HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
Ezrin, U2's Edge launch Phase II
By KAREN BLISS
(Ed. Note -- Check out Interference.com's exclusive interview with Bob Ezrin here.)
Bob Ezrin, the Canadian-born producer best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel and Kiss, has stepped up the second phase of the Music Rising initiative he started with U2 guitarist The Edge to help musicians in the Gulf Coast.
The first phase of the charity campaign raised money to replace musical instruments that were lost or damaged in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Rita, and while that program is still active, now Music Rising is helping to restore music programs in schools and churches.
"We started off by trying to help the professional musicians of the region get back on their feet and get playing again," says Ezrin. "We felt that that music was so important to the area for tourism, for its soul, for giving people some way to congregate and gather around something positive.
"We focused on that because, at the time, churches and schools were so destroyed that they weren't anywhere near to having their music programs back up. So we started off with professional musicians and we raised enough money [to be] able to help 2,200 musicians."
Music Rising Phase II will be administered by The Gibson Foundation with assistance from Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and All Congregations Together. As with Phase I, donations can be made via the web site, www.MusicRising.org, where there are links to pay online or one can mail a cheque or money order to Gibson Foundation, 309 Plus Park Blvd., Nashville, TN 37217
However, if you want a memento of your generosity or a gift that makes a difference, there are t-shirts and guitars available with all proceeds going to Music Rising.
Music Rising T-shirts -- as worn by The Edge on U2's Grammy performance earlier this year -- can also be purchased for (U.S.) $30 on FanFire.com. MusiciansFriend.com is also selling a "very" limited edition Music Rising Epiphone guitar with artwork designed by The Edge for (U.S.) $599.00. For easy-access to the items, go to the www.MusicRising.org web site.
Ezrin, who returned to Canada in July of 2005 after a long absence, was in Toronto when the hurricane struck the Gulf region and the levees subsequently broke in New Orleans. Three weeks later, he was sitting next to The Edge at a luncheon in Toronto and they started talking about the tragedy and what they could do to help.
"By that time, I was already in touch with Henry Juszkiewicz from [guitar manufacturer] Gibson and Marty Albertson from Guitar Centre," recounts Ezrin. "I told Edge about what we were doing there and he said he'd like to be involved, so I gave him my home phone number and left, fully expecting that it was one of those rock star moments where they say, 'Yeah, let me help,' and then you never hear from them again.
"Sure enough, three days later, he called up and said, 'OK, here's the research I've done; here are the people I've spoken to; here's what I think we ought to do.' He was using the 'we' word right off the bat."
Operating as a virtual organization with no staff, except for Ezrin, The Edge and a couple of people from Gibson, they needed to find a way to get word out to the musicians in need.
Ezrin, who sits on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), felt that the best way to do this would be to work with the MusiCares Foundation, which was established by the American recording academy to aid musicians in crisis (from drug counselling to medical care). He was aware of the thousands of professional musicians who had contacted MusiCares after the hurricane and received immediate living assistance and spending money.
"It seemed to me that those same people, if they'd lost everything, then they'd lost their instruments," Ezrin deduced. "And when we went back to them and asked, they had indeed also lost instruments."
Those musicians were then given a coupon to go shopping on MusiciansFriend.com, the largest online retailer of musical instruments. But Music Rising was unable to deal with restoring or replacing heirlooms or other special cases, says Ezrin.
A documentary about Music Rising aired in September in America and Canada. A charity single of U2 and Green Day covering "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids was produced by Rick Rubin and released digitally in Canada Oct. 30 and in stores Nov. 7 to benefit Music Rising. Ezrin produced the live version -- available for U.S. download only -- when both bands performed the song at the Louisiana Superdome on Sept. 25 during the pre-game show of the New Orleans Saints/Atlanta Falcons game.
While Ezrin has moved back to Canada and has an office at Universal Music Canada -- from which he will soon be announcing a new venture -- he says his main focus is Music Rising.
"Also, I'm a trustee of NARAS and I'm also on the board of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. But more importantly to your readers, I'm one of the founders and on the committee of MusiCan, which is CARAS's music education initiative.
"That's a major passion for me and one of the stipulations I made when I was asked if I could be inducted into the [2004 Canadian Music] Hall of Fame. I said that I would, but only under the condition that I'd be allowed to really earn it. So I said that they would have to support me in the drive for universal music education in Canada."
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2006/12/08/2687503-ca.html
By KAREN BLISS
(Ed. Note -- Check out Interference.com's exclusive interview with Bob Ezrin here.)
Bob Ezrin, the Canadian-born producer best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel and Kiss, has stepped up the second phase of the Music Rising initiative he started with U2 guitarist The Edge to help musicians in the Gulf Coast.
The first phase of the charity campaign raised money to replace musical instruments that were lost or damaged in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Rita, and while that program is still active, now Music Rising is helping to restore music programs in schools and churches.
"We started off by trying to help the professional musicians of the region get back on their feet and get playing again," says Ezrin. "We felt that that music was so important to the area for tourism, for its soul, for giving people some way to congregate and gather around something positive.
"We focused on that because, at the time, churches and schools were so destroyed that they weren't anywhere near to having their music programs back up. So we started off with professional musicians and we raised enough money [to be] able to help 2,200 musicians."
Music Rising Phase II will be administered by The Gibson Foundation with assistance from Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and All Congregations Together. As with Phase I, donations can be made via the web site, www.MusicRising.org, where there are links to pay online or one can mail a cheque or money order to Gibson Foundation, 309 Plus Park Blvd., Nashville, TN 37217
However, if you want a memento of your generosity or a gift that makes a difference, there are t-shirts and guitars available with all proceeds going to Music Rising.
Music Rising T-shirts -- as worn by The Edge on U2's Grammy performance earlier this year -- can also be purchased for (U.S.) $30 on FanFire.com. MusiciansFriend.com is also selling a "very" limited edition Music Rising Epiphone guitar with artwork designed by The Edge for (U.S.) $599.00. For easy-access to the items, go to the www.MusicRising.org web site.
Ezrin, who returned to Canada in July of 2005 after a long absence, was in Toronto when the hurricane struck the Gulf region and the levees subsequently broke in New Orleans. Three weeks later, he was sitting next to The Edge at a luncheon in Toronto and they started talking about the tragedy and what they could do to help.
"By that time, I was already in touch with Henry Juszkiewicz from [guitar manufacturer] Gibson and Marty Albertson from Guitar Centre," recounts Ezrin. "I told Edge about what we were doing there and he said he'd like to be involved, so I gave him my home phone number and left, fully expecting that it was one of those rock star moments where they say, 'Yeah, let me help,' and then you never hear from them again.
"Sure enough, three days later, he called up and said, 'OK, here's the research I've done; here are the people I've spoken to; here's what I think we ought to do.' He was using the 'we' word right off the bat."
Operating as a virtual organization with no staff, except for Ezrin, The Edge and a couple of people from Gibson, they needed to find a way to get word out to the musicians in need.
Ezrin, who sits on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), felt that the best way to do this would be to work with the MusiCares Foundation, which was established by the American recording academy to aid musicians in crisis (from drug counselling to medical care). He was aware of the thousands of professional musicians who had contacted MusiCares after the hurricane and received immediate living assistance and spending money.
"It seemed to me that those same people, if they'd lost everything, then they'd lost their instruments," Ezrin deduced. "And when we went back to them and asked, they had indeed also lost instruments."
Those musicians were then given a coupon to go shopping on MusiciansFriend.com, the largest online retailer of musical instruments. But Music Rising was unable to deal with restoring or replacing heirlooms or other special cases, says Ezrin.
A documentary about Music Rising aired in September in America and Canada. A charity single of U2 and Green Day covering "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids was produced by Rick Rubin and released digitally in Canada Oct. 30 and in stores Nov. 7 to benefit Music Rising. Ezrin produced the live version -- available for U.S. download only -- when both bands performed the song at the Louisiana Superdome on Sept. 25 during the pre-game show of the New Orleans Saints/Atlanta Falcons game.
While Ezrin has moved back to Canada and has an office at Universal Music Canada -- from which he will soon be announcing a new venture -- he says his main focus is Music Rising.
"Also, I'm a trustee of NARAS and I'm also on the board of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. But more importantly to your readers, I'm one of the founders and on the committee of MusiCan, which is CARAS's music education initiative.
"That's a major passion for me and one of the stipulations I made when I was asked if I could be inducted into the [2004 Canadian Music] Hall of Fame. I said that I would, but only under the condition that I'd be allowed to really earn it. So I said that they would have to support me in the drive for universal music education in Canada."
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2006/12/08/2687503-ca.html
