It’s no secret that whenever a worthy cause needs a little help, musicians are usually among the first to volunteer their time and energy. With their ability to entertain and educate, it’s a great way to focus the public’s attention. Recently indie artists have been teaming up with organizations on more than a “one-off show” basis to work together on tours, and even merchandise, in an effort to bring increased attention to various issues.
One such undertaking is this month’s Rocktober campaign, sponsored by the Hard Rock International. The month-long initiative is devoted to both raising awareness of and funds for breast cancer research. The restaurant chain will issue a special commemorative guitar pin for the event and a series of live music concerts, featuring emerging artists, will be held throughout October at Hard Rock venues around the world.
San Francisco up-and-coming band Finding Stella embarks on a short tour of California’s Hard Rock cafés, including a stop at the La Jolla location on Oct. 12. All proceeds from this show will benefit the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.
Together for a decade, the band includes Chris Snyder (vocals), Shoshannah Beck (keys), Tim Christmon (drums), Louis Stein (bass), Rich Flynn (lead guitar) and Victoria Ovieda (percussion). They spent their first two years working under the name Drive, but musician turnover found them looking for a new moniker. One emerged from a minor personal tragedy.
“We have two answers that we can give to explain our name,” joked Snyder. “‘Stella’ means ‘sky star.’ That’s one example that sounds good. But the truth of the matter is that it’s the name of a hamster that was lost.”
Sadly, the little rodent was never found, but her memory lives on.
Snyder considers her band’s influences to be “all over the place,” citing Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith and Blondie as favorites. Her inspiration for becoming a musician was much closer to home.
“In the 1920s, my grandfather was a guitarist,” she said.
Along with inheriting a love of music from him, she also discovered that life in the music world can be tough.
“He did a gig once and was paid a nickel,” she said.
Finding Stella’s past work with The Hard Rock organization in the Bay Area, where they have packed the club on numerous occasions, was at least partially responsible when it came to being selected for this series of shows.
“Considering the cause, it probably helps that we’re a female-fronted band,” Snyder quipped. “But we’ve had a good relationship with them for a while. We even held our CD release parties there.”
She acknowledges having personal reasons for wanting to be involved with the fight against breast cancer.
“Two of my very good friends have had to deal with it,” she said. “It’s been inspiring watching two people with incredible strength go through cancer. I absolutely had to be involved.”
Following this road trip, Finding Stella will take a short break before heading off on a tour of Australia in January of 2008. There they will headline the multi-band, indie rock “Girlfest,” and promote their latest album, “Famous.” But for Snyder, the current tour of the West Coast holds more meaning than a regular outing.
“We’re flattered to be a part of Rocktober and proud to be helping in the battle against breast cancer,” she explained. “We want to applaud the women who go through this terrible disease.”
With so many fund-raisers being held in recent years, does she feel that what these events can accomplish has been diminished?
“No,” she insisted. “In fact, these sorts of functions are more important than ever.”
Snyder considers the public’s short attention span a factor.
“We tend to forget about things unless they are right in front of us all the time,” she said. “We pay attention to things on the news, but as soon as the spotlight’s somewhere else, the interest in it goes away.”
For her, these shows ” and others like them ” have become a rallying point for concerned citizens.
“They have to happen on a frequent basis to keep the awareness up and the issue in front of people,” she said.
Finding Stella performs Friday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m., at the Hard Rock Cafe, 909 Prospect St.
Tickets are $5. For more information about the concert, call (858) 456-7625. For information on the band, visit www.myspace.com/findingstella.