Ahead Of Strange 80s 3D Benefit Show, Talinda Bennington Discusses Mental Health Initiative 320 Changes Direction

– Strange 80s 3D

Members from Bush, Weezer, No Doubt, Eagles of Death Metal, Jane’s Addiction and more will take the stage Saturday at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre to celebrate the 1980s and raise funds for Give An Hour in partnership with Talinda Bennington’s mental health initiative 320 Changes Directions.

The third annual “Strange 80s 3D,” is presented by Charity Bomb and Goldenvoice, featuring 3D production, 1980s film set installations and a setlist featuring covers of timeless 1980s anthems.

The lineup includes Gavin Rossdale of Bush, Frank Zummo of Sum 41, Adrian Young of No Doubt, Scott Shriner of Weezer, Jesse Hughes and Jennie Vee of Eagles of Death Metal, Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, Carmen Vandenburg & Rosie Jones of Bones UK, Marko Desantis of Sugarcult, Keith & Michael Jeffre of Atlas Genius, Fabrizio Grassi Main of Supersonic Blues Machine, Lindsey Stirling, Matt Skiba of Blink-182, Jamie Bennington, and Scott Ian of Anthrax.

Talinda Bennington spoke to Pollstar about co-founding 320 Changes Direction following the 2017 death of her husband, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, and the work the initiative is doing to address the needs of those who are suffering with mental health concerns and addiction. She also hinted at a new festival she’s working on with Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman.

Pollstar: 100% of the proceeds from Strange 80s 3D will be donated to Give An Hour in partnership with 320 Changes Direction. How does the partnership work?

Talinda Bennington: Give An Hour is the actual nonprofit that the campaign Changes Direction is under. The funds raised go to the actual nonprofit, Give An Hour. And those funds are directed toward our goal of changing the mental health landscape through technology and all the stuff that we’re working on.

What inspired you to launch 320 Changes Direction?

After Chester passed I wanted to figure out a way that I could help to make a difference with respect to the mental health community and the culture, because I didn’t want my kids to ever feel shame for the way their father passed away.

I had an idea of trying to streamline the resources we have because there’s so many amazing mental health resources that are already out there. I knew I didn’t have to make a new [program] but I realized there was a gap for these different resources to talk to each other.

I spoke with many different resources and then I spoke with Barbara Van Dahlen, who is the founder of Give An Hour. She’s an amazing woman. The Obama administration had come to Give An Hour and asked for help in designing a campaign to do something about the mental health climate. So that’s how the campaign Change Direction was formed.

I partnered with Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen and we cofounded 320 Changes Direction – March 20 is Chester’s birthday. 320 Changes Direction is part of the campaign to Change Direction so I’m using my voice and Chester’s voice to do what we’re doing.

We’re working on technological ways to streamline access to mental health resources for those in need, as well as families and friends of those in need. Anything under the mental health umbrella is what we’re focusing on and we’re actively developing technology to make that happen.

– Talinda Bennington

What are some things in the works for 320 Changes Direction?

I can talk to you about the 320 festival that’s going to happen on May 9 of next year. It’s going to happen at the plaza of L.A. Live, so we’re working on that. I started that with Kevin Lyman, the founder of Warped Tour. So we’re building out an awesome all-day festival with a concert at the end of the night at the Microsoft Theatre.

We’re putting that together with Give an Hour and all of these organizations. There will be music, family-friendly activities, panels, live shows during the day, and then the show at night. The show at night will be a paid ticketed event.

This is the second year that the proceeds from Strange 80s has gone to help out 320 Changes Direction. How did you get involved with the event?

I had the honor of being introduced to Matt Leone from Charity Bomb through Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen. Last year Matt told me that the proceeds from Strange 80swould go to 320 and it was deeply humbling and I was so honored. I wasn’t able to be at the show last year because I had to be at the Global Mental Health summit, which was awesome but I couldn’t be in two countries at once. This year I’m super excited because I get to attend. There are no words for how I feel knowing that there’s such amazing people at the show and they’re supporting this necessary change in mental health.

Your website mentions says along with streamlining access to help for mental health care, the other key is “changing the culture of mental health so that those in need – and their family members – are able to speak openly about their struggles so that they can seek the care they deserve.” What are some of the best ways to bring about change?
There are many. First thing is just learning about your emotions, learning how to recognize them and understanding that we all have mental health. It’s not like mental health is a problem or mental health is something new, we all have it, just like our physical health. So just understanding your emotions, learning the five signs and also being able to reach out, offer support to a friend in need. Just saying “How are you?” It’s really about the interpersonal connection, it’s about being connected to your family, your friends, yourself. It’s really simple stuff like that.

I think the biggest change that I’ve seen that since Chester has passed is that people are more open to talking about it. Every time I hear another interview with another celebrities talking about their mental health, it makes me really happy because they have their fanbase and it reached so many millions of people and that helps to trigger people talking about it at home. The more we use our voice, it just helps to take away the shame and stigma.

At Coachella Childish Gambino told the audience that he had been depressed earlier that week. I thought it was neat that he opened up and shared that he too goes through low times. When you don’t talk about that stuff is when you give your fears or depression power.

That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Cheers to Childish Gambino for speaking out. Every day people turn to people they see on TV or hear on the radio – and music is so powerful. When they start seeing [mental health being] normalized, it starts becoming normalized [in their life]. “Well he can [speak out] then maybe I can.” You do that, then your kids see you do that. That really helps to bring about the change. … We have to normalize [mental health] in our homes and our communities and that will show the next generation and generations to come that that its OK to talk about it and take care of yourself.

The 320 Changes Directions’ website says “To remember and honor Chester Bennington, you can post a selfie to show you Know the Signs.” It also encourages fans to “Make to pledge to know the Five Signs and learn the health habits.” What can you tell us about this campaign?

When I first spoke with Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen she immediately understood the vision of what I felt the change really needed to be. It really connected with her and the more I learned about The Campaign to Change Direction, the more I realized how necessary it was. I wish I would have come across it in better times. I think it would have really helped.

The Five Signs are so simple. It’s not feeling like yourself – if you’re feeling agitated or withdrawn, you’re not caring for yourself, things like that. [It’s] just to be aware of those [feelings] within yourself and to [recognize] oh, this might be a sign that my emotions are not well right now. … And do what you can to take care of yourself. That really resonated with me.

And then the 5 Signs of showing support [include just] reaching out and asking, “Are you OK?” Before sometimes it was hard for me personally to ask “How are you doing? Are you OK?” because I felt like I was being invasive. Learning that that’s OK and there’s the flipside of that coin, if somebody asks you seriously, “Hey, how are you doing today?” it’s OK to really talk about how you’re feeling. What I’ve experienced is too much of “Yeah, I’m fine,” from those closest in my life, even when things weren’t really fine. Maybe I didn’t ask better and maybe they didn’t share more. That really connected to me that they had identified that was one of the number one ways to help change and bring about a better emotional well being.

It’s so important to check in with yourself and those around you. There’s a stereotype that depression is just feeling sad or being in bed all day, but I recently learned that if you’re constantly getting irritated or easily annoyed, that can actually be a sign of depression too.
I feel like I’m constantly learning new things like that, it’s all building up in my emotional database. I don’t know about you but when I [hear] “Oh, other people may feel like that too” I actually feel better about it too.

Linkin Park has done a lot of charity work over the years, including forming Music for Relief in 2004. Can you talk about how important it was to Chester to give back to others?

That was definitely a huge part of who he was. He felt like his fans created the world that he had and he was deeply appreciative. Those fans extended throughout the entire world and when disasters would happen or even in our neighborhood, he was on the board of the foundation for the children’s hospital in Arizona, anywhere he could see he could help, he had to. It wasn’t just that he wanted to or it made him feel good, it was just part of his wheelhouse. That was one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

With so many causes out there and people in need it can be overwhelming to know how to start. How would you encourage fans to get involved?

Go to ChangeDirection.org and you’ll find many resources and ways you can plug into your community. There are so many ways, even if you post a selfie with the hashtag #changedirection, that’s just a small way to do something. If you don’t have the time to actually commit to being in something formal, it’s just as simple to taking time out to hang out with a friend or taking time out for yourself, learning the Five Signs. It can just be that simple.

What are your favorite ways to practice self-care and take care of your own mental health?

I love spending time with my family, that is just the best for me. I love to go horseback riding, that’s complete meditation, I get taken out of reality for a while, it’s just me and my horse and nature. Eating right, working out and sleeping – definitely sleeping. (laughs)

Working on 320 Changes Direction, that helps me as well too, moving the needle a bit and just making sure that Chester’s death wasn’t in vain and that his kids will understand that their dad really made a difference.

Visit https://strange80s.com/ and https://www.changedirection.org/320-changes-direction/ for more information.