A former CEO combines fringe and philanthropy

A former CEO for Westmoreland Coal Co., Keith Alessi collected banjos for years but never really played. It wasn't until he retired from corporate life and survived esophageal cancer that Alessi learned to play all those banjos. 

Still, after taking lessons, reading books and watching videos, Alessi rates himself as no more "than an intermediate player." 

But he's got a good story that helps draw audiences. "I’m an accountant by training," Alessi says. "Growing up, I had an unhealthy obsession with the banjo. I didn’t learn to play until after I got the deadly disease."

Along with his producer, Erika Conway, Alessi created "Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life." The show has won numerous awards at fringe festivals such as Edinburgh and raised close to $1 million for various cancer and arts charities.

It "isn't just a show, it's a cause," Alessi says on his website for "Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me." 

Alessi will perform at the second annual Squeaky Wheel Fringe festival in Sarasota on June 7-8 at the Cook Theatre in the FSU Performing Arts Center. Before that, he'll be appearing for the first time at this year's Piccolo Spoleto festival May 24-26 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Alessi said he was motivated to publicly play his banjo on the fringe festival circuit and to raise money for the arts and cancer after getting a clean bill of health. He tapped Conway for her show biz smarts after getting to know her when one of his former companies supported a theater she worked at in Edmonton, Canada.

Alessi, who was born in Canada and holds dual U.S. citizenship, says the Great White North is a hotbed of fringe festivals, some of which he used to attend and now performs in. He currently has a house in Naples and lives in southwestern Virginia, in a quaintly named hamlet called "Valley of Dan."

Being among southwestern Virginia's bluegrass performers has upped his banjo game, Alessia says. 

He says he likes the fringe genre because "it forces you to distill your performance to between 85 minutes and an hour. You're right up and personal with your audience. You can try new things."

When he brings his banjo to Sarasota, Alessi will donate all the proceeds from "Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me" to the Squeaky Wheel Fringe festival. Now, that's putting your money where your banjo is.