I followed his meteoric rise to the top of the world and his free fall thereafter.
I did not buy the sexual molestation allegationss that were hurled against him by people with hidden agenda that was further fueled by the media into a conflagration that consumed his fragile soul.
He was part of my growing up years; I’ve danced to his music, listened to his songs and bought his records.
I understood his eccentricities and frailties as a person.
After almost a decade of being free from the “bad” influence of his band and despite his brief flirting with Queen, it must have been lonely for Paul Rodgers to do gigs after gigs without his ol’ buddies.
This year, he finally asked the two other original/surviving members of his band to join him even if it’s just for very limited engagements in the United States. So, starting on the 17th he’s going to have some company onstage to do some crazy old school rock and roll at the Hard Rock in Florida to jumpstart their 2009 Tour.
Yes, Bad Company is back and I am lucky enough that they chose to hold one of the 10 exclusive 2009 concerts at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston. I will definitely watch them come hell (maybe not) or high water (Clarkston’s prone to flooding especially at this time of year, just FYI) on July 1st.
Bad Company was formed in 1973 by bandmates Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke when they decided to be free from Free. Mick Ralphs decided to hop in from Mott the Hopple while Boz Burrell abdicated the bass position in King Crimson. Together they formed one of the first rock supergroups of the 70s and had their debut album entitled, what else but Bad Company in 1974 which became a hit to rock aficionados worldwide.
I became aware of the band when a friend lent me a cassette tape entitled Slow Rock Memory in the early 80’s wherein their song “The Way I Choose” was one of the featured tracks which became one of the earlier songs that I managed to play on guitar and which to this day is my favorite Bad Company song.
So, come 1st of July, I will once again do the 1 ½ hour trek and traverse the lonely stretch of US24 aka the Telegraph Road for a pilgrimage to Pine Knob in Clarkston to keep Bad Company company and watch and listen to them rock and play the songs that I knew from the good old days.
Yes, it's true, Spandau Ballet is back sans the hair and the clothes.
The 80's band members confirmed that they have re-formed and have put their individual and creative differences aside and are now willing to work with each other again.
Although I did like their songs "True" and "Through The Barricades" back then; I'll still pick the Wild Boys of Duran Duran over their more sober, sax- playing counterpart anytime. But I guess that's just me. :)
Here's the interview from Cannes where they are working on a documentary about their lives and music--
I came across this home video by Sara Hickman while trolling YouTube today. Although I am not that familiar with her career as a singer, her song, 'Simply' touches me in a very special way.
I have not heard this song in more than a decade and hearing it again is like a breath of fresh air for me. Actually, it was really bittersweet. You see, the song is a favorite of somebody dear to me and the melody is simply beautiful…
Beth, my college buddy used to sing the song in our ’tambayan.’ On some occasions, I would end up accompanying her on my old acoustic guitar while she would fill the air with her hauntingly soft beautiful voice. I even remember now of composing a short instrumental piece based on the song in her honor while under the influence of the spirit of the great San Miguel. J
We became friends during the second year of our Pre- Med-- dissected cats together, goofed around in chemistry lab, fooled our geriatric professor countless of times, good-naturedly embarrassed one another countless of times, and drank our hearts out in the evenings.
We did a lot of stuff that could make some people laugh, cry and cringe at the same time. Yes, we did smile in happy times and understood each other in silence during sad times.
So, tonight I will drink a bottle or two of my fave Bud, dust off my old acoustic guitar and play the song once again for you, my dear old friend.
I say, thank you dear friend for the beautiful memories and thank you Ms. Hickman for the lovely melody.
*Beth died in a tragic accident a month after our graduation, 18 years ago today.
In what is now considered as a complete reversal of fortune, J.D. Fortune who in 2005 won the CBS reality show “Rock Star: INXS” to become the frontman of the Australian rock group INXS was fired by the band without warning.
The switch to a new lead singer to replace the charismatic Michael Hutchence who committed suicide in 1997 did not earn the following that the band had hoped and their album "Switch" with its carrier “Pretty Vegas” failed to take off despite touring for almost two years after the conclusion of the reality show.
“I found myself really alone because I had traveled with these guys for 23 months,” Fortune who admitted to using cocaine while with the band but has been drug-free for two years told Entertainment Tonight Canada after he was given the boot in Hong Kong with a simple handshake.
The sad reality is that J.D. Fortune did not expect that his fortune with the Aussie band will end up so suddenly and is now broke and homeless, back to the very same situation that he was in before he won the said reality show.
“From the street to the air back to the street again. It’s only me,” J.D. Fortune added.
I guess that’s the way one’s fortune crumbles when you take some stuff lightly and live a life in excess of what you really can afford.
As the old saying goes, "Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess baggage, the shorter the trip."
Although accusations of plagiarisms by people against each other have been around for quite a long time, plagiarism in this day and age of the internet have become so easy and rampant (not only in the music industry, mind you!) that any dickhead can copy certain materials and post them in a website and without even batting an eyelash claim the said body of works as theirs. .
I personally know some people who shamelessly pass themselves off as writers when in fact all their materials were culled from various sources online. It’s really funny on what extent some phony people would do to earn some unearned glory and undeserved recognition. What gives? Just to soothe one’s ego and make one look cool to the people around you? It’s laughable if you ask me. But in this particular blog entry we will just zero- in on this particular incident.
The latest case of guitarist Joe Satriani accusing Coldplay of plagiarism is just another footnote in the long history of allegations that is quite inherent in the music business.
The guitar virtuoso is claiming that the British band stole his music from his 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly” by incorporating it to their hit, “Viva La Vida“ the carrier of their chart- topping album “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” which earned them recently seven Grammy Nominations including record and song of the year.
Joe Satriani, according to reports is taking the British band to task and taking them to court “seeking a jury trial, damages and “any and all profits” attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.”
Funny but this is not the first time that Coldplay is accused of plagiarism for the same song. Earlier in the year, Creaky Boards, an obscure band from New York also accused them of plagiarizing their song, “The Songs I Didn’t Write.”
Sometime ago there were even claims that they plagiarized one of Ashlee Simpson’s’ songs. Actually it's the other way around. Anyway, who cares, huh? Ha-ha-ha.
The merits of Mr. Satriani’s law suit against Coldplay are still to be determined by the courts. But in many cases, the result often varies; some were successful while others simply fail to take off while some, the concerned artists simply shrugged them off.
The list of people being accused/guilty of plagiarism is actually quite long and endless in the music industry; from Madonna to Britney Spears to Timbaland to Avril Lavigne to Bruce Springsteen to Nirvana to every Tom, Dick and Harry in the business and so on and so forth…
Here are just some of the few famous cases of plagiarism that were eventually settled in and out of courts; George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Dani California.”
Another example is Vanilla Ice’s hit “Ice Ice Baby” whose riff were stolen from the David Bowie/Queen collaboration“Under Pressure.”
People can always deny the accusations and refute the allegations by citing all kinds of excuses and justifications. They may even win the court battles for the real truth does not emerge from litigation in most cases.
Still, common sense and decency dictates that if you take something from somebody somewhere, it’s only right to credit the source of your material. And it is never wrong to apologize for one’s transgressions whether it is by omission or intention.
Lastly, the moral of the story is, if it doesn’t belong to you, don’t pass it off as yours. And don't be afraid to tell the truth, for the truth will set you free.
