Category: tunes

Oh so many concerts so little time. Once the summer rolls around there are a plethora of out door activities one could participate in. But in the past several years the music festival has risen to be a popular destination for young and old. With so many to choose from how does one decide on which to attend. Some of them have all the artists you want to see, some have many you have never seen, others provide great locations, some are more geared to one genre of music, while others are more art oriented, and yet others are all about a cause. Well, you could make the sacrifice and just pick one or two to go to, unless you are well off financially and can just attend all of them. Or, you could attend the mother of all festivals, an exceptionally well executed mash up of all of the above. ROTHBURY!

The Rothbury Music Festival was set on the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan. Surrounded by tall luscious green trees, lakes, and clean crisp blues skies. It was a resort for all kinds of music lovers. From the gorgeous trails, to the woods, beach fronts on lakes you could swim in or canoe across, a tavern, a water park, random hammocks placed through out the festival, and onsite cabins it was by far one of the most fun and relaxing 4^th of July events going on this year. And that's just the location.

Over a hundred artists performed over the course of 4 days, such as the Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, 311, Snoop Dogg, Modest Mouse, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival, Of Montreal, a Crystal Method DJ Set, Steel Pulse, Beth Orton, The Wailers, Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels, Sage Francis, and Bassnectar to name a few. An eclectic array of artists got together to do more than just make incredible music but participate and stand up for the changes they would like to see happen to ensure a better future for us all.

Art played a major part in the festival as well. Installations could be found all over the festival grounds. Fascinating creations were laced through the high branches of the trees of Sherwood Forest (a section of the venue located in the woods). They were hiding and flashing between beams of lasers, illuminated by colorful lights, and mysteriously looming through fog from the smoke machines. The art even spilled out on to the stage through elaborate stage ornamentations brought to us by the California originated Do Lab.

Michael Kang, formally of the String Cheese Incident, brought in last year's Burning Man's favorite. A large art installation in the form of a tree that had monkeys hanging from it. As people around the tree created energy by pounding on drums, a strobe light pulsated. The strobe light gave illusions of the monkeys swinging from vine to vine as a snake slithered up the tree after the monkeys. Much like the concept of a zoetrope, "a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures."

There was also the introduction to many festival goers to a more circus and theatrical element that is has been popularized on the west coast. This included flying trapeze artists, outrageous characters on stilts and bikes, and full on theatrical and burlesque performances.

All of this laid the perfect foundation for the event to allow fans, artists, and activists to come together and enjoy each other, our planet, and great music. A place where we could share and exchange our ideas on how to create a better place for all of us to live. Rothbury's main cause this year was Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives. Attendees of the festival were given the opportunity to participate in Think Tanks and an Energy Fair. The Think Tank offered attendees the chance to participate in seminars and roundtable discussions with writers, progressive politicians, activists, scientists, youth leaders, and entertainers who were performing at the festival. Discussing topics like global warming, solar and biodiesel resources, motivating the masses, implementing change in communities, demanding change from our political leaders and the media, and how to get involved with moving our society in a positive forward motion.

While strolling through the grounds of Rothbury one might stumble upon a farmer's market, whose vendors all came from the local community. So instead of your every day festival hot dog you had the choice of fresh grown organic strawberries and other good clean energy items. And for those festival goers who can't leave home without their cell phones, was a solar powered battery charging station brought to us by Bauer Power. Where they charged approximately 4-500 phones a day. All one need to do is simple drop it off, much like a coat check. While continuing on through out the journey of your day you may notice site ops going through the festival clipping roots so patrons don't fall and injure themselves or strictly just picking up cigarette butts. All this goodness began to spill over into positive intention by majority of the festival goers. Many could be witnessed discussing how their trash was separated with Green Team members placed throughout the festival to help direct people on how to properly dispose of their waste at recycling, composting, and trash stations. And the young lady you see carrying 50 or so cups to one of the stations, doesn't just drink a lot, she gathered other peoples trash. A shining example of how many began to effortlessly do their part in helping keep the grounds pristine for us all to continue enjoying.

So much attention to detail was put into creating Rothbury. From it's purpose, to the lay out of the land, to the great paramedics and peacekeepers hired to help make sure things ran smooth and that no one seriously injured, to the infusion of art, and the line up of music it is by far one of the greatest festivals this summer one could attend. Through out the weekend you could hear everyone saying it was the "One of the Greatest Festivals Ever!" From the artists who performed, the staff who worked for weeks to produce it, the volunteers who graciously volunteered their time, the attendees who traveled far and wide to be there, the media capturing the festival to share with the world, and the promoters, all sang Rothbury's praises. But have no fear for this is only the inaugural run of Rothbury. It is quite possible a new tradition in rock and roll has been started and you will have the chance to be a part it next year. Until then, take a moment to see what you can do through the music you love to help you community grow and thrive.

The day has finally come when fun and relaxation can go hand in hand with working for a cause. A moment in history where the rock and roll lovers of the world are not just looked upon as society's delinquents but once again society's positive change. People are not just motivated to make a difference they are manning together and harnessing the power that they are already generating for a purpose. What purpose can we find music lovers banning together for? None other than the environment for which they call their retreat form the real world, mother nature at her finest.

One such example of this is a recent 4 day rock and roll festival called Rothbury, hosted in the beautiful green woods of Rothbury, Michigan. It is here during America's 4^th of July celebration that "Rothbury's goal to harness the unique energy of the live music community", is brought to life; through a, "environmentally sustainable music and camping festival". By producing as close to a zero waste event as they can Rothbury is a "huge party with a purpose". It is the first to attempt to set into place an around the clock green initiative at a camping concert with over 30,000 attendees in the USA. This effort could possibly make Rothbury this Summer's Greenest Festival.

This festival has gone beyond the typical recycling initiatives that most events are beginning to participate in. Rothbury has used several methods to help reach their goal. Disposables were replaced with 100% compostables, clean energy was used, and a 24 hour Green Team was in place through out the course of the festival. There were recycling, composting, and carbon-offsetting programs also executed. As well as a huge effort to cut down on cigarette butt litter which produces about 50% of the western world‘s litter, by handing out free pocket sized ashtrays. In addition to these initiatives Rothbury also partnered with a few organizations such as Black Rock Solar, RE:VOLVE, Bauer Power, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and Global ReLeaf. Then last but not least was there ability to involve the local community and attendees in all of their efforts.

A more in depth look at all of Rothbury's efforts is truly a beautiful testament to what the power of the masses and a few driven leaders can do not just for our selves but our communities and environment. Led by greening chief and green team director Sarah Haynes founder of the Spitfire Agency, Rothbury was committed to their goals from its inception. The Rothbury offices were all greened and each company Rothbury chose to work with either through purchasing or renting products were companies whose practices support green solutions. Disposable items were replaced with compostable items that were made up of sugarcane (called Bagasse) and corn (called bioplastic). Thus eliminating majority of the trash produced at such a massive event. And if it couldn't be compostable, organizers chose to not use it. Even the vendors, sponsors, and other participants chose to use products that could only be broken down. Manned trash, recyclable, and compostable stations were located throughout the festival. This not only encouraged attendees to be more aware of what happens to their waste but also educated them as well. The educators were known as the Green Team. These volunteers were rewarded for their hard and enthusiastic work with a free weekend pass to the festival. Who wouldn't volunteer for such an opportunity, helping the environment and getting to rock out for free to many of your favorite artists.

Organizers also chose to use clean energy to help run stages, light towers, sponsor power sources, golf carts, and much more. Located behind the scenes of the festival was a large bio diesel gas station. Patrons were also encouraged to use transportation options given by the festival which helped off set the festival carbon footprint.

And not to forget that a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales went to non profit organizations. The Bonneville Environmental Foundation ( BEF), located in Portland, generates enough "pollution-free electricity to serve 35,000 households in the Midwest through their Horizon's Wind Prairie Star Project. And Global ReLeaf is planting trees in the local area.

With all these initiatives put into place and great partnerships formed, one still wonders just how they can make a festival produce little to no trash. Well this is where the beauty truly lies in Rothbury's efforts. Even further behind the festival grounds lays Rothbury's Waste Recollection Compound. This is where all that trash, compostables, and recyclables disappeared to every day. At the compound, everything was meticulously gone through and separated by dedicated volunteers. There were about 50 large bins filled with recyclable materials and a mountain of trash that would soon be turned to compost. Trash never looked so beautiful. It will also please attendees to know that all the soil produced from the Rothbury compostables is being donated back to the local community so when those new trees start sprouting, we can all feel good about the fact that our Rothbury trash really is being put back into Mother Earth.

To put things into perspective the Green Team, whose work must be applauded, consisted of 530 volunteers each working at least 20 hours over the weekend manning 1,000 of these stations (300 of which were actually in the venue). But one also has to remember that long after the adventurous weekend comes to an end there is much cleaning up to do. So for the next week after Rothbury 50 more volunteers worked collecting and composting what was left from festival. And what wasn't compostable is being donated back to the community. When Ian, one of the volunteers, was asked what he thought about all of this he said, "There is no reason why we can't do this all the time". It's a good thought to ponder, why can't we?

The efforts are immense, the involvement incredible, but wait there is more. On top of all these wondrous initiatives there is the chance for attendees to really get involved in the greening process of the festival, as well as giving back to the local community. Attendees were offered the opportunity to add a $3 or $7 donation to the price of their ticket, calling it a green ticket, and those dollars were used to help offset their travel though the different organizations or contribute to Rothbury's Solar Schools fund. Paired with Black Rock Solar, RE:Volve, and Bauer Power, Rothbury donated a minimum of $50,000 dollars worth of solar panels to help bring local Shelby Hugh School "closer to complete energy independence". And if you are curious as just to how many of us wild rock and roll kids care, out of 30-40,000 people who attended the Independence day weekend, two thirds all chose the green ticket option. Kudos America you do care.

This is just a closer glimpse of what Rothbury did in order to reach their goal of creating a nearly zero waste event. So much went into it, every detail was carefully considered. And when everyone walks away from this great experience, be it the artists, the promoters, the staff, the volunteers, the attendees, we can all say that it was one of the best rock and roll festivals that we have ever experienced. Not only were great musical moments achieved, we learned a lot about what we can do for our environment, we feel we put back into the beautiful outdoors of Michigan where we got spend a fun filled 4 day 4^th of July celebration, and we walk away inspired to do just a little bit more to help our own communities. That there is the greatest achievement of Rothbury, being the large stone tossed into the lake causing a long lasting ripple effect.

British film historian Richard Jeffs has discovered a long lost 9-minute interview of John Lennon and Paul McCartney while celebrating the peak of their career. The tape, which aired on BBC Radio Tuesday, includes vital information on how the singer/songwriter duo met, along with details of their creative process.

The recovered audio was found “in a film can in a damp garage in south London,” Gregory Katz of the Associated Press reports. The tape was recorded at Scottish Television studios on April 30, 1964 just after the group toured America and won the hearts of the entire Atlantic with help from the Ed Sullivan show. At the time the interview only aired in Scotland. It isn’t clear who owned the tapes or why they were left there, but the discovery was purely by chance.

Both Paul and John speak of how they came to meet as teenagers in their home city of Liverpool. “I was playing at a garden fete in the…village where I lived just outside Liverpool, playing with a group, and he came along and we met,” says Lennon. McCartney adds that they were formally introduced by a mutual friend named Ivan, who surely must be proud of his feat to this day. McCartney admitted to starting out writing exclusively comic material, referencing his first effort, “I Lost My Little Girl.”

The 2 musically inclined teens shared a love for American rock n’ roll influences Little Richard and Fats Domino. They became fast friends as they realized their common tastes and talents in music. The younger guitarist George Harrison would soon join the duo to almost complete the marketing dream known as The Beatles. Drummer Ringo Starr would come much later.

The tape also holds vital details of their creative process together where it was revealed that the 2 often wrote together but occasionally Lennon would go off and write on his own. McCartney said, “There’s no formula, because he (Lennon) can come up with one one day completely finished. We still say we both wrote it, though.” They also discussed their love of attention from female fans during live performances. “The atmosphere in theatres. It’s marvelous,” McCartney declares with ease.

The interview was relaxed, goofy and friendly, unlike the band’s wicked break up just 5 years later. Who knew these 2 would become a couple of the finest British songwriters of the entire 20^th century? Well, they did. “We always knew we were good,” Paul has been quoted as saying later in life.

The BBC has announced that the tapes are now being held in a temperature-controlled warehouse to ensure its preservation. The interview will be broadcasted again later in the week on BBC Radio 4. Try catching it if you have access to Podcast downloading or satellite radio.

Frank Zappa left this world with a legacy of boundary-shattering music before his untimely death at 52 in 1993.  His story doesn’t end there; however, as his son Dweezil Zappa is currently reviving a body of his father’s work all summer-long for the Zappa Plays Zappa Tour.

Dweezil’s project actually began in 2004, and has featured other performers like Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Napolean Murphy Brock, and several others to bring Frank’s material to life.  The sets tend to focus on Frank’s mid-‘70s heyday with some famous, and just plain infamous songs like “I Am The Slime,” “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow,” “St. Alfronzo’s Pancake Breakfast,” among others. 

Dweezil informed the Houston Press that his father’s music speaks for itself, and he hopes to put on shows that entertain the original fans, as well provide new ears with something they don't ordinarily hear.  “Frank came in an era before all of the corporate madness became a part of the entertainment business,” he explains.  “In my father’s era, it was possible for an artist to do new and different things, [and] that stopped happening when things were corporatized.”

It’s hard to argue with Dweezil’s points as it seems incredibly bizarre today that mainstream society-jabbing songs like “Valley Girl,” “Dancing Fool,” and the delightfully crass “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” actually made it to regular popular radio rotation.  As Dweezil’s true-to-the-original performances suggest, though, the music works because of its equal parts of impossibly complex woven melodies and catchy pop hooks.  Quite simply, nobody has made music like Frank Zappa since. 

“I don’t have to say anything about Frank’s music ‘cause it speaks for itself,” contends his son.

Check out the tour dates on the official website, and hear it for yourself  

 According to the dictionary, hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen,” “a person or thing that may help or save someone,” and “grounds for believing that something good may happen”. A group of artists that encapsulate this are the Luminaries. Based out of Los Angeles, the Luminaries music is an uplifting experience that sparks that desire to make a difference.

Through a mix of melodious harmonies, conscious hip hop and well orchestrated sounds, the Luminaries’ vision for peace and action speaks to the heart. Their lyrics speak volumes about positive change not only in the individual but also for the planet in its entirety. Their group is a growing force for MCs, rappers, singers, DJs, and musicians to come together and focus their energies on a common goal.

Every year Coffe County, TN more than doubles in population from about 50,000 to 130,000 for one week. It is here in Manchester, TN where the title "Best Festival", given by Rolling Stone, has been bestowed on Bonnaroo. What can be said about one of 50 moments that has changed Rock and Roll History, that continually brings fans of all walks of life from all four corners of the United States and beyond, and for the past 6 years and counting? That it is the creation of a unique and diverse city that breeds unity.

You will here it over and over again from veterans and first timers to this festival, "It is the most amazing experience I have ever had". But how can the general consensus of 80,000 people be so similar when everyone is so different. Imagine a city where every corner has been strategically created for fun, where every block has something for everyone. Where the faces of people you pass don't look away with frowns but share knowing smiles of what surrounds them. This is Bonnaroo.

Bonnaroo has grown tremendously since its inception in 2002, to become one of the most over the top festivals anywhere in the states. With over 156 acts, with musical genres ranging from Americana, jazz, gospel, hip hop, world, electronica, reggae, bluegrass, indie rock, and the list goes on. And if the music isn't enough there is a comedy tent, an arcade, internet café, kidz zone, cinema tent, yoga classes, and a brewer's tent.

It is this variety of music and activities that draws such a varied crowd. Where else can fans of Metallica, Jurrassic 5, Willie Nelson, the Police, Jack Johnson, Sonic Youth, Trey Anastasio, Bob Dylan, and Beck all come together with the pure intention of enjoying the music, each other, and the experience for four blissful days on the middle of a farm?

This is where the beauty of such a festival comes from. That for a moment every year in the summer people from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures, regions, ages, beliefs, and tastes hang out and have Bonnaroo, the Cajun slang word meaning "a really good time".

So many lives are touched by the creation of this event. And it is the great diversity inherent in this festival that has gained it such high accolades from everyone. The media, the artists, the fans, and everyone in between all speak of Bonnaroo with great regard. It's more than just a festival where cliché' hippies run around dancing. It is a place that connects people to other people they normally would not be exposed too, too nature, and to that in explainable thing that is greater than all of us.

Somewhere after the first day of running around, exploring, dancing, walking, and laying in the hot summer sun something amazing begins to ripple through the campsites and the crowds at the countless shows going on. Camaraderie is being built. Adventures are embarked upon with total strangers. Sounds that have never been heard echo. And new experiences beyond the imagination are reached. But what makes it so amazing is that amidst the 80,000 people there you know for sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are not the only one.

And after the countless hours of waiting in traffic with the same caravan of cars, when you are standing in line at the restroom or waiting for a cold bag of ice, are in a dash to one of 5 main stages, are laughing in pure joy on the swing sets, bouncing from random 3am jamm session to 5 am dance party, or roaming through the 530 acres of farm you begin to see yourself in all the faces you pass. You begin to become apart of this large community that has been created. You become united to your fellow camping neighbors, concert buddies, and random people whose paths you cross. And somehow right there in the most diverse of all places in Manchester, TN a sense of unity is born.

 What does it take to live over 100 these days? And how do we stay healthy doing it? A study by Dan Buettner finds answers to these questions in his new study on the topic.

Working with a team of demographers and scientists, and partially funded by theNational Institute of Aging, Buettner spent seven years trying to find specific parts of the world where people live the longest. He found four “blue zones” in various parts of the globe where it isn’t uncommon to live longer than 100.

These zones are located in very different areas of the world’s geography: Sardinia, Italy, whose heart healthy populous swear on 2 glasses of red wine a day, Okinawa, Japan, where 80 percent of the population lives to be over 65, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California. A fifth blue zone may be announced as soon as this fall.

The areas were chosen not only by the life expectancy but a health rate. The percentage of disease and illness in these zones are far less than those in North America, for example. Okinawa holds the title for the world’s longest disability-free life expectancy according to the World Health Organization.

Okinawa’s citizens also boast one-fifth the rate of colon and breast cancer and one-sixth the rate of heart disease than North America. Their diet is mainly plant based, including soy. Its citizens also advocate for health for the elderly. Another reason Buettner found Okinawa’s life expectancy was so long was its citizen’s sense of purpose. They call it ikigai, which means “the reason for which you wake up in the world.” He hypothesizes that people who don’t have a reason to wake up usually live 7 or 8 years less than those who do.

Other blue zones boast healthy diets. A typical Costa Rican diet includes black beans, fruit and lime-soaked corn. In Loma Linda, a large population of Seventh Day Adventists could be the reason for their impressive life span. The Adventists follow a strict Bible oriented diet of mainly plants and observe the Sabbath once a week, which allows them to take a breather from life’s many stresses.

With all the diversity in these 4 parts of the world, they all have many things in common. All places participate in low-intensity physical activity being part of every day life, eat a healthy diet and continue to search for purpose and meaning in their lives.

Buettner has started what is called a vitality compass test that allows anyone to check a life expectancy calculator online to ascertain what she/he needs to work on in order to expand their life expectancy. This includes eating smaller portions and increasing daily movement. Follow this link to take the test. 

Using a peer-to-peer downloading program to avoid a $.99 iTunes fee might cost you bigger bucks than you have if you live in Canada.  The nation’s conservative Tory party is pushing for tougher legislation on copyright infringement, including a $500 fine for each violation.

The National Post reports that the updated Copyright Act of Canada will include a fine for each “personal use download” obtained through file sharing programs like BitTorrent and Limewire.  The bill to be introduced later this week also aims to make it illegal to unlock cell phones and copy music from protected CDs to iPods.   

Canada’s current Copyright Act can charge a maximum of $20,000 for each infringed material, but lawmakers are concerned it only targets commercial cases and not enough individuals.  The bill hopes to level the “playing field.”  University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist commented, “The core really is a desire to satisfy U.S. pressure by enacting something very close to the US digital Millennium Copyright Act.”   

BoingBoing.net noted that those most likely to be affected by the new fines are college-aged young adults, raising the issue that the fees could primarily harm those from paying education expenses—hardly a solution to strengthen the country’s economy.  But Geist also notes that “individual infringements” isn’t clearly defined in the bill, neither is the amount to be fined.  In his blog he writes:

While there are still many questions about this provision (does it target downloading or uploading? does it exempt sound recordings covered by the private copying levy?  is the $500 a set amount or a maximum? is it per infringement or cover all activity?  does it require actual evidence that files made available are downloaded?), consider a case involving 1000 song files, not an unusually high number.  The "retail" value of those files is roughly $1000, yet on a per infringement basis the Prentice proposal could lead to a damage award of $500,000. Even small scale cases would lead to huge awards - 50 songs could lead to a $25,000 fine.  

Similar updates to the Copyright Act have lost to battles by Canada’s grassroots activists, who convinced lawmakers to vote against such measures they found to be too in tune with harsh US copyright laws.  

When Philadelphia's The Disco Biscuits isn’t touring the world and playing impossibly complex and layered electro-jam tunes to live audiences, they also play active roles in several non-profit organizations catered to raising issue awareness and improving the quality of life.  Bassist Mark Brownstein co-founded the non-profit voter registration group HeadCount, and the rest of the band allies itself with environmental organizations like The Fund for Wild Nature and Rock Earth.  They also service Grounded In Music, an activist movement that provides music access to underprivileged children. 

High Times Magazine wrote the following review of a live Disco Biscuits experience:

Straight from a hectic and high—very high—three-day Amsterjam festival in Amsterdam, the Disco Biscuits returned to their home turf slightly worn, but spiritually charged. The New Jersey run (Mar. 24-26) kicked off, appropriately, with "Voices Insane," and then segued from the tight, energetic opener into the softer, reflective "Eulogy." The sequence was lifted directly from the Hot Air Balloon rock opera and, contextually, is about the struggle to overcome enormous adversity—to achieve freedom and escape death. It's a convenient metaphor for the current state of Bisco and it foreshadowed additional moments throughout the run.

The Biscuits—singer/guitarist Jon Gutwillig, bassist Marc Brownstein, keyboardist Aron Magner and drummer Sam Altman—elaborated on this theme, musically, with several soaring segments in which the jams were actually able to escape their respective song casings. There were times when the music was freed from its ties to anything but the moment, and then again, times when it transcended even that. The first of these breakthroughs occurred on March 24 in the spaces between "Munchkin Invasion" and the songs on either side of it.

The next night's show will probably go down as the fan favorite, and indeed Friday, March 25 was a solid and creative night of music. Moments of pure jam-rock bliss ("Stone" > "Devil's Waltz") were juxtaposed with the Biscuits' penchant for darker sonic assaults "7-11" > "Astronaut"). The energy was also noticeably more intense and focused than the night before when the band had, literally, just stepped off the plane from Amsterdam. And when the Biscuits closed the night by slamming back into "7-11" the audience left feeling elated. 

If Thursday was deliberate and Friday was multi-dimensional, then Saturday's show was nothing but a grand old-fashioned throwdown. It was very likely the last indoor Disco Biscuits show for a while. Rough spots? Who noticed them? Whoever cared missed the point. Numbers like "Caterpillar," "The Big Happy" and a cover of Men Without Hats' "Safety Dance" made it a great night on the dance floor. As with the other nights, the Disco Biscuits were relaxed, even in the midst of precision jamming, and they engaged the audience in friendly, jocular banter throughout the show...

Bo Diddley, one of the most iconic names associated with blues and rock and roll died at the age of 79 from heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida. 

Diddley made a name for himself in the mid-1950s for pioneering what he called the “shave and a haircut, two bits” guitar playing style.  Often mouthed like “bomp ba-bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp” it became the staple sound for rock and roll as we know it today.  And like the best rock music, it didn’t immediately gain wide acceptance.  Diddley said that prior to his premier on the now legendary Alan Freed radio show, his music was often dismissed with racist terms like “jungle music.”  Freed introduced him with what many cite as the first use of the term “rock and roll,” saying, “Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat.”

With his box-shaped guitar and custom-made electronic effects, his sound resembled no one at the time, and later influenced every rock act from Jimi Hendrix to the Velvet Underground to The Jesus & Mary Chain to Nine Inch Nails.  Diddley once remarked in his later years, “They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up.  It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there.”  The Jesus & Mary Chain acknowledged him with the single, “Bo Diddley Is Jesus.”  His songs “I’m a Man,” “Who Do You Love,” and “The Mule” have been covered endlessly by other rock bands throughout the decades.

While Diddley eventually received wide recognition for his pioneering efforts, earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an exhibit at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he never reached a plateau in which he chose to retire and celebrate his ego.  Instead he continued to write new music and tour all the way up to the stroke he suffered last year.  He appreciated the accolades, “but it didn’t put no figures in my checkbook,” he said. 

I personally had the honor of seeing Diddley perform at Little Steven Van Zandt’s International Garage Rock Festival in New York City in 2004.  His sound and personality held up and fitted in perfectly with contemporary acts like The Raveonettes, The Strokes, and the Stooges.  Sitting on a stool and plucking away at the guitar in strange ways, he drove kids completely unfamiliar with him to start dancing.  He even playfully teased some of the other acts, keeping true with the attitude that makes the music extra special.

Rest In Peace, Bo, you won’t be forgotten.  Here are some of his famous quotes to make sure:

“If you ain’t got no money, ain’t nobody calls you honey.”

“Seventy ain’t nothing but a damn number.  I’m writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things.  Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches.  I ain’t quit yet.”

“I am owed.  I’ve never got paid.  A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun.”

On the Nike “Bo Knows” ad campaign in which he participated in 1989:  “I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked.”

“Elvis was not the first.  I was the first son-of-a-gun out there.  Me and Chuck Berry”

On the key to good songwriting:  “A story with some funny lyrics, or some serious lyrics, or some love-type lyrics. But you gotta think in terms of what people’s lives is based on.”