The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin have assembled a stunning collection of guitars and other musical instruments from Paul McCartney, Rush, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Joe Walsh, Green Day, Ron Wood, Dave Grohl, Tom Morello, Noel Gallagher, Joan Jett, and many others to benefit Music Rising, the charity they formed in 2005 to aid musicians devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Guitars Icons: A Musical Instrument Auction to Benefit Music Rising will take place on December 11th at Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles, but bids will also be accepted via the Internet.
Some of the most notable items come from U2’s private collection, including the 2005 Limited Edition Gibson Les Paul Music Rising guitar that Edge played during “One” on the Joshua Tree tours of 2017 and 2019 along with many other shows during the past 15 years, including the 2006 Grammys where the guitarist performed alongside Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. They’re also selling the Custom Signature Fender Stratocaster that Edge used on “Bad” and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” in 2017 and 2019, Adam Clayton’s Fender Standard Precision Bass he used on “A Sort of Homecoming,” “Bullet The Blue Sky,” “Running to Stand Still” and “One Tree Hill” in 2017, and Bono’s Custom Gibson ES-175 Electric Guitar he played throughout the 1992/92 Zoo TV tour on “The Fly” and “Angel of Harlem.”
The organization is also auctioning a Yamaha BB-1200 Electric Bass Guitar that McCartney played on Wings tours in the late Seventies, a Gibson Custom Shop “Victoria” Les Paul Goldtop Model Electric Guitar signed by Slash, Gallagher’s Telecaster guitar he played on the road with the High Flying Birds, an autographed Yamaha Motif-8 Keyboard that Elton John used on the road for nearly a decade, Alex Lifeson’s Signature Hughes & Kettner RUSH Amp and Cabinet Half Stack that were used on Rush’s 40th anniversary tour, a Fender Stratocaster that Eddie Vedder smashed onstage at Wrigley Field in 2018 during the conclusion of “Baba O’Riley,” and three guitars that were played by Lou Reed.
In addition, Ron Wood, Green Day, Bruce Springsteen, the Kings of Leon, Joan Jett, Johnny Marr, Tom Morello, and Win Butler have all contributed signed guitars from their own collections.
Van Eaton Galleries
“The music of New Orleans has influenced various styles of music borrowed from early traditions,” The Edge said in a statement. “It is the birthplace of jazz and represents a musical culture which bears great significance to most every genre today. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to lose my ability to do what I love – making music. Unfortunately there are many musicians and crew members who continue to struggle since the pandemic. If this multigenerational chain is broken, we lose more than just a few concerts we lose an entire culture that stretches back centuries. Some of the world’s greatest musicians and friends of Music Rising have generously donated their personal instruments to raise money for Music Rising. We hope you have a chance to bid on one or more of the beautiful instruments in the auction. The monies raised goes to musicians and crew. Your support continues to be invaluable to Music Rising.”
Dave Mustaine has chosen to bring Megadeth to an end after completing one final tour due to ongoing health challenges.
The band plans to step away next year once they wrap up their farewell run and release their final album. Frontman Dave, 64, has now shared that he reached this decision because arthritis and issues with his back have left him “unable to give a hundred per cent every night”.
Speaking on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Dave said, “It had been building up for a long time, just physical things happening with my hands … My hands were starting to fail me.
“And there were other difficulties tied to everything going on with my neck and my trunk. That whole area has arthritis and some bulging discs.
“I have a fractured lumbar bone. And of course, my back has been fused near my shoulders and neck. There is just a lot going on …
“I always said that when the time came where I could no longer give a hundred per cent each night, that would be the moment I would start thinking about slowing down.”
He continued by sharing that the choice became clear after the band completed recording their final self-titled project.
Dave explained, “It was not that I couldn’t give a hundred per cent, because we finished the album and I feel we did well with it, but while we were working I had a moment where I told my manager … ‘I am not sure how much longer I can continue. My hands are really hurting.’
“I did not intend to set things in motion. I was just talking, but it led to conversations with the band, then taking time to reflect, speaking with my family, and praying about it.
“And the answer was obvious to me that by the time the album was finished, I would know how it would perform. If it does really well, I can still deliver one final strong tour.
“And the idea of a farewell feels connected to that. We have certain shows we want to play so we can say goodbye to the people who have supported us.”
Dave added, “We are an American band, but we perform all over the world. We are not weekend performers like some country acts in the States. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to say goodbye the right way.”
The band’s seventeenth studio album, Megadeth, will arrive in January, and their This Was Our Life tour begins in Canada in February.
