Ice Bucket Challenge and Rockers

The #ALSIceBucketChallenge is viral now and rockers are getting in on the act. So far I've seen clips of Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres, David Bryan, Bret Michaels and Eddie Vedder accepting the challenge. Who else have you seen accept the challenge? If you don't know what I'm talking about, Business Insider explains it well. And remember - the point of the Ice Bucket Challenge is to raise awareness - and money - for worthy charities. If you want to dump a bucket of water over your head, great. But I hope you send $10 bucks to ALS research, too. (I hope the rich guys in the videos below sent more than ten bucks!) 

Comments

[EddieLongHair]

Dear Readers,

Just a note to any of you who may be doing this ice bucket challenge (or recording any video on your phone)... please take a look at your computer screen... take note of you big flat screen TV. How are they oriented? -- HORIZONTALLY!!!

Please take a moment to rotate your iPhone 90 degrees.

Thank you,

A Video Editor Sick of Vertical Video in a Horizontal World

[Metalboy!]

I'm getting ready to do it at my local bar this weekend!

A worthy tip, Eddie!

Thanks! \m/

[Him]

EddieLS, that is a piece of advice that so many have been given but so few take. Hilarious and true. I think that needs a campaign of some sort.

Metalboy!, cheers for adding some awareness (and I assume a bit of cash).

And, Allyson, thanks for ending your post with the obvious, but important, observation: this about drawing attention to a worthy cause SO people donate money. In my realm, for a lot of people (and this is anecdotal, so don't ask me for sample sizes and control groups), this is turning into merely a "fun" thing to do (and capture on camera).

That is always the potential downside of a "fun" stunt in this media-saturated world of ours. The stunt overwhelms the message and becomes, in some Marshall McLuhan sort of way, the message itself. It also, and perhaps this is just a peeve of mine, devolves into being about the celebrities who peacock, refracting back onto the people who think that what a celebrity does is what they should do (absent, again potentially, the underlying message that said peacocking was supposed to highlight).

Now, to be clear, I know that people are donating as a result of this (metal fans and musicians are some of the most giving and unassuming people in the world when it comes to helping others). It is an ingenious thing that wouldn't have caught on without the tech we have today. I just hope people back it up with the cash. More to the point, I hope people don't need something like this to remind them to help when they can.

I hope the readers of this site know I am not taking shots (not at Metalboy!, not at anyone). This is a good cause. I hope the outcome, in terms of support, exceeds everyone's expectations.

[Bob]

Once again, Him, right on the money! In fact, if you watch the ice bucket challenge that Larry the Cable Guy does, he actually says something at the end to the effect of, "don't forget to donate. Don't just dump water on your head, remember to donate too." Rockers need to remember one of their own, Jason Becker, who was an amazing guitarist who had a bright future ahead of him when he became paralyzed from ALS.

[Rock-It]

I went to the Alice Cooper - Motley Crue show in Virginia Beach on Wed. night. At the end of Alice's set he did the challenge, in return he challenged Crue. Prior to the encore of "Home Sweet Home" all four members of Crue met the challenge and then challenged Def Leppard and KISS. It will be interesting to see if Leppard and Crue do it.

[Him]

Thanks Bob. And a great nod to Becker. Have you listened to the music he is still creating and/or seen _Not Dead Yet_? You have to admire a man with that much talent, pushing past his challenges. It helps to put things in context.

[Bob]

I have heard the new music he has created, and I was fortunate enough to catch "Not Dead Yet" when it aired on the Pivot cable TV channel. You're absolutely right, context and prospective are the key to everything. Speaking as someone who society labels as "Disabled", (I have been totally blind since birth), I can tell you that there are two choices a person can make when faced with such a challenge: give up and feel sorry for oneself, or learn how to adapt and do the absolute best with what one has. Jason Becker, thanks to his positive attitude, and the enginuity of his Father, has definitely done the best with what he has, which is awesome.

[Him]

Agreed, Bob. Agreed.