X's Billy Zoom 'Overwhelmed' At Support, $72,000 Raised For Cancer Treatment

Billy Zoom

The crowd at SANTA ANA's OBSERVATORY last night for the X show chanted his name over and over, as guitarist BILLY ZOOM played his final gig for awhile with the band he co-founded as he prepares to begin chemotherapy for bladder cancer this week.  He'll be replaced this summer in X by TEXAS guitarist JESSE DAYTON.

The GO FUND ME page set up for ZOOM and his family has raised more than $74,000 as of today, easily surpassing the original $50,000 goal, according to ROLLINGSTONE.COM.

The audience was filled with fans wearing T-shirts that read: "Support BILLY ZOOM -- Nice guy, punk legend."

ZOOM's own T-shirt boasted a photo of friend JOHNNY RAMONE, who died of protate cancer in 2004.  When BILLY was first diagnosed with the same disese several years ago, he called RAMONE's widow LINDA, who gave him the name of a ":rock-star oncologist," who helped him recover.

ZOOM  will now undergo two six-week sessions of chemo, but plans to return to the band in time for their annual "X-MAS TOUR."  He also hopes to continue producing his handmade ZOOM CUSTOM SHOP amplifiers, which are used by musicians including PEARL JAM's MIKE McCREADY and MOBY.

"Being unable to work for a long time is really scary," ZOOM told ROLLING STONE, though X has already announced they will pay him a portion of proceeds from upcoming dates. "This time, I'd be in really dire straights if people hadn't stepped up."

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