In the Name of the Father

"Oh yeah, I forgot Paul was playing," said Dhani Harrison, one-half of the electro-rock duo thenewno2, when asked about sharing a bill with his dad's old bandmate. "I already played with him when we did the Concert for George. I was up there between Paul and Ringo, which was pretty weird. We'll see if Paul comes to watch our set."

Harrison, of course, is talking about Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and his late father George, and while the son did play with the remaining Beatles in 2002, he will play his own music this weekend when both McCartney and thenewno2 play the Coachella Festival.

This might be a plus for Beatles' fans, but the shared bill — which features well over 100 acts — is pure coincidence. You see, while Sean and Julian Lennon both performed under their famous namesake, Harrison formed a group with longtime friend Oliver Hecks and hid his famous DNA behind a band name.

"That's important to me," said Harrison, "because you get enough of a hard time without exploiting [the name]. You want to have a band that's a really tight unit and well rehearsed, but you can't get to that point without being immediately judged because of who you are, as opposed to other bands that get good rocking out for years before being found. You have to do it properly, and it has to be about the music."

Making music, however, isn't the only way in which Harrison shares a passion with his father. After cancer took George's life in late 2001, his son got involved helping run the Material World Charitable Foundation.

"It's a charitable foundation that promotes everything from teaching meditation in schools to Medicins san Frontieres, which is like Doctors Without Borders," said Harrison.

His father started the Material World Charitable Foundation in 1973, several years before Dhani was born, in tandem with his solo album Living in the Material World. All royalties from the album benefited the foundation, which has provided support to such organizations as the Cancer Research Campaign, Chernobyl Children Lifeline Charity, Amnesty International, Children with Cancer, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Friends of the Earth and Guide Dogs for the Blind. In 2002, on the one-year anniversary of the death, the family (with Eric Clapton) put together the aforementioned Concert For George, which also benefited charities.

Harrison, whose band recently played a homeless benefit with Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), has connections to other organizations as well.

"I fully support the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation for paralysis," he said, referring to the late actor's effort to improve spinal cord research. "A bill got passed the other day, the Reeve Bill, that provides better health care, and it is the first bit of comprehensive legislation that Obama has done. My roommate at the university was Christopher's son, and I watched him watch his dad in a wheelchair for a long time."

On a personal level, Harrison also supports efforts that simply make the planet a better place. He explained, "I like to do good in a subconsciousness way like my dad. That includes doing things like preserving gardens and green spaces and helping botanical gardens and special schools continue to be great."

In addition to the support for various causes, Harrison and Hecks continue to be great musically with thenewno2. Their new album, You Are Here, debuted in CD format late last month.