Waiting for the hammer to fall

An unprecedented collection of U2 memorabilia – along with items from other major stars such as Kurt Cobain, Elvis and Jimi Hendrix – will be auctioned off in the name of charity at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, New York on May 31.

The event called ‘Icons of Music Sale II’ will be hosted live via webcam by The Edge who has organised the night, in association with Irish-American company Julien’s Auctions, as a fundraiser for the Music Rising campaign. This charity was co-founded by U2’s guitarist along with legendary producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, back in 2005 to aid musicians of the Gulf Coast Region in regaining their livelihood after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Amongst the donations from The Edge is his early 1976 Gibson Explorer Guitar, which he used on stage. Edge has used this guitar in many stage performances since The Joshua Tree. The estimated value is $80,000 upwards,” explains Martin Nolan of Julien’s Actions, who is originally from Athlone, and is pictured with his business partner Darren Julien at a recent exhibition of The Edge memorabilia at Newbridge Silverwear in Kildare.

Other Edge items include his silver adjustable U2 block rings (which were featured on the cover of Achtung Baby - it is anticipated that these will fetch $4,000), a blue Gibson Les Paul electric guitar used by Edge in many studio recordings (estimated value is $20,000/40,000) and his personally worn custom designed Converse shoes (estimated at $1,200), along with an assortment of property donated by his fellow band members.

Additional highlights include a leather jacket worn by The Edge on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 (est. $6,000/8,000), a Jimmy Page 2008 Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue in a “lemon burst” finish, personalised to the winning bidder (estimated at $4,000/6,000), Bono’s Bullet leather jacket worn on the Vertigo Tour 2005 (estimated at $6,000/8,000) and Pete Townshend’s 1967 Monterey Pop Festival concert-used Maestro fuzz pedal (estimated at $2,000/4,000), and festival concert-used Maestro fuzz pedal (estimated $2,000/4,000).

The ongoing efforts of Music Rising “have thus far aided over 2,700 professional musicians and nearly 50,000 students and parishioners”. The charity has been the recipient of numerous awards since its inception, including the HALO 2005 Award for Cause Marketing, the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award and the 2008 PRISM Award. After the campaign received a Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund grant, former President Bill Clinton personally presented a Music Rising Gibson Les Paul guitar to a recipient in Baton Rouge as a symbol of Music Rising’s dedication to the region.

“No one could ever come close to repaying the debt to those who have established this form of music that we all take totally for granted, this hybrid of European melody and African-American rhythm that’s given us jazz and R&B and rock ‘n’ roll,” said The Edge. “There’s something powerful about musicians giving instruments they own to an auction to aid musicians who are going through a particularly difficult time.”

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar said: “When the hurricanes first hit we knew we had to do something to help preserve the musical heritage of the Gulf Coast Region. We’ve been honoured to work alongside some of the world’s greatest musical talents in our efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast Region and to understand the needs of the people who were devastated by the hurricanes. This auction serves as a reminder of much work that still needs to be done in bringing back one of the world’s greatest regions.”

Bob Ezrin, legendary producer and one of the co-founders of the organisation added: “It is amazing to us that even after all this time there is still so much need for support in the Central Gulf — and so many schools, churches and community organisations are just now coming on line again. Music Rising will be here to provide the instruments and support they need until that need no longer exists, however long it takes.”

Also included in the unprecedented collection of auction offerings will also be a Kurt Cobain-played early bass guitar, with home photos of him playing the instrument (estimated at $40,000/60,000), a Jim Morrison handwritten poem (estimated value $4,000/6,000), a Miles Davis stage played trumpet (estimated at $10,000/20,000), a Jimi Hendrix signed receipt (est. $2,000/3,000), and Slash’s first stage played Gibson Les Paul Guitar with Velvet Revolver at The Roxy on May 9, 2004 (estimated at $20,000/30,000).

Other items of interest will be a Bob Dylan handwritten set list (estimated value $2,000/4,000), Beatles four D.A. Millings suits from Madame Tussaud’s ($60,000/80,000), a Patti Smith hand-drawn self-portrait ($1,000/2,000), a Johnny Cash owned and played guitar (estimated at $10,000/20,000), an MTV Award presented to Nirvana for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ ($4,000/6,000), a Kurt Cobain stage worn jacket from a MTV performance (est. $6,000/8,000), Paul McCartney’s Christmas card to Adam Ant (est. $1,000/2,000), Madonna’s original signed contract with Vogue (est. $800/1,200),a Janis Joplin handwritten love letter to boyfriend (est. $1,000/2,000) and Jim Hendrix’s Wah Wah Pedal ( $1,000/2,000).

Four time Grammy Award winner Aaron Neville, who has joined the Music Rising campaign and helped bring major attention to some of the charity work being done in New Orleans, will appear at the Icons of Music Sale II and perform at the evening session. “Neville, who with his family, lost everything in the storms of Katrina, brings a unique personal experience to Music Rising and will give guests a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness his great musicianship when he brings the spirit of New Orleans to the auction,” explained Darren of Julien’s Auctions.

Auction Network, the first 24/7, multimedia network solely dedicated to auctions, will conduct the live webcast in real-time streaming video of the auction. It will provide music fans around the world a front row seat to watch the action and excitement of the live auction and the ability to bid in real-time on items via the Internet. Pre-show video highlights include the emotional and historic stories behind items from suchicons as U2, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley and many more legendary artists.

For further information log onto www.juliensauctions.com

[Pictured: Martin Nolan and Darren Julien of Julien's auctions with two of The Edge's guitars]