Past Lineups: Auction and Raffle Items

Obey! Shepard Fairey made his name by plastering Providence, Rhode Island, with stickers proclaiming that “Andre the Giant has a Posse”, which he later adapted into the ubiquitous “Obey” graphic. Shepard also did the Obama “Hope” poster and album covers for Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins, and LA’s Flogging Molly. He lives in LA and has been featured many times in Juxtapoz—a magazine centered on the Lowbrow art community. Shepard generously donated a signed, limited edition “Obey” print for the TwentyWonder 2012 raffle.

Formed by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters have been rock stalwarts for two decades. Following the release of their Waking Light album in 2012, the Foo Fighters showed their generosity towards TwentyWonder. The band members signed a Fender guitar that was auctioned to benefit the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, the beneficiary of all TwentyWonder proceeds. In addition to the auctioned guitar, Grohl showed his sense of humor by putting up, “The contents of my glove compartment,” as a TwentyWonder raffle item. We’re not sure if that included the registration for the car.

Ernie Kovacs was one of TV’s most original wits. He was a true auteur broadcasting in the 1950s, and his work influenced many iconic shows that followed. The estates of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, his wife, were twice generous to TwentyWonder 2013. They brought in a display of Kovacs material and donated a signed copy of Kovacs’ novel Zoomar. In that 1957 novel, Kovacs pointed the Zoomar lens—the lens that brought things up close—on the world of television.

Mark Mothersbaugh is best known as a co-founder of the highly influential new wave band Devo. He recently did the score for the acclaimed Lego Movie. Mark is also a highly respected visual artist. For both TwentyWonders 2011 and 2013, he donated a print to our raffle. One of the prints came from his highly coveted “Postcard Diaries” series. All proceeds from the raffle went to the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. Mothersbaugh is also connected to TwentyWonder via The Poubelle Twins, who appeared in Devo’s music video “What We Do”.

Since they formed in 1986, these Orange County natives have sold over 33M albums and toured every place with a stage. And in 2013 they decided to show their generosity and local pride by donating to our auction. The item was a Fender Bass signed by all four members—Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Adrian Young. The auction raised a large sum, all of which went to TwentyWonder’s beneficiary, the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.

Christina Perri began taking piano lessons at age 8, but her teacher “fired” her because, “I would change the endings to the songs when I didn’t like the way they were written.” Her album lovestrong catapulted her from struggling LA life to stardom almost overnight when the song “Jar of Hearts” was featured on an episode of So You Think You Can Dance. In 2013, Christina donated to our auction the baby grand piano that she used when composing lovestrong. It raised a large sum for TwentyWonder’s beneficiary, the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.

Pioneers of alternative rock, The Replacements are forever seared in our minds as one of the most bodacious (yes, we are using that word!) and highly gifted bands ever. For TwentyWonder 2013, the band donated to our raffle a limited edition vinyl EP signed by band members Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars. All TwentyWonder raffle sales, as well as all other proceeds from TwentyWonder, went to the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. We’re grateful for the Replacements’ generous support and incredible music.

Singer-songwriter Trent Reznor is a landmark in American music. He began in the industrial music underground and grew to earn recognition throughout the music industry for his uncompromising artistry. He has also co-written scores for the David Fincher movies The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In 2011, Reznor showed his generosity to TwentyWonder. He donated a signed Fender guitar to our auction. Proceeds from that auction, and all TwentyWonder proceeds, went to our beneficiary, the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.

Todd Schorr is an American artist prominent in the Lowbrow art movement. He combines a cartoon-influenced visual vocabulary with a highly polished technical ability. In his commercial work he has done album covers for AC/DC and movie posters for George Lucas. Todd’s work is often seen in Juxtapoz magazine alongside fellow TwentyWonder contributors from the Ego Killers. For TwentyWonder 2013 he donated to our raffle the print “A Date with Mr. Big Bad” to benefit the the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.