UCLA alum organizes benefit for musicians
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 14, 2004 9:00 p.m.
On Monday, Music for Charity Productions will stage the last in
a three-concert series for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund,
dedicated to providing health insurance for uninsured musicians.
The concert series has featured a slew of artists, from the
American Music Club to the debut of Cardboard Vampires ““
composed of Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Billy Duffy (The
Cult) and John Corabi (Motley Crue) ““ and marks the launch of
Music for Charity Productions, brainchild of UCLA alumnus Scott
Dudelson.
Monday’s lineup includes Michelle Shocked, Grant Lee
Phillips, Michael Penn, Peter Himmelman and Jim Lauderdale.
MCP was conceived as a production company focused on
fund-raising for non-profit organizations through live music
events.
Dudelson has been making waves in the Los Angeles music scene
since graduating from UCLA in 2001.
“I started seeing a lot of live music. I would see bands
three, four times a week by sneaking into concerts. I was very good
at bullshitting people and often got backstage passes,” he
recalled. “I realized after graduating that the only way to
get free shows was to start producing them. It was kind of a
necessity to keep on seeing music.”
Surprisingly enough, Dudelson said his bachelor’s degree
in classics was helpful in this regard.
“I had no experience, none. What did help me from the
classics degree was rhetoric and writing. It made me a better
bullshitter; I could call up a management company and convince them
that playing my show was a good deal for them,” he said.
Dudelson began doing public relations and promotions at the
Canyon Club in Agoura Hills. He left after a year and kept busy
organizing by the Acoustic Live talent series, working as publicity
and marketing director of independent label Little Dog Records, and
pursuing his love of music journalism.
This past February, he finally began to bring Music for Charity
Productions to fruition, drawing inspiration from attending
concerts as a fan.
“I saw a lot of benefit shows around Los Angeles,
completely one-of-a-kind events. People like Emmylou Harris, Warren
Zevon and Neil Young would get together and have insane shows, all
for charity,” he said. “I realized after going to a lot
of shows that musicians get together for this type of stuff,
musicians that I would love to be working with.”
Dudelson hasn’t lost his fan-like enthusiasm in his
approach to his own work.
“The thought of working with artists I’ve admired
from when I was young keeps me motivated. To know that Jerry
Cantrell is coming to my show is mind-blowing,” he explained.
“I look at the artists I’ve put on my shows and it
blows me away that I’m the reason that it got put together
and that I’ve got the best seat in the house to watch
it.”
