Rhonda’s Kiss, an organization that helps cancer patients in need, announced today that legendary rock band Jane's Addiction will perform at their annual concert event on Friday, Dec. 8 at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
Proceeds from the concert event will benefit the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and further the mission of Rhonda’s Kiss, supporting programs to assist cancer patients in need, and helping those who receive a cancer diagnosis make ends meet during treatment. Rhonda’s Kiss is a 501c3. To date, the charity has donated nearly $1 million to hospitals to support cancer programs and patients.
“At Cedars-Sinai, it is our mission to treat the cancer patient as a whole, rather than just the disease,” said Amin Mirhadi, MD, radiation oncologist at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute. “We are proud to collaborate with the Rhonda’s Kiss foundation to help us achieve that.”
“Raising money for cancer is a reminder that every day, people are struggling with the disease and need the support to maintain their dignity and fight,” said Kyle Stefanski, CEO of Rhonda’s Kiss. “We are blessed to have strong support from artists such as Jane’s Addiction, the public, and hospitals like Cedars-Sinai to be able to help more and more people fight this terrible disease.”
Great bands break rules, but legends write their own. JANE’S ADDICTION has actually written the rule book for alternative music and culture through a combination of genre-defying classic songs and a cinematic live experience. In 1988, Jane’s Addiction would officially arrive as a pop culture force with their first proper studio album, Nothing’s Shocking. Perry Farrell stands out as one of music’s most forward-thinking and enigmatic frontmen, and his vocals soar with vibrancy, vulnerability and vitality. Guitar god Dave Navarro conjures simultaneously psychedelic and epic riffs. Stephen Perkins’ tribal stomp remains hypnotic and transfixing. The band created a sound that the world had never heard before. It was as riff heavy as it was sensitive. Farrell lyrically chronicled the stranger side of L.A. life, telling personal tales that’d stick with fans just as much as Navarro’s licks did.
In 1991, for the Jane’s Addiction “farewell” tour, Farrell concocted Lollapalooza. Jane’s Addiction went on hiatus, but they never truly went away. The world needed Jane’s Addiction in 2003 just as much as it did in 1985, and the band released “Strays,” their first new album in 13 years. The first single “Just Because” was their biggest single to date landing at #1. Jane’s Addiction was once again everywhere with “Superhero” becoming the opening theme song for HBO’s hit show “Entourage” at the same time. The band headlined the re-tooled Lollapalooza festival that summer. 2016 saw the band tour their “Ritual De Lo Habitual” album in its entirety for the 25th anniversary of its release in addition to a special vinyl box set and live recording at Irvine Meadows in California.
In 2014, Rhonda Stefanski was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. While she lost her battle, one of the greatest gifts she left was to create Rhonda’s Kiss, an event to raise money to help those in the inner city who receive a cancer diagnosis, but may be unable to make ends meet for treatment and support.
Through the Rhonda’s Kiss Los Angeles event and with proceeds benefitting Cedars-Sinai, Rhonda’s Kiss events provide financial support to decrease late-stage cancer diagnosis in urban communities, and primarily for patients in financial need, by using a three-pronged approach: outreach (education, awareness and screening), navigation (medical and home) and patient services (treatment and financial assistance, and emotional support).
Funds are distributed by local hospitals in areas where money is raised. For more information or to donate directly, contact: www.rhondaskiss.org.
General admission tickets will be available on October 19 here.
