Van Halen donates to cancer-stricken deputy
We at the Van Halen News Desk just learned that Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang Van Halen have donated some signed items for an auction to help to help a Southland sheriff’s deputy who is fighting acute myeloid leukemia. (The full story is below).
This news doesn’t surprise us, as we know that Eddie Van Halen actually does this sort of thing all the time. But because he prefers his personal life to remain private, his generosity and love for others often goes unnoticed.
Edward buys food for the homeless in the Los Angeles area and donates both time and money to charities. He visits those whom are terminally ill and wish to meet him, as well as so many other genuine acts of kindness. Ed is a caring, loving and emotional individual who does some really great things for people.
And Edward isn’t the only one in Van Halen who performs these “random acts of kindness.” Before we ran the Van Halen News Desk, we published the all-Van Halen magazine, The Inside, back in the ’90s. During that time we actually were shocked to learn just how often all four members of Van Halen gave to charities. These generous contributions nearly always went unnoticed by the press because that’s how the band wanted it. We have always been very impressed by that, and it’s good to see that they are continuing the tradition.
Taken from DaileyNews.com:
Some of rock music’s biggest names have donated autographed guitars and percussion equipment to help a Southland sheriff’s deputy who is fighting acute myeloid leukemia.
Money raised from the auction will help cover the medical expenses of Robert Corrales, who has been a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy for nearly a quarter-century.
The autographed instruments, which are being auctioned on eBay through today [Monday, March 2nd, at 4:30 pm PST], include Alex Van Halen’s brass snare drum from his personal kit, and a drum head signed by Alex, Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen.
Rush drummer Neil Peart donated an autographed DW drum head.
“Several of rock ‘n’ roll’s royalty immediately stepped up,” said sheriff’s Deputy Mike Ascolese. He and Deputy John Maio organized the fundraiser.
Paul Stanley of KISS gave an autographed Silvertone guitar, while Slash, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan and Dave Kushner from Velvet Revolver each signed an Epiphone guitar that had been donated by the Guitar Center’s Dave Weiderman.
Corrales, who grew up in San Fernando and Pacoima, was diagnosed with leukemia last April.
Several drives have been held to look for a bone-marrow donor, but a suitable match has not yet been found because of his unusual Mexican-Chinese ancestry, organizers say.
Ninety percent of the auction proceeds will help Corrales, while 10 percent will be donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which is trying to find cures for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS.
The eBay auction-location numbers are:
Autographed Alex Van Halen Brass Ludwig Snare Drum (290297834030)
Drum Head Autographed by Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen (290297839393)
Autographed Velvet Revolver Epiphone Electric Guitar (29029781580)
Autographed Paul Stanley Silvertone Guitar (290297821537)
DW Drum Head Autographed by Neil Peart of RUSH (290297835083)
Drum Head & Drum Sticks Autographed by Matt Sorum (290297837043)
Filed under: Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen
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March 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Great act of kindness to help those in need.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
If they are are doing this to raise awareness of this situation than I am all in…I don’t need to know how charitable Ed and Co are to like the music…I just would like some NEW music
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:24 am
Great for =VH=
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
It’s nice to know they care. Ed has always been down to earth and very giving as have all the members of VH. That said rock and roll cares and it shows. Peace out
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Another reason I am proud to be a VH fan!
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Sometimes we get so used to the drama of Van Halen we forget about this stuff. The Halens and Hagar do this stuff all the time and Roth is an EMT for no other reason than he felt like helping out.
Good karma for them!
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Wow, I am amazed all the response thus far is kinda positive. I figure some lame ass poser will screw it all up by saying something negative and everyone will argue again. SOS, see ya then.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
You see all of these jerks hate on eddie 24/7 yet they keep coming back and commenting. Which means hey they still love the guy for his looks, music, everything… And here Edward proves that yes he is a philanthropist and has great character rock on Ed!!
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Musicians and performing artists are sometimes seen as money hungry selfish bastards, but what lots of people tend to forget is that if you don’t look after yourself by acting all businesslike and looking at the hard numbers, there are plenty of people around who will gladly walk over you, grab your money and split without even saying “Thank you, sucker”.
I remember this story about Jimmy Page refusing to sign guitars. Not because he didn’t want to give out an autograph but because he was afraid that the owner of the guitar would sell the thing and make a profit using the name Jimmy Page. It sounds far fetched, but that’s what people do and if you don’t cooperate you are running the risk of being seen as someone who is in it for the money.
This story, btw, proves once more that being aware of the financial side of things and charity can go hand in hand together. The only thing what the VH brothers want is to get what they should be getting so they can choose what to spend it on all by themselves. What’s wrong with that?
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for helping out.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Way To Go ED, AL And Wolf. At least you guys have the heart to do something charitable. ROCK ON YOU THREE HALENS!!
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:37 am
Eddie has a long history of this kind of thing. For an example of his selfless generosity dig around for the story of how he helped his golf coach. This kind of thing is not uncommon for musicians in general - to a certain extent they have to be businessmen if they’re in the big league, but mostly they’re still artists.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:51 am
Eddie we love you man thanks for all the kindness. People who judge you should have their ass kicked. YOU ARE THE GREATEST.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 am
I HOPE THEY RELEASE THAT DVD OF THE LAST TOUR BEFORE WE ALL DIE OF SOMETHING.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
I wish Ed would donate a new album to his fans
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
In a previous post, I had said the EVH is greedy and doesn’t do shit for people except for himself and his bank account.
I take that back in its entirety. I forget sometimes that he is a very, very private person, so most of the charitable stuff he does flies under the radar, on purpose.
New music is being recorded as soon as Wolfie gets out of school. Despite all the bad news on the recession, this is encouraging news on the VH front.
Can’t wait for *New music!! DVD?? Hmm??
~Joe
March 16th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Like Diamond Dave always said about the mighty Van Halen, they are “the people’s band” It’s no surprise about their charity kindness they are rockin good people!!
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
God I love this band!!