October 09, 2009

By By Mitchell Peters, L.A.

Electronic artist Moby understands better than most the importance of domestic violence shelters for women in need, having grown up with a mother who was involved in several abusive relationships.

At the age of eight, "I had to stop her from being stabbed to death by a boyfriend of hers," Moby tells Billboard. "I hate to say this, but almost half of the women I know who are friends of mine have been in abusive relationships of some sort or another."

So after reading a recent New York Times article about California domestic violence shelters closing as a result of statewide budget cuts, Moby decided to use his current tour as a platform to spread awareness. The artist will donate the revenue from his mid-October California concerts to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, which will distribute funds to shelters and communities most affected by the budget cuts.

The tour stops include the House of Blues in San Diego (Oct. 12), the Wiltern in Los Angeles (Oct. 14) and the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco (Oct. 15). Moby also plans to host a press conference in San Francisco with state senators and members of CPEDV to raise additional awareness.

"I'll be giving around $85,000, which is a decent amount of money, but not really enough to make a dent in the $20 million that has been cut," he says. "So at all the shows there will be the ability for people to donate directly. I'm also hoping that by talking about it, more people will go online to donate money and help repeal this legislation."

Moby hopes funding for the shelters will be reinstated, and he plans to support the cause until that happens. "There are a lot of worthy causes," he says, "but closing shelters really does become a death sentence for a lot of people."

The artist is touring in support of his latest album, "Wait for Me," which was released June 30 on Mute.

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