RONNIE JAMES DIO STAND UP & SHOUT CANCER FUND TEAMS WITH ASIAN ELEPHANT ART PROJECT TO RAISE FUNDS AND AWARENESS

Jaab paints an ESP guitar at the Elephant Art & Conservation Project in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Photo by Mark Weiss)


The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund has teamed with The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) to create one-of-a-kind guitars painted by the project's elephants in Thailand to raise money and awareness for both organizations. Wendy Dio, president and founder of Stand Up & Shout, board chair Gloria Butler and medical director Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, along with legendary Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell bassist Geezer Butler and world-renowned photographer Mark Weiss, are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, home to the AEACP, where the guitars are being painted.

The talented elephants of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project, whose paintings are now exhibited and sold in museums and galleries around the world and have been featured in National Geographic, are painting guitars graciously donated by The ESP Guitar Company. These painted guitars will be auctioned off with half of the proceeds going to AEACP and the other half going to SUAS.

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is a privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education. It was founded in memory of the late singer who died in 2010. The organization is collecting additional guitars donated by celebrated musicians for a larger fund-raising auction later this year.

The AEACP is dedicated to saving the diminishing number of Asian Elephants and to raise public awareness of the plight of Asian Elephants. National Thai Elephant Day annually celebrates the importance of elephants a part of Thai culture and as part of their environment. Currently, there are between 3,000 and 4,000 elephants living in Thailand, half of which are domesticated.

For additional information on the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, please visit: http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/

For more information on the Elephant Art & Conservation Project, please visit: www.elephantart.com

Sad news about The Knack's Doug Fieger

I was sad to come back from a weekend vacation to hear that The Knack's Doug Fieger had passed away after a long battle with cancer. I met Doug in the mid-1990s while we were both checking out a show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

I also had the fortune to finally catch the band in concert on Dec. 31, 2006 at the Orange County New Year’s Eve - better known as OCNYE - at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Here is a cut-and-paste of that part of my review that ran on the Register's Web site on Jan. 1, 2007 that focused on the strong set from The Knack:

Indeed, those only catching the action on the main stage missed the best performances of the seven-hour event. Although Tommy Tutone (in a mostly acoustic showcase, with the “867-5309/Jenny” singer-guitarist accompanied only by a drummer) disappointed in the first 10 minutes of his set, a short walk to a nearby stage rewarded with an amazing full-blown performance by the Knack.

Despite the death of the band’s original drummer, Bruce Gary, earlier in 2006, the Knack soared across the last 35 minutes of its set. Singer-guitarist Doug Fieger, who underwent surgery for the removal of two brain tumors only five months ago, led the group in a set that worked the audience near the stage into a festive frenzy.

Performances of their best-known songs (“Good Girls Don’t” and “My Sharona”) were not the only tunes that got the crowd moving. A medley that began with a cover of the Champs’ “Tequila” morphed into a strong mostly-faithful take on the Doors’ “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” that may well have been the single-strongest performance of the night.

Remembering Lance "Romance" Faulk

Lance "Romance" Faulk, lead singer of the Attraction, died on Saturday night, Nov. 10, 2007.

Lance "Romance" Faulk of Huntington Beach, the lead singer of the popular local band the Attraction, has died at age 36. According to the group's Web site, Faulk died Saturday of a heart condition he had suffered from for some time.

"Lance was living on borrowed time, having had heart problems for many years. Somehow this is of absolutely no comfort to me." Martin Brown wrote in an e-mail to music on Monday. Brown is the founder and producer of the Orange County Music Awards and was at the Grove of Anaheim earlier this year when the Attraction picked up best punk band honors at the 6th annual ceremony.

On Oct. 25, the Attraction celebrated the release of the group's sophomore CD "The Attraction Presents …" with a show at Hurricanes in Huntington Beach. The band's debut "Step Right Up!" was issued in 2006.

Although he had suffered from heart-related illness since 2003, Faulk was an energetic and talented frontman for the Attraction (the band's always-the-same lineup featured drummer Humper T., guitarist Chris Master John and bassist Beaver), one of Orange County's best modern rock outfits.

The Attraction performed its show at Gallagher's in Huntington Beach on Oct. 11, 2003, and built a strong and loyal following through a combination of hard-hitting and theatrical-styled live shows, a popular MySpace site and radio airplay (including on Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 FM).
"He was really the heart and soul of the band," guitarist Master John said of his friend. He added that it was Faulk who founded the group four years ago and set the tonewith his fun-loving, dynamic personality.

Brown of the Orange County Music Awards agreed.
"In conservative Orange County, where even musicians blend in easily with the standard crowd at generic restaurants and bars, Lance stood out. His preference for makeup and hats, à la 'Clockwork Orange,' made him noticeable in a positive way. He was having fun at the world's expense," Brown wrote in his e-mail.
"As the lead singer and main songwriter of his band, Lance will – I fear – be irreplaceable. But, more than this, he will be missed by his young son Wylan, who was such an important part of Lance's life."
Faulk is survived by his 12-year-old son, Wylan, longtime girlfriend Vicky Bedrosian, father Richard Faulk of Dana Point, mother Emma Faulk and brothers Jason, Jeff, Richard and Mark Faulk.

Services for Faulk include a 9 a.m. visitation, followed by an 11 a.m. mass at St. John Fisher Catholic Church, 5448 Crest Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, on Nov. 15.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/theattraction or www.theattraction.net.