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Ono, Bedingfield among musicians on John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
 David Bjerke / © NBC Universal, Inc. Natasha Bedingfield poses with the new John Lennon Educational Tour Bus at its unveiling at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, on Jan. 6, 2008. |
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Each month, Cause Celeb highlights a celebrity’s work on behalf of a specific cause. This month, we speak with three celebrities. Yoko Ono, Natasha Bedingfield and Pat Monahan tell us about their work with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a mobile audio and high-definition video recording and production facility on wheels that travels across the U.S. to give young people hands-on experience creating their own works of art.
With the help of the bus’s state-of-the-art equipment, these youths have the opportunity to work with celebs to write, mix, record and produce their own music. The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a nonprofit program that was started in 1998 in an effort to combat the cutbacks on music and art programs in schools. Its new bus was unveiled at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Cast of characters
Yoko Ono, Beatle John Lennon’s widow and avant-garde artist and musician, is well known for her philanthropy and political activism. Since her husband’s murder in 1980, Ono has worked tirelessly to keep her husband’s spirit alive. In addition to the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, she has lent Lennon’s name and music to a variety of projects including Cirque du Soleil’s "Love," which has enjoyed a successful run at The Mirage in Las Vegas since 2006.
Natasha Bedingfield, one of the UK’s biggest female pop stars, has sold more than 10 million singles and albums worldwide. In 2007 she received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and is currently working on a new album while spending time with family in New Zealand.
Pat Monahan, lead singer of the Grammy award-winning band Train, released his first solo album "Last Of Seven" in 2007 and followed it with a nationwide tour. A smaller, more intimate acoustic tour followed, which inspired his second solo project "Last Of Seven Acoustic," currently available via digital download only.
The "S.O.S. (Help Us Out)" song/video project featuring Yoko Ono, will.i.am, Natasha Bedingfield and Pat Monahan is the embodiment of the mission of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. Four Las Vegas high school students and three UNLV film students collaborated with this star-studded lineup on "S.O.S.," a new anthem for the modern peace movement. It was unveiled alongside the first of many new Lennon Buses at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show.
Yoko Ono
Question: Can you explain a little bit about the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and your role with the organization?
Ono: My role was just the fact that I gave the permission to them in a way. David Sonnenberg and Brian Rothschild came to me and said they want to do this, is that all right? I thought it was a great idea. So I of course said yes and I’m just wishing well, that’s all. That’s my role [laughs], to wish well.
Q: What would John (Lennon) have thought about this program?
Ono: I think that John would have loved it and that’s why I immediately said yes. It’s the kind of thing that he would have really have wanted to do.
Q: What is your favorite part about it?
Ono: The fact that you know it’s good for the children, good for the next generation, especially children who really don’t have the chance to get into a sophisticated music studio and we’re giving them the chance. They’re so thrilled when this bus comes to town where not very much is happening and then, oh, it’s like the ice cream man coming, but it’s not the ice cream man. In the old days it would be the ice cream man coming…
Q: [Laughs] but now … it’s the tour bus is coming …
Ono: That’s right, yeah. 
Q: Can you describe a moment where you felt you had personally made a difference in someone’s life through this? Have you been involved in it long enough to actually see some of the fruit of it?
Ono: There’s one photo, a photo of me with the kids and that was the beginning. When I saw that [photo] it just hit me. It was so beautiful, and of course at the time I didn’t know where this was going. But now it’s going. My feeling is that I really want this to happen in all different countries as well because it’s just very important.
Q: If you could say one thing to the world about children and music education, what would it be?
Ono: Well, the fact that all of the schools are sort of dropping music and art programs … it’s so sad, because those are the most important things in a children’s life — to be creative — and those are music and art. It’s a form of love and we should cover the earth with music and love so that it will be a more peaceful planet. Sure enough they’re dropping music and art from the school curriculum. So, it’s great to do this and keep on educating children in art and music. I really think that’s very important.
Q: What does the future hold for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus?
Ono: Well, first there was a smaller, smaller, smaller bus and now there’s a grand, beautiful bus. I think there’ll be many people, many companies [who will] want to sponsor them. I really think that that will start to happen because it’s such a direct way of communicating with children and it’s good for companies to do.
Q: And is there anything else you’d like to add that perhaps I didn’t touch on that you feel very passionate about and want included?
Ono: I just want to let you know that there’s a new model for making peace out there and I really think that it’s great, that it’s connected with this in a sense. Music is power and music is a power of peace and so they’re making peace power by being here. It’s simple.
Q: OK. Thank you very much for your time.
Ono: So let’s all get together in our minds and imagine peace.
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