Summer 2026

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock facility in Scottsdale).The Carmel show benefited Alison Eastwood’s Eastwood Ranch Foundation, a Southern California nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and rehoming pets. “Rudy is our neighbor in LA, and he’s an animal rescue advocate,” Eastwood says. “When he learned of the foundation, he suggested that BANC do a show in Carmel to benefit us.” It will come as no surprise to anyone that it didn’t take much arm twisting to get the band members to come to Carmel. Vocalist Bernard Fowler has toured the planet with the Rolling Stones since 1989 but had never been here. “I was absolutely blown away by Carmel,” he says, “it’s incredibly beautiful.” In addition to Sarzo and Fowler, the members of the BANC touring group are a diverse bunch of highly talented performers. One of the newer members, singer Rhonda Funk is based in Nashville and is over the moon about being included. “It’s amazing to walk into a room and be accepted by a bunch of men who have been the foundation of rock music,” she says.“They’re like my family; they treat me as an equal and I miss them and can’t wait to see them again.” Also from Nashville, guitarist Lindsey Miller agrees.“I’m honored to be working with people with such stellar resumes. I feel like I’m in the shadow of giants.” BANC Benefited Southern California Animal Rescue Group T he Eastwood Ranch Founda- tion was co-founded by Alison Eastwood, who grew up in Carmel. “We’ve been rescuing and rehoming animals from high-kill Southern California shelters since 2012 and opened our facility in 2024,” she says. Eastwood esti- mates that her organization has rescued more than 5,000 pets that were set to be euthanized since its inception. “I believe that a lot of Californians don’t realize that our state is number one in euthaniza- tion. That’s something we don’t want to be number one in. It’s a huge problem and seems to be getting a lot worse.” She says that there is a lack of responsibility from the government and that the onus is on the people, since the state doesn’t support affordable spay and neuter pro- grams. “Neutering a pet can cost hundreds of dollars, and many can’t afford that, so it can be difficult to get people to have their pets fixed.” She says that Los Angeles does have a voucher system that reduces the cost, but the waiting list is so long that vouchers often expire before the pet owner can get an appointment. Eastwood and her staff are working with California Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced) to enact AB 2010, the Snip Act Bill, to help create more opportunities for high-volume, high-quality spay and neuter serv- ices in the state. The foundation began as a grassroots program run out of Eastwood’s and other volunteer’s homes. Eventually, she was able to raise enough donations to pur- chase a plot of land and build their Agoura Hills facility. Rock bassist Rudy Sarzo resides in the same neighborhood as Eastwood and became aware of the foundation through friendship with her husband, artist Stacy Poitras. “Rudy has been an animal rescue advocate for many years,” Eastwood explains. “When I met Alison and Stacy, they were rescuing animals and fostering them in their home,” Sarzo says. “I thought that their organization would be a perfect fit as a beneficiary of a Benevolent Artists National Charity (BANC) event.” He reached out to the BANC team, and a show was arranged in March 2026 at Carmel’s Mission Ranch. “There’s a lot of need in our state. We want to give people the opportunity to obtain help in neutering their pets and save many from being euthanized,” Eastwood says. For more information or to donate, visit www.eastwoodranch.org. Alison Eastwood’s Eastwood Ranch Foundation was the featured charity at BANC’s March 2026 Carmel concert. Photo: Brian Bowen Smith 188 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 6