
Billy Morrison & Dave Navarro
Photo: Raymond Ahner
Dave Navarro & Billy Morrison Talk Above Ground MusiCares Benefit On KTLA
On Sept. 16 in Los Angeles, Dave Navarro and Billy Morrison will host their second annual Above Ground benefit concert with proceeds going to MusiCares. Ahead of the event, the two guitar icons appeared on KTLA to talk about the concert, the importance of mental health awareness, the music that shaped them as artists and more. Have a look:
During the interview, the pair described what motivated them to create the benefit concert and cited losing many of their close friends to suicide, such as Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, their own experiences, and raising funds and awareness for the work that MusiCares does to support music people in need.
Navarro also addressed the tragic loss of his mother when he was a teenager, and the devastating impact that something of that magnitude has on a young person while underscoring the importance of asking for help; the kind of assistance that MusiCares provides.
"Sitting alone with your pain is a sure-fire way to have nothing but misery in the future," said Navarro. "Reaching out for help is, in fact, a great strength. People have so much shame around their illness; the fact of the matter is that so many of us suffer from mental health issues, that the more we speak out about it, the more normalized it becomes."
Navarro and Morrison also discussed the format of the benefit concert, where an all-star cast of rockers will perform two seminal albums, cover to cover, that helped make them the musicians they are today. This year's albums are David Bowie's 1972 classic The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and The Stooges' 1969 self-titled debut.
"We decided, because Dave and I have a love of vinyl—the old school, tell a story, side one/side two, that whole thing—we picked a couple of iconic albums that you can't really go hear played live anymore, because the bands don't exist," said Morrison. "We're gonna’ play both of those records as they sounded. It's a lot of work but a lot of fun. I'm really honored to be able to do it."
Above Ground 2 will feature guest performances by Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Billy Idol, Perry Farrell and Etty Lau Farrell, Gavin Rossdale and Juliette Lewis and more.
All proceeds from Above Ground 2 go to MusiCares. To purchase tickets, click here. For more information, visit the AXS website.
Above Ground Benefit Concert To Feature Billy Idol, Perry Farrell, Juliette Lewis & More