Rebels With a Cause

Lest you think every Hollywood party is about shameless product- (not to mention self-) promotion, last week had its share of altruistic activities too. Though we missed the House of Blues concert honoring murdered Pantera/Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell — featuring Dave Navarro, Ace Frehley and Jerry Cantrell — we did check out the closing night of “Six String Masterpieces,” an exhibit of Dean ML guitars painted in Darrell’s honor, held at La Luz de Jesus gallery. We chatted with exhibit creator Curse Mackey (of the industrial band Pigface) as he packed the axes up for an auction over at HoB before the concert — with proceeds to benefit Little Kids Rock (which brings rock music instruction to low-income kids in schools).

“[Dimebag Darrell] influenced so many people, and the way he died was so bizarre,” said Mackey of the guitarist’s onstage murder during a nightclub gig. “His death and his legacy didn’t get the attention it deserved mediawise.” That changed last weekend, thanks to the concert and auction, which featured 50 Deans tricked out by the likes of Al Jourgensen, Ted Nugent and Billy Corgan (we hear the highest bid was for an ethereal nymph design by artist Mark Ryden). There was even an induction ceremony for a bust in D.D.’s likeness at Guitar Center’sRock Walk. Obviously, the man’s legacy was worth a lot more than his nickname implied.

Rebels With a Cause — Part Deux

More rollicking-for-a-reason took place last Thursday night at Fair Trade, an event thrown at Vanguard by tastemaker webzines Flavorpill and Moli, plus Good mag, to benefit Charity: Water (a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clean water resources in Africa). For $20, patrons got sets from Monsters Are Waiting along with DJs Franki Chan and She Wants Revenge’sJustin Warfield, plus goodie bags and, of course, good karma. We spent most of our time in the red-lit upstairs lounge, where Warfield spun (real wax!) from The Stones, The B-52’s and The Cure, much preferred to the throbbing techno on the main dance floor. Even more popular was the club’s groovy, tropical-themed patio — which, unlike the dance floor, was packed the entire evening… Speaking of patios, a few blocks away, the L.A. Weekly–sponsored Rock & Roll Bingo gathering took over the outdoor area at Crane’s Hollywood Tavern the same night. The monthly charity event features music icons as moderators with proceeds going to the cause of their choice; this month it was MC5’s Wayne Kramer and pal David Was (of Was Not Was) calling out the B’s and O’s for The Lifelab, a support community that helps cancer survivors with creative pursuits. “I was a bingo virgin,” Kramer told us. “But I popped my cherry tonight.” Did he ever. Kramer and Was were obviously having a ball (or two) with the bingo and so were we, especially when the pair started offering swag to anyone who could yell out band names beginning with the called out letter, as in B (Butthole Surfers), I (Iggy), N (Nazareth). The names couldn’t be repeated so the game got tough, but when a table of highlight-headed hotties started yelling out non-rockin’ acts such as “Barry Manilow!” “Ice Cube!” and “N-Sync!,” we knew it was time to G-O.

David Was and Wayne Kramer

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