Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
April 20, 2007
Pg. 1E
Rocker To Play For Wounded Soldiers
By Edna Gundersen, USA Today
If it means supporting the troops, John Mellencamp is happy to shut up and sing. The outspoken lefty will perform a televised concert April 27 for about 300 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The hospital in Washington, D.C., which has been under fire in recent months amid reports of inadequate care, opened its doors to Mellencamp despite the Indiana rock star's vocal stance against the Iraq war and the Bush administration.
"I don't pretend to understand decisions the government makes," he says. "I'm sure in light of the circumstances, their first inclination would have been to say no. But they want to give their patients something special."
The catalyst for Mellencamp's appearance was his brief acoustic set at the opening in January of the Center for the Intrepid, a physical rehab facility in San Antonio for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Disturbed by the Walter Reed scandal, Mellencamp initially considered staging a large benefit show and funneling proceeds to the hospital.
"Then it dawned on me what I really wanted to do is lighten the load of the soldiers and workers in the hospital, so why not just play for them?" he says. "The amount we'd raise in an arena concert is peanuts next to what the government throws around."
In a statement to USA TODAY, Walter Reed spokesman Steve Sanderson said "warriors in transition" are eagerly awaiting the show. "Unique events like this provide a great forum for these soldiers to relax and enjoy themselves."
For the past two weeks, Mellencamp has been rehearsing hits as well as songs from his current Freedom's Road album. He says he'll avoid such hot potatoes as 2003's vitriolic anti-war tune, To Washington. Nor will he orate between tunes, he says. "I'm not entering any political realm. That's not what this is about."
The performance will air at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT on HDNet in the channel's first broadcast of a live concert. HDNet chairman Mark Cuban, founder of the Fallen Patriot Fund to aid families of soldiers killed or injured in Iraq, was eager to televise the event. "Sometimes we forget about the people who put their lives and health on the line to protect our country," Cuban says. "This was a chance to bring much-needed attention."
The rocker is an ideal messenger, Cuban says. "John's music reflects the American spirit."
The hour-long set, in a small assembly hall where Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye performed in the '40s, will be raw, energetic and "with just enough light to see the band," Mellencamp says. "It won't be glitzy."
The event proves "you can support the troops and not support the war," he says. "If I can entertain these kids and get the people watching to think about who's making sacrifices for their country, well, mission accomplished."
April 20, 2007
Pg. 1E
Rocker To Play For Wounded Soldiers
By Edna Gundersen, USA Today
If it means supporting the troops, John Mellencamp is happy to shut up and sing. The outspoken lefty will perform a televised concert April 27 for about 300 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The hospital in Washington, D.C., which has been under fire in recent months amid reports of inadequate care, opened its doors to Mellencamp despite the Indiana rock star's vocal stance against the Iraq war and the Bush administration.
"I don't pretend to understand decisions the government makes," he says. "I'm sure in light of the circumstances, their first inclination would have been to say no. But they want to give their patients something special."
The catalyst for Mellencamp's appearance was his brief acoustic set at the opening in January of the Center for the Intrepid, a physical rehab facility in San Antonio for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Disturbed by the Walter Reed scandal, Mellencamp initially considered staging a large benefit show and funneling proceeds to the hospital.
"Then it dawned on me what I really wanted to do is lighten the load of the soldiers and workers in the hospital, so why not just play for them?" he says. "The amount we'd raise in an arena concert is peanuts next to what the government throws around."
In a statement to USA TODAY, Walter Reed spokesman Steve Sanderson said "warriors in transition" are eagerly awaiting the show. "Unique events like this provide a great forum for these soldiers to relax and enjoy themselves."
For the past two weeks, Mellencamp has been rehearsing hits as well as songs from his current Freedom's Road album. He says he'll avoid such hot potatoes as 2003's vitriolic anti-war tune, To Washington. Nor will he orate between tunes, he says. "I'm not entering any political realm. That's not what this is about."
The performance will air at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT on HDNet in the channel's first broadcast of a live concert. HDNet chairman Mark Cuban, founder of the Fallen Patriot Fund to aid families of soldiers killed or injured in Iraq, was eager to televise the event. "Sometimes we forget about the people who put their lives and health on the line to protect our country," Cuban says. "This was a chance to bring much-needed attention."
The rocker is an ideal messenger, Cuban says. "John's music reflects the American spirit."
The hour-long set, in a small assembly hall where Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye performed in the '40s, will be raw, energetic and "with just enough light to see the band," Mellencamp says. "It won't be glitzy."
The event proves "you can support the troops and not support the war," he says. "If I can entertain these kids and get the people watching to think about who's making sacrifices for their country, well, mission accomplished."