Edge orchestrates benefit auction
When The Edge saw the Rolling Stones perform recently, his mask allowed him to go unrecognized as he watched guitarist Ron Wood from the front row.
“I have to say one of the benefits of mask wearing is it’s like a cloaking device if you’re a famous face,” the U2 guitarist said while promoting his Music Rising charity and its
Dec. 11 auction of famous guitars and other rock memorabilia to support New Orleans musicians hit hard by the pandemic.
“Ronnie has donated a beautiful guitar to our auction. So, I was so stoked,” he said.
Founded by Edge and producer Bob Ezrin, the charity was started in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina as a means of replacing instruments lost in the flood. Once the pandemic set it, it found a new mission.
“We want to try and reestablish the live music scene where it’s suffered a kind of major setback. So back in post-katrina, we were replacing instruments. Now we’re not being that specific. We’re actually willing to just fund people’s livelihoods,” Edge said.
Two of Edge’s guitars that he’s played extensively on tour with U2 will be among those sold, including the instrument he calls the “One.”
“It’s a beautiful Les Paul, and it’s actually a music rising Les Paul, part of ... a limited edition of 300.”
The other is a custom designed Fender Stratocaster used while on tour to perform “Bad” and “Still Haven’t Found I’m Looking For.”
“They are real serious guitars that I’ve spent a lot of time playing, and they’ll — they’ll be missed.”
Others donating guitars include Slash, Lou Reed
and Steve Miller, and a bass from Paul Mccartney.
Edge held up a vintage photograph of Mccartney playing the donated guitar in a studio while Stevie Wonder played the drums.
“This is two of my great heroes in the one shot and that bass guitar is going to be in the auction,” the guitarist said.
Ezrin has produced a litany of classic rock artists from Alice Cooper and Aerosmith to Pink Floyd and Kiss. Each has donated memorabilia to the auction.
But Ezrin says guitarist Paul Stanley personally had to search for his donation.
“Paul Stanley (was) going down to the warehouse to find the guitar because his guitar tech had passed away from COVID, as a matter of fact, and he had to go himself to go find the guitar that he wanted to give us,” Ezrin said.
As for U2, Edge says the
band has no plans to go back on the road. That’s been fine by him, since he’s been in a “songwriting and the compositional” phase that coincided with the lockdown and pandemic.
“I am suffering a little from survivor’s guilt because, you know, we didn’t have to cancel tours,” he said. “We didn’t have anything public that we were planning for this period. And it’s just forced me to be at home working on new songs, which is exactly what I needed to do.”
Nov. 29 birthdays: Musician John Mayall is 88. Actor Diane Ladd is 86. Director Joel Coen is 67. Comedian Howie Mandel is 66. Actor Kim Delaney is 60. Actor Andrew Mccarthy is 59. Actor Don Cheadle is 57. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 49. Actor Anna Faris is 45. Actor Diego Boneta is 31. Actor Lovie Simone is 23.