With the continued stall on mass gatherings putting tours and festivals on hold, a massive and irreplaceable part of the music industry has been and continues to be horrifically impacted: touring support and live event crews. Founded by CHAD WARD, ROADIE RELIEF is working to bring the industry together to provide ongoing support to live event workers and so has organized, with 32auctions.com, to launch unique, music focused auctions! Their second auction, live now through April 14th, includes incredible donations from members of some of the biggest names in rock and metal, including KISS, FOO FIGHTERS, KORN, GHOST, BON JOVI, FAITH NO MORE, and many more.
Auction Donations Include but Not Limited To:
1. Tommy Thayer (KISS) personally signed signature series Epiphone Les Paul.
2. Phil X (Bon Jovi) signed Gibson Les Paul Jr.
3. Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) piano black Gretsch Drum kit he used at Wembley Stadium in 2008 with All Access laminate from the show.
4. Papa Emeritus IV (GHOST) signed Hagstrom Phantom guitar.
5. A 30 min one on one Zoom with PNUT of 311.
6. 5 different Faith No More bundles that have signed poster, guitar pics and after show pass.
7. Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine) signed cymbal (used at last Rage show).
8. 2 – 311 band signed posters.
9. Queen +Adman Lambert signed show poster from their last show plus a pair of Roger Taylor’s drum sticks.
10. Ray Luzier (Korn) signed snare drum (his signature series custom hard shell snare case also signed by him).
11. Metallica bundle including show poster, pair of Lars Ulrich‘s used drum Sticks, and one of Lars’s custom snare Drum Heads
12. Live performance photographs from shows including: Lemmy (Motörhead) Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Flint (Prodigy), Axl Rose (Guns N Roses), Cardinal Copia (Ghost), & Tom Petty
13. 311 signed skate deck.
14. Artist Thomas Estrada donated custom art commission to winning bidder.
15. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) signed custom guitar pedal + guitar pics.
16. Avenge Sevenfold signed record.
17. Several concert collectors posters: Pearl Jam, Soundgarden (and more to come).
18. Darkglass Electronics 500 v1 bass amp
19. Aric Improta (Fever 333) custom art work drum head signed by him
20. Ray Luzier (Korn) signed drum head and pair of sticks
21. Foo Fighters Bundle – Taylor sticks, Dave Grohl’s sweat band and guitar pic and 2 all access laminates.
22. Custom hand made guitar used on episodes of Couch Riffs.
“Before I became the lead guitarist for KISS almost 20 years ago, I worked behind the scenes with Kiss on and off the road. I have a unique perspective and appreciation for how hard our crew works day in and day out. I’ve been there.” – TOMMY THAYER (KISS)
“Everyone knows that the musician community has suffered. When we get done with a tour, I know that our crew is getting ready to head out on another tour, already. They spend 10-11 months on the road, this is their and their families’ livelihoods. I know these families are hurting. I had donated some drumsticks and other items in the past, but decided that, this time, I wanted it to be something special and selected a unique hardshell snare case created by Michael Berg of Humes & Berg and a snare drum that I used on The David Lee Roth Band 2004 tour. Hopefully, this helps the crews and gets the fans inspired to help build our industry back up.” – RAY LUZIER (KORN)
“I’ve been a touring musician for over twenty eight years and roadies have made it possibly at every step of my career. Roadies are free spirits who solve a myriad of problems daily while out on the road. I donated cause I love talking to awesome people and I thought it could motivate our audience to dig deep and help our industry get back on its feet.” – PNUT (311)
Almost everyone you know has seen a concert that has moved them. Those productions can take over 100+ traveling crew members to set up by the time doors open.
Before and during the show they sweat and hustle to get everything ready. After the show they spend more hours erasing evidence that they were ever there at all. Many of these key players work an average of 20 hour days, then move on to the next city to make it happen all over again.
Many of these crew members, “roadies,” have been doing this as a career for decades. Some of these roadies, while experts in this field, have never had any other job experience. Since the world pandemic, well over a hundred thousand of these people are left with no income and no financial assistance.
There are no concerts or live events for the foreseeable future. At the beginning of 2020, job opportunity ceased to exist and 2021 remains uncertain. Many are unable to claim unemployment as their expert level trade skills are not recognized and they do not qualify. This on-going problem is leaving 100s of roadies without a secure livelihood.
The government has fallen short. Contacting congressmen and women, senators, and governors to raise the issue has been met with no resolution. Their replies are a formal brush-off and roadies are left hitting a dead end.
The goal with this gofundme is to offer some relief to some of the dedicated people in the roadie community. Just like you, they have families, mortgages, car payments, and day care. Commonly these workers lean on their savings between tour cycles, but those funds have run thin or run out. Please donate if you can, every little helps.
Click HERE to View Full Auction and Bid on Items!
Click HERE to Donate Directly to ROADIE RELIEF!
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