Let me just say it, Wendy Dio is a goddamn treasure. She runs three badass charities, and was kind enough to spend some time on the phone with little old me to talk about the upcoming Ride For Ronnie event. She waxed on about her charity work, what her average day looks like, and Sharon Osborne's Shetland pony.
The Ride for Ronnie happens on Sunday, May 6th in the Glendale neighborhood of Los Angeles. More info on how you can cotribute here. If you need a place to stay while you’re at the Ride for Ronnie event, visit LosAngelesHotels.org for the best deals on hotels.
Obviously we are preparing for the next Dio charity event, Ride For Ronnie, how does the build up feel?
It feels great. We have a great lineup full of great people. We have Ronnie’s backing band of course, an all star lineup and a bunch of great bands. We have some younger bands this year which we are excited about! We like being able to help the new generation.
What prompted the decision to have more young bands for this edition?
They need more of a break! There parents were often in the world of rock and roll and here they are, and they are great bands. It’s an opportunity for everyone to see them.
What does a day in the life of Wendy Dio look like?
Very busy! I’m talking with people about finally getting this book out, re-issuing records, I have three charities including my animal charity. I’m very busy. Always working on something!
Before your husband where you already active in the philanthropic world?
Ronnie was very active in charity, especially with autism. For the Brittany Foundation we did an event where we were in a cage with animals! He had a hearing aid project for people in Africa too. He was very charitable. We have always done these things. The world had been good to him so he had to give back.
What makes a charity effective?
Obviously we try to raise awareness as well as money. We concentrate on men's cancers of course. Women are good about their health, men get dragged in screaming, a lot of that is because they don’t like the detection methods. Right now we are working on a saliva test. We are trying to get funding to help them continue with their research and this is a lot less invasive. You can just go to the doctor and have a swab done to your mouth and sent away, from there on if it comes back positive you can do further tests from there. It’s a groundbreaking thing and we are excited about it. If you go to diocancerfund.org which is the cancer fund website there is a whole thing about the research.
What do you think spurred the rapid progress?
More money! The more money they can get the more researchers they can hire and the more research they can get done. We were very impressed with the research team since they were mostly doing dental studies but a lot of that has to deal with the stomach and that’s how they started their research with cancers. We went down to the lab and it was really great! I like working with these people, it’s a small group but it’s fair and we know that our money is going to research.
How did you find them?
There is a doctor on our board and he had read some studies on it and thought it would be a good idea to meet with them and see what they were doing.
Have you brought the world of metal to your other charitable works?
You can only ask for help so much! Musicians are great and they give their time and talent but you can only do it so many times. We have had a few bands play with the Brittany Foundation and there are musicians who do support it. Alice In Chains supports it. We have to figure out how many times we can ask someone to give us their time. They never get paid for it so it’s tricky. They are very kind and great so we are grateful for what they have done for us!
Looking at all this incredible work you’ve done in the music industry and with charities – how did you learn how to function in these pretty trick worlds?
You just do what you can! Obviously I don’t do it alone. I have a fourteen person board for Ronnie’s charity and with the animals I have a huge network. Even if someones just found a dog or a cat we try and find it a home. I rescued a horse before, the people were about to put it down, but someone came to me. I had no idea how to rescue a horse! Someone gave me the contact for a horse reserve and she said there was no way she could take a horse. I somehow managed to convince her though. I had to get the horse moved and the horse is doing great now. It’s unbelievable. That was another connection we have with horses now! We rescue whatever we can.
What’s the most unusual animal you’ve gotten to work with?
It’s mostly dogs and cats but there have been pigs and ducks! Whatever they are we find a home!
Which known rock musician has the weirdest pet?
Some people have goats and cows! Sharon Osborne had a little horse that would run around the house before she was married to Ozzy. She had a Shetland pony running around the house.
I can’t even wrap my head around that…
It was very tiny, the size of a big dog! (Laughter)
Why do you think Ronnie’s music has lasted so long and has such a big impact?
It’s great music and he’s an innovator! A lot of the innovators of this type of music are getting older and getting ready to retire and people are always realizing how good this music is. It’s not just a lot of noise. A lot of musicians comment on how hard the songs are to play! He’s got heavy songs and light songs and ones that flow together. It’s all over the place. There’s a vast variety of songs that he’s done over the years!
Any final words of wisdom for me Wendy?
Be good to people! Try to do some charitable act. Life is too short so just be happy, so keep the music and everyone you love in life.
