The Orange County Register (Feb. 18th 2005)

Sweet Relief

Coincidence as much as a determination to help brought together the all-star lineup for tonight's Music for Relief benefit at the Pond

How were the forces behind tonight's Music for Relief: Rebuilding South Asia benefit at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim able come together on such relatively short notice?

Turns out that all involved were looking for the same thing -- a way to help by doing what they do best.

Within a week of the Dec. 26 tsunami that struck South Asia and claimed at least 280,000 lives, members of every act on tonight's bill began brainstorming charitable ideas. Independent of one another, that is.

After daily doses of devastation and watching CNN and Discovery specials about the tsunami, No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal sprang into action.

He started making calls to agents and promoters. "And that same day, (guitarist) Tom (Dumont) e-mailed me and said, `Dude, we should really do something.' " Before long, drummer Adrian Young and that girl Gwen were also onboard.

Meanwhile, Linkin Park and its management, The Firm, already had begun to mobilize its own charity project. No sooner had No Doubt and its people spread the word about wanting to stage an event than they discovered that the rap-rock megastars had recently established Music for Relief to enable just such an endeavor.

The roots of Music for Relief, explained Linkin Park bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, "came when we started to see images on CNN of the tsunami's wreckage. From touring there, the six of us really felt like that's a place that had touched us in a special way. We wanted to try to do something ... that would motivate people and get things happening on a much larger scale."

Thus, Music for Relief was born as a connector between shows such as tonight's five-hour Pond spectacle and charities like UNICEF and Habitat for Humanity. (Initially, Music for Relief was linked to the American Red Cross, but that organization reports that it has met its fund-raising goals.)

"That's what's really cool about this," Blink-182's Mark Hoppus enthused. "UNICEF is dealing with the immediate needs of medical supplies and fresh water, and Habitat for Humanity is helping to rebuild over time. We're aiding both short- and long-term goals."

The assembled acts hope to raise $1 million, and more Music for Relief events seem certain. Already, this one's closing act, Camp Freddy, which guitarist Dave Navarro dubs "the ulti mate party band," has staged a tsunami-aid gig at the Key Club that raised $10,000.

"To come together like this for a common purpose, it's really overwhelming, especially once you're onstage," Navarro said. "That's when it really boils down to a brotherhood of musicians, of people from different genres working together -- and it's not about who's sold more records than who or who's cooler than who. It's only about doing your part to accomplish some good."

To illustrate how this Camp operates, at that Key Club gig, Courtney Love sang Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song," Motrhead's Lemmy stepped up for the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" and Slash, Jerry Cantrell, Linda Perry and Terri Nunn joined in on a host of classic rock, punk and new-wave covers cranked out by a rotating backing lineup, including Navarro, guitarist Billy Morrison and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum.

For tonight, the Campers have enlisted Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget, the Cult's Billy Duffy, Filter's Richard Patrick -- and undoubtedly more. It seems a safe bet that some of the night's other bands -- also including the Crystal Method, Story of the Year and Jurassic 5 -- will get in on the act.

"It's the most amazing all-star cover band," boasts Camp manager Brent Bolthouse, who has been instrumental in organizing this benefit.

Bolthouse took in the tsunami damage from a much closer vantage point. "I was in Bali over New Year's on vacation," he shared, "and even though I wasn't directly hit by the tsunami, I could see how much that whole region had been traumatized. People we were staying with had lost relatives. A friend of my girlfriend's, her boyfriend, we now believe is no longer with us.

"It really struck home with me. ... How can you not do something when hundreds of thousands of people still don't have food or water or places to sleep or bathrooms to use?"

There have been worldwide fund-raisers to provide such resources, of course, notably NBC's "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope," featuring Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Eric Clapton and more. This past Sunday, Wonder, Norah Jones, Bono, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Alicia Keys and others took part in a live rendition of the Beatles' "Across the Universe," immediately available for download on iTunes, with proceeds benefiting tsunami-relief efforts.

All told, this marks one of the biggest outpourings of musical support for a cause since Live Aid 20 years ago.

"This type of disaster hits people much more on a gut level," Kanal said. "There are so many terrible things happening in the world, but the political and religious matters associated with them can be hard for people to wrap their heads around. I think people can relate to seeing people lose their families and shelter much more viscerally.

"We just asked ourselves, `What can we do? Can we play a show in Anaheim?' Of course we can! That's what we do." (The Pond's management has donated the arena without a usage fee.) "And what can the fans do? They can come out and buy tickets and support the cause."

Yet, strangely, some tickets remain. That may be because of high prices (though $100-plus is fairly cheap under the circumstances), or it may reflect a certain apathy on the part of these bands' fans.

"There's such a propensity for cynicism in our generation," says Linkin Park's Farrell. "It's easy to just say, `That (stinks), but what difference can I make?' This is trying to get people to say, `I need to be part of the solution.' "

"We must keep this fresh in people's heads," Kanal says. "And what (Linkin Park) has done with Music for Relief is enabled that with this infrastructure that anyone can plug into now. Any band passionate about this can raise money by using Music for Relief as an umbrella. (Linkin Park) has done the hard work. Showing up to play is easy."

Or it will be easy once No Doubt -- and most everyone else on the bill -- gets in a few rehearsals. Gwen and company haven't played since last summer, and seeing as Ms. Stefani has been busy promoting her solo debut, practice has been limited to this week. Tonight's set -- which may include some guests but likely won't include any of Stefani's new material -- may be fans' only chance to see the band this year.

Kanal: "Gwen and I have been discussing when we'll get together and start working on a new record. I'm hoping it'll be this year, but it's contingent on everyone's schedules and personal cycles."

Linkin Park and Blink-182 are also in down mode, working on new albums. The former -- which, with Jay-Z, will revive cuts from its mash-up smash "Collision Course" -- hasn't played since September. "So the only surprise may be the rust," Phoenix says.

Blink's Hoppus says that apart from some international touring, the band is taking time off before heading back into the studio. "This is the only U.S. date we have booked so far this year," he reports.

But no matter how spotty some performances might be, everyone is optimistic that concertgoers won't see another show quite like this one.

"It's a win-win situation for everyone involved," Kanal says. "It's a great lineup to come see, and it's great for us because we're helping an important cause and we get to play. That's a beautiful thing."