Features
A Few More Things: Charity Edition
Flagging Down Funds For Flood Victims
Deer Tick made quite the sale over at eBay.com yesterday. The indie folk band put its tour bus up for auction with a generous portion of proceeds going to help Pakistan flood victims through a partnership with Oxfam America.
The vehicle, a bright yellow GMC Savana school bus, was used on all of the band’s 2009 U.S. tours. The guys lovingly nicknamed the bus “The Flagship” after the band’s 2009 album Born on Flag Day.
John Holmes, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, called the floods, which began in late July following heavy monsoon rains, “unprecedented.” Roughly 17 million people have been affected by the floods, according to the Government of Pakistan.
“The situation over there is so critical, but it seems that very few people are aware of it,” said Deer Tick frontman John McCauley. “Maybe it’s the stigma with that part of the world, I’m not sure. Either way, we feel really strongly that people should be more aware of the situation and hopefully we can help wit hthat.”
The auction for the bus began with a starting bid of $500 and ended with the “buy it now” option of $2,000.
Deer Tick will be accepting donations to Oxfam at its merch booth on its upcoming fall tour.
Stinson Selling Suits For Haiti
Tommy Stinson, who’s played bass for Guns N’ Roses since 1998 and is a former member of the Replacements, has put a few items of his own on the auction block to help victims of the Haitian earthquake.
One item up for grabs through the auction site charitybuzz.com is a white plaid suit Stinson wore on stage performing with Guns N’ Roses.
“I had this white and black tartan suit made by Sammy’s in Hong Kong ten years ago. … I would love to go back and have them make me some more suits,” Stinson said. “Can’t say enough about the quality. Sadly, my ass grew out of these trousers. I will miss this suit – it was a favorite on cold winter nights. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside.”
The suit is valued at $1,000 and the next minimum bid is set at $325.
Stinson is also auctioning off a red plaid suit, an Ernie Ball Sterling Bass, a Black Fender Precision Bass, two VIP passes for Coachella 2011 and four VIP tickets to a Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy European tour stop with a backstage meet and greet.
Proceeds go toward a nonprofit called Timkatec which houses and educates children left homeless by the earthquake.
Click here for Tommy Stinson’s charitybuzz.com page.
Bo Bice Starring On “Don’t Forget The Lyrics!”
Bo Bice is going to put his music memory skills to the test by joining a celebrity edition of “Don’t Forget The Lyrics!”
The revamped game show, which is hosted by Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, challenges contestants to remember and sing lyrics of popular songs in front of a live audience for increasing amounts of money.
Bice, who came in second to Carrie Underwood on the fourth season of “American Idol,” is playing on behalf of the MusiCares Foundation with all of his winnings going towards the charity.
The episode will air on MyNetworkTV Oct. 12 and Fox affiliates nationwide Nov. 1. It will then premeir on VH1 on April 19, 2011.
MusiCares provides assistance to musicians facing financial, medical or personal emergencies.