Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins has passed away at the age of 50. There are no details at this time about the cause, but the band was just hours away from playing a festival in South America when the news broke. Click here for a video showing the tribute given for him at the Festival Estéreo Picnic.
I know the news has sent the music world into a state of shock: I couldn’t believe it when I first saw a friend posting about it on Facebook. I am sending all my thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and fans. And in honor of Taylor, I am going to share my two favorite Foo Fighters songs – “Everlong” and “Best of You.”
Ben Graves (Murderdolls, Dope, Pretty Boy Floyd, Davey Suicide) passed away on Wednesday, May 9th. His fiancée Lydia posted this on Facebook:
“This is incredibly hard for me to write this, but I know it is necessary because Ben has so many friends and fans.
Most of you don’t know that Ben has been battling cancer for the last 11 months. It was his decision to keep his health very quiet.
Ben passed away today, May 9th 2018, from complications due to his cancer. His diagnosis was grim but he fought a long and hard battle to try and beat it and overcome the odds. Some battles can’t be won no matter how hard you try.
Please respect me, his family and close friends while we grieve. Even though we knew it was eventually coming, the complication was sudden and very unexpected.
It’s devastating to lose someone you love more than yourself. My heart is broken, my heart died with him.
We will be taking him home to Massachusetts. I will organize a memorial for Ben’s LA friends, details to follow.”
Guys…I am at a loss. I’ve been a fan of Ben’s since 2002, when my best friend played me “Love at First Fright” by the Murderdolls (her discovery based on the fact that Joey Jordison was their guitarist).
When I was a tiny human, my parents played music constantly. It was only natural for my first favorite band to be a band they introduced me to — Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. I can remember, before I could use the turntable, asking my dad to put on Full Moon Fever for me. (I loved solo Petty as well as his work with the Heartbreakers). I would listen to that album from start to finish, on repeat.
My first favorite band…and later, my first rock star crush. Before the boy groups and all that, it was Tom Petty. To this day, I can’t explain it. I just had a thing for him. And while I was still in love with the man and his band, my parents took me to see them. Twice. I was the happiest and luckiest kid in the world. I had been to several concerts, but Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers was the first one I was old enough to really remember.
And now, Tom Petty is gone. He passed away at 8:40 p.m. (PST) on Monday, October 2, 2017.
I’m at a loss. I know there are people here who can understand; after all, the music community has been grieving far too often lately. This, though, is different, for me. This was the artist who set me on my journey, the first to make me really feel so deeply about music.
There is no denying that Linkin Park speaks to our generation. Whether you love them, hate them, or don’t care, you know who they are — and you know someone who has been touched by their music.
After learning of Chester Bennington’s death, I gave myself time to process, for I am one who loved Linkin Park at one time, but I have a love/hate relationship with their more recent releases. I posted this on Facebook, and I was speaking from the heart:
“I’ve had some time to process, but I still can’t really believe it. I remember the night my brother and I first saw the video for “One Step Closer,” back in the days when MTV2 was called M2 and actually played music videos. Linkin Park was different than everyone else out there, and Rick and I both loved them. Yeah, we weren’t head-over-heels for some of the later stuff, but Hybrid Theory will forever be one of my favorite albums, and Meteora, for me, was also a gem. I saw Linkin Park in 2003, after my dad made the careless offer “If you win tickets, I’ll take you.” Well, I won tickets, and we went to Atlanta to see Linkin Park with a few others, including Limp Bizkit and Metallica. Chester was a wonderful front man. He gave 110%, and since they were my favorite band at the time, it made me happy beyond words. I guess all of this rambling concludes in one sentence: I hate this day. #RIPChesterBennington”
However you feel about the cause of his death, it does not negate the loss his fans, friends, and family are experiencing. Please, do not leave any disrespectful comments on this post. I have already seen a few in other places and I find it extremely tasteless.
I leave you with this, one of my favorite Linkin Park songs, “My December.”
Country music legend Merle Haggard has died. According to TMZ, Haggard passed away Wednesday, the same day he turned 79 years old. Haggard was diagnosed with pneumonia last year and spent 11 days in the hospital earlier this year, TMZ reports. He fought hard against the illness, touring hard in 2015 and releasing an album…
I’ve been waiting to post about this, wanting the situation resolved before I said anything.
On March 2nd, the Velcro Pygmies announced that their bassist, Jacob “Sandman” Sanders, and his older brother, Jeremiah, had gone missing while fishing on the Tennessee River. After a grueling and suspenseful thirteen days, during which the entire Pyg family awaited news with bated breath, a body was found on the 15th..and soon identified as 24-year-old Jacob.
Still, as the band reminded all of those involved, it wasn’t going to be truly over until Jeremiah was found as well.
Today that moment has come.
I’m not even going to pretend to understand how their loved ones feel. I will simply say this: I met Jacob once in 2014 when I carried my parents to their first Pygmies show. He was sweet and obviously put his heart and soul into his craft. He chatted with my mom and me for a long time following their set, never acting as if there was something he’d rather be doing or as though he was bored, impatient, etc. He left quite an impression on both me and my mom. From what I’ve seen and read, that was just the kind of person he was. He touched lives, and the world feels much more empty without his presence — and Jeremiah’s, I know.
If you could, take a second out of your day to offer a prayer or positive vibes to those who are grieving over these losses.
Mostly Music 