Deirdre NewmanLive Aid. Farm Aid. We are...

Deirdre Newman

Live Aid. Farm Aid. We are the World.

Add Standard Tint’s name to the list of musical endeavors with

altruistic goals.

The band, comprised of three Costa Mesa residents and one Newport

Beach resident, sports the timely message of world peace and a desire

to change society for the better.

Standard Tint, which plays a blend of folksy and rock music, wants

to transform the paradigm of traditional bands by forming an

interactive relationship with its fans and acting as a conduit

between fans and organizations and causes they want to help.

Watch out, U2.

“We want to take it to the next level,” said Tyler Hoff, 18, a

student at Orange Coast College. “In addition to doing what a band is

expected to do, like selling [merchandise], we will put a Standard

Tint on the definition of a band.”

Hoff, who plays the guitar and sings, and fellow guitar player

Angelo Pugliese, 22, of Costa Mesa, have been jamming together since

1994. For Pugliese, music is a way to achieve world peace.

“I feel that all people, sooner or later, will remind themselves

and one another that world peace is very realistic because it’s in

our hands,” Pugliese said. “Being a part of Standard Tint is my way

of reminding our brothers and sisters.”

Hoff and Pugliese started writing songs last year and invited

Jason Kraft, 18, of Newport Beach, who plays the conga drum and the

harmonica, and Rachael Kone, 17, of Costa Mesa, who plays the fiddle,

to join them. All four sing.

Their first performance at Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa last March drew

the largest crowd the venue had ever had, Pugliese said.

“Even the [people working there] said it’s the most people they

had ever seen, so I guess that’s when we knew we had something on our

hands,” Pugliese said.

The band is planning to stage two big concerts a year and will

pass out surveys asking fans about their personal, social and

environmental needs. After the concert, band members will go

high-tech and enter the results into a database, print out a

spreadsheet and do what they can to fulfill those needs.

For example, if some fans want to help a nonprofit organization

that helps victims of domestic abuse, Standard Tint will invite the

nonprofit organization to its next concert to set up a table. And

individual band members will donate a portion of their proceeds to

various causes, Hoff said.

“When we sell CDs, obviously each one [of us] gets a portion of

the money that’s made,” Hoff said. “I would put 30% of my income

toward the Moses fund. That’s one example.”The Moses Fund is an

organization created by Kiro, who owns African Corner in Costa Mesa,

a store specializing in African art, jewelry, incense, and tobacco

pipes. The fund raises money for African children.

Some of the band members had participated in Kiro’s weekly

drumming circle. After hearing them play at Gypsy Den, Kiro invited

Standard Tint to accompany him on a trip he was putting together to

Africa to perform for children for peace. The band will travel to

Africa later this year.

“They wanted to do something positive for the children in Africa,”

Kiro said. “They talk about this all the time, so we decided to go.”

Standard Tint is also working with a Costa Mesa group called

Anybody Can Make Change, which is currently raising money for

schools.