Musician, producer, and former acclaimed guitarist for Suede, Bernard Butler was born on this day, May 1st in 1970. I never had the chance to interview Bernard (though I did interview his replacement in Suede) but I did meet him after a show in Seattle around the time his first solo album, People Move On was released and he was extremely nice, and very skinny! Happy Birthday, Bernard!
James Murphy Has Brain Tumor Relapse; Donations Welcome
James Murphy, former guitarist of both Death and Testament, as well as founding member of the death metal band Disincarnate, has had a relapse of the brain tumor that sidelined him back in 2001. Murphy stated that the tumor had returned but that it was a non malignant and that it was being treated pharmacologically. Unfortunately, those medications have serious side effects that have left him unable to work. The option for different medications is available, but at a cost of over $1000 a month, and he needs a minimum of 6 months of medication for treatment to be effective. With his medical expenses extremely high and James not being able to work due to the side effects of the current medications, the metal community is being asked to come together and help one of their brothers and donate to help him beat this once and for all.
To donate funds to help offset James’ medical bills please visit PayPal at this secure link. Thank You! Continue reading Metal Guitarist/Producer James Murphy Suffers Brain Tumor Relapse
I can’t believe I managed to miss this news. I was just on the phone with my friend Neal Smith (2011 R&R Hall of Fame Inductee with the band called Alice Cooper) and he sort of casually mentioned to me, “You know that Jack Richardson passed away a couple of weeks ago, right?” Seriously, I had no idea. Richardson was a studio legend best known for producing over fifteen albums for The Guess Who, but he’s also responsible for sending a young Bob Ezrin to New York to produce Alice Cooper (the band)‘s breakthrough album, Love it to Death (1971). He went on to produce John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy and Alanis Morrisette’s phenomenally successful debut, Jagged Little Pill among many other best selling albums. Jack was considered to be a “Drummer’s Dream Producer” and during the time I wrote for Modern Drummer I interviewed many players who sang Jack’s praises. Jack Richardson is also the father of noted music producer Garth Richardson, who actually mixed the sound for the reunited Alice Cooper Band when they performed at Revolver Magazine’s Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles last month. Richardson was 81 years old when he passed away on May 13, 2011 after years of declining health. You can read more about the life and career of Jack Richardson at This Link.
Rock producer, music publisher and promoter Don Kirshner died on Monday (January 17th, 2011) of heart failure at his home  in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 76 years old. From 1973 to 1981 Kirshner was the producer and host of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, which ran weekly on ABC, and was practically the only televised outlet for teenagers to see live rock bands in the time before MTV, VH1 or almost any kind of cable TV was even thought of.
Continue reading RIP Don Kirshner
Mother West Records
I just finished a massively huge bio project for the Mother West record label and recording studio, and it turned out pretty good. I also wrote a super nifty personal bio for Mother West’s owner Charles Newman, who is a righteous producer/musician on his own (Magnetic Fields, Walking Concert, Flare, etc). Read all about it at the Mother West website.