophonist, will be joined onstage by Grossman and Pete Matsuoka on guitar, Fory Niles on bass, Herbert Perdomo on drums and Jean Stewart on background vocals.
Auerbach and Grossman are the only two doctors in the group. Perdomo builds prototypes for an electronics company, Matsuoka is a professional guitarist, Niles is a retired electrician and Stewart is a retired personal assistant.
The upcoming street fair isn’t the first time the rock band has played in Simi Valley.
They’ve performed multiple times at the Arena and have even done shows during Doctors Day at Adventist Health Simi Valley. Doctors Day is a recognition lunch for the hospital staff that typically happens in spring but was canceled this year and last because of the pandemic.
Auerbach said he and the band are ready to get back to performing for live audiences again.
“When I’m singing with the band, it’s like I get to do karaoke live and I’m never nervous. I just love performing,” he said.
“It’s the most fun in front of a crowd because there’s this energy that’s hard to describe. You can’t feel it or taste it, but you feel it in your soul and people’s energy just adds to that feeling.”