Video Asks: ‘Why Do the Innocent Have to Die?’

Four years ago, Robyn Rosenkrantz’s older sister and her best friend were killed in a Palm Springs car accident caused by a drunken driver.

First, there was the depression; then, the renewed dedication. Rosenkrantz, a Sepulveda singer and songwriter, has written and produced a new music video, “Innocent,” to raise public consciousness about the danger of drinking and driving. Along with Howard Kaminsky, she also does the singing.

“This way, I can make sense out of their deaths,” said Rosenkrantz, now 24. “I would have been in the car that night, but I couldn’t get a fake identification. Somebody else was using it for the weekend.”

The video ordinarily would have cost $150,000, but because people in the film and music communities donated so much time and talent, it cost only $5,000, Rosenkrantz said.

She hopes to distribute the video to junior high schools, high schools, and colleges nationwide. In conjunction with National Alcohol Awareness Week--Dec. 11 to 17--she has planned a media blitz to warn people about the possible perils of the upcoming holidays.

The song “Innocent,” Rosenkrantz said, is a simple expression of disbelief at the thousands of deaths each year from car accidents related to drinking and driving.

“We ask, ‘Why do the innocent have to die?’ And that’s a question we keep asking,” Rosenkrantz said.

She added that R.A.D.D., or Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving, has endorsed the video. The group, which includes artists David Crosby, Bob Geldof, Heart and Ozzy Osbourne, so far has not helped in distributing the video, she said.

However, Rosenkrantz said, she hopes eventually to air the video on MTV and other commercial outlets. She said she wants to reach adolescents who don’t take the issue seriously enough. She used to be one of them.

“In high school, I used to drink and drive and not think about it,” she said. “Now I realize what could happen.”

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Tonight, Paul McCandless, a composer who plays many instruments, will perform at McCabe’s in Santa Monica. McCandless, known for his saxophone solos and a versatility that encompasses all the reed instruments, will be accompanied by pianist Art Lande.

The two will play songs from McCandless’ latest album, “Heresay,” distributed by the Windham Hill record label. They are expected also to play old songs performed by Oregon, the improvisational quartet formed in 1970. Oregon combined Indian percussion, sitar, and classical guitar.

The show will begin at 8 p.m. and costs $12.50. Tickets can be obtained by calling McCabe’s.

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Hollywood’s Lhasaland, closed since October, has reopened. On Dec. 16, the Dream Syndicate will play.

Jean-Pierre Boccara, the co-manager of the club, said Lhasaland was closed so he could spend time negotiating the purchase of a restaurant/club in the Fairfax District. Although that deal looks good, he said, the final papers have not been signed.