Docs That Rock: Catch N.E.D. At The July 13 Pleasantville Music Festival

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June 19, 2024

By Barrett Seaman–

There are rock bands with names designed to shock (all in good humor, of course): Helloween, Cannibal Corpse, Black Sabbath. But when the band calling itself N.E.D takes the stage at the Pleasantville Music Festival on July 13, the message inherent in its name is nothing but good news.

N.E.D. stands for “No Evidence of Disease,” the words every cancer patient yearns to hear from her doctor, which is appropriate because every member of the band is a gynecological oncologist or surgeon. The band was formed some 15 years ago, has done gigs across the country and has dropped three albums into the rock music scene since 2009.

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N.E.D.’s current female vocalist, Gizelka David-West, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist who practices at Northwell Health Cancer Institute serving Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco and Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow. “Music was a part of my growing up,” she told The Hudson Independent. She knew other members through their mutual involvement in cancer treatment. “The drummer was my attending,” she says. “The bass player and I knew each other from a concert where we both performed.

In 2019, she got a call from the band’s leader asking her to join the group for three shows in DC and NYC, including one where they shared the stage with Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge. “That,” admits Dr. David-West, “was pretty cool.”

Performing in a band for these docs is not just about expressing creativity. It’s also about raising awareness about women’s cancers and the available treatments—and helping to raise funds for further research.

Dr. David-West says she averages about two concerts a year. “We center our practices around our gig, getting together to rehearse.” She is the mother of three as well as a practicing surgeon—and a rock star.

N.E.D. offstage and out of the surgical theater

The Pleasantville Music Festival, known as New York’s Backyard Jam, has emerged as a big event in the New York area, featuring local food and drink, along with world-class rock. To perform so close to home, she says, is going to be a special treat—the more so because Northwell Health is now a sponsor of the Pleasantville Festival. At some events, the band calls for cancer survivors to come up on stage. Dr. David-West says she is working to get comp tickets for some of her patients.

N.E.D. is scheduled to take the stage in the 1:50 p.m. slot. For more information on the event, check on Facebook, Instagram and at the festival’s website; www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.com.

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