This week’s $80 million Lorro Max draw (apparently split between two winners in Ontario and Quebec) got me thinking about the fact that few people would enjoy a jackpot more than indie musicians. Think about it: No more part-time jobs or crowdfunding campaigns. No more desperate pleas on Bandcamp Friday. No more CDs that nobody can play. No more boiling old guitar strings.
I found an example from Victoria, B.C., which made me smile. In late February 2021, 60-something Scott “Murch” Murcheson won a cool million in the Lotto Max. Just look at him up above. We all know someone like Scott. Maybe he works in a guitar shop or a music store. Maybe he’s part of the open-stage house band. At the time, he was the lead guitarist in a Victoria band called MK5. I found them on YouTube.
The video is from a gig in 2019 — two years before his big win. Scott, on the far left, appears to be rocking a knockoff of a Gibson Melody Maker. Fast-forward to 2023 — two years after his big win — and we find Scott in a brand new band called Buzzard Asylum, playing a gorgeous Les Paul Custom. He appears to have put the band together himself, bringing along MK5 drummer Tony Green, whom he’s played with since the pair were teenagers. Writeups about the band list Murch as the frontman, despite the fact that he’s not the lead vocalist. Buzzard Asylum have done some recording, and their stuff on YouTube is considerably more slick than the online legacy of MK5.
When Murch won the lottery, one of the things he indicated he planned to do with the money — after buying a new guitar and amp — was to give some of it to family and friends. According to his mom’s 2022 obituary, she was able to visit Hawaii before she died. I can’t help but jump to the conclusion that Murch helped make that happen. The obit also makes special mention of her prowess on the accordion, so it appears he inherited his musical abilities from her.
I love this story. But, rock ’n’ roll dreamers aren’t the only ones who play the lotto.
Just months after filing for bankruptcy, rapper 50 Cent narrowly missed the Powerball jackpot — picking three of the five winning numbers. Two more and he would have had $900 million. Beats me if Fitty is a regular player, but Madonna apparently is. Madge has even won lotteries a few times. Her most prominent win came during her 2012 European tour when she shelled out for 100 SuperEnaLotto tickets and won 120,000 Euros. It was a second-place win, which she donated toward building schools in Malawi — the African country from where she adopted two of her children. Her Raising Malawi Foundation has built a pediatric hospital, provides shelter to orphans, funds a music program, provides educational scholarships, and pays for access to soccer skills development camps.
Record executive and talent scout Simon Cowell is reportedly a regular lottery ticket buyer. He refuses to say if he’s ever won, claiming to remain anonymous when he plays.
The king of Tropicalia music in the 1960s is a guy named Tom Zé. The Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is 87 and put out a new album two years ago. But, he went through decades of obscurity before being rediscovered by David Byrne in the 90s. Those lean years likely helped Zé dream about things he could do with a big lottery win. Turns out, he’s been playing since he was 18 years old. In 2017 he won $22,000 BRL (Brazil Real Dollars) in Lotofácil. That’s around $5,400 CAD, which he used to pay bills and buy a new computer.
Finally, St. Catharines, Ont. Slovenian polka legend Walter Ostanek won $1 million in the 2016 London Dream Lottery. Now 89, Ostanek used the money to help with the costs of caring for his elderly wife. He is a recipient of the Order of Canada and the subject of a 2005 Bravo! documentary. Ostanek, who was the main inspiration for SCTV’s Schmenge Brothers, is a 21-time Grammy nominee and winner of three. For years he ran an independent music store in St. Catharines, which he sold to Long & McQuade in 2013.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
