first, another 15 great albums of 2011...

it's really hard to listen to all music that comes out. in fact, it's not possible to listen to much more than about 500 new cds in a year, and that's only if you have no other life and you only give most of those 500 a quick once over. but i would suppose that at least 3000 cds get released across the usa every year. this. as i get ready to unleash my best of 2012 list, here's a look back at some that would be on the list, only they were a year old by the time i got to hear them :( still great though, check em out!!! and if you want a flash back to the best of the best of 2011, here's that blog.

snake rattle rattle snake – sineater
an immediate fixture of the denver underground, this is the kind of thing that gets me going. i did not hear this until they played at treefort in march 2012, otherwise it would no doubt have been in the top 10 of 2011.



brother dan – the orb

brother dan is a side project of the guitarist for atomic mama, this is almost better. But then when atomic mama plays versions of these songs, then is when everyone in the world wishes they lived near boise. Lets not forget to mention that the atomic mama “bodies in the sun” ep wasn’t on the list either for some reason, presumably because i didn’t include eps last year.

radiation city – color of the industry
the first time I saw these guys. It was in 2011 & I was only a few blocks away in pendleton when I saw the fb update saying they would be playing. However, i saw the post as they were playing & saw only the last song. the next chance at the same venue in p-town was absolute magic.

tim blood & the gutpanthers – summer of our discontent

i wish i somehow knew what albums were released everywhere. how is anyone supposed to know about something in a tucked away corner of idaho? if only you could see these guys & then meet tim blood, they’d be your favorite band without any doubt. i mean, take it from dj panda, who has no interest at all in punk rock. she still wants to marry tim blood.

miwa gemini – fantastic lies of grizzly rose
dark mythmaker music that is somewhat like disney, if disney made music. thinking about that, it probably doesn’t sound like a compliment, but it really is. you’d think she’d be huge in japan, instead she is rather obscure. japanese music fans only turn obscure musicians into heroes when they’re from other countries. homegrown musicians have to pack 20k seat theatres to be legit. that’s ok, kid yoshida give big hugs to miwa. if panda gets to marry tim blood, kid yoshida better get to marry miwa gemini.

death songs ep
don’t know why they call it an ep with 8 songs on it, but phenomenal output by portland singer/songwriters formerly of shaky hands.





japanese popstars – controlling your allegiance

don’t let the name fool you, they’re from northern ireland. this album features appearances by members of the cure, jon spencer & m83. as such it won some awards, none better than being on the second mention list by kid yoshida.

lykke li – wounded rhymes
what else can I say about her, everyone already knows. she was the second most famous musician last year next to adele. but then i don’t listen to famous musicians all that much so it took me a while to get around.

kory quinn & the comrades – waitin for a train
not that this is a one-hit wonder album at all, but the song “only a hobo” is one of the few songs that can make me cry. especially when he played it live in union. then when the guy gets together with bitterroot to make up the low down whiskey rebels, there aren’t much better shows to see live.

helms alee – weatherhead
seattle hard rock is not dead. it lives on the shoulders of helms alee. all hail! the rest in jail.

bootsy collins – funk capital of the world
a return to the mothership! the funk god comes for real!

fool’s rush – turn all your bad feelings into good ones
this is like portland’s version of tim blood & the gutpanthers. when in p-landia, look see them at the bomb shelter. you won’t be safe anywhere else.

gringo star – count yer lucky stars
hotlanta rockers bring it with a raw passion. they will blow up into superstars, very soon.

sallie ford & the sound outside – dirty radio
her appearance on david letterman (the same week as typhoon) gave a lot more credibility to portland music scene. and she sure smoked it! it almost made me get a tv, but nothing will likely ever make that happen, not even the hippest hipster in all of hipsterville, usa.

stevie nicks – in your dreams
usually i prefer christine to stevie, but man this is as close to the old school fleetwood mac as you can get. of course it helps when dave stewart & lindsey buckingham are on the record, but still stevie in a return to old school form.

80? my ass!

Dear Judge,

Please examine the above picture. That is Obi Wan Kenobi on my dash. He sits with the top of his head at 71-72 mph. It is therefore quite noticeable when I am driving over that speed. Moreover, when I get any faster than about 75, Obi Wan rattles off onto the floor. When I saw your highway patrolman south of Prosser the other day, I looked down and saw the peg of the speedometer right at the top of Obi Wan’s head. This is to say that there is no way I was going 80 miles per hour.

I understand the system needs to acquire money somehow, so I will pay even though I’ve done nothing wrong. But, I will not pay more than $40 per month. It already took me two months to save enough money to even afford the gas to get to Yakima for Christmas. I can’t pay the full amount at once. I hope that’s fine. The system works. It made its point. I will stay in Oregon now.

kid yoshida

november rabble rousers of the month

rabble rouser of the month nominees ~ november 2012 please drop a line with your vote for this month's rabble rouser!!

dillon warden mother of 3 year old fined $2500 for son trying to pee in the front yard; cop ken qualls fired for issuing the ticket

tammy baldwin ~ first openly gay US senator, elected this november in wisconsin defeating tommy thompson, former four-term governor.

betsy aguirre (miami election hijinx) evicted for assisting spanish-speaking voter to read ballot

jill stein & cheri honkala ~ green party candidates arrested trying to get into the debates

wal mart workers strike on black friday

voting time ~ september 2012 ~ rabble rouser of the month!

nakoula bassely nakoula (cerritos, calif. ~ filmmaker in hiding) created film called "innocence of muslims" that sparked violence in the muslim world when he posted a 14 minute trailer on youtube. what also sparked controversy was that using the internet violated his probation, so posting the video got him arrested for a bizzare reason unrelated to the content/political results of the film. this is creating some chatter all the way up to the president.

ron edge (baker city, oreg. ~ otec customer) rejects otec using new "smart meters" because he doesn't trust the spread of the information collected and because of potential effects on his health. he already got cancer & other ailments from agent orange in vietnam, which the VA has told him wasn't caused by agent orange. so forgive him to be a bit gunshy about what officials tell him is safe for his health. besides, he is prepared to fend for himself off the grid if they cut off his power.

Hank III !!!

click the hyperlink to hear today's special sunday morning edition of the rabble rouser show, which featured Hank 3.

that is the entire 3 hour show. if you're listening for just the part with Hank, that begins at 1 hour & 12 minutes into the show. (the first bit of the show is a bit sloppy. hey! it was sunday morning! but the part with Hank is sweet.)

enjoy it. Hank is one of the most real people in the industry. send him emails in thanks for keeping true! and also while yr at it, check out the photos from the boise show on sunday 09/02/2012.

"oregonian" one more time

dear “oregonian” I sent a letter last year, that seems to have not meant much if at all. I never received any comment and the complaint has grown. Last August, I determined that the Oregonian represented eastern Oregon in less than 2% of it’s articles and central Oregon in less than 5%. I didn’t bother to compile statistics again this year because the paper still features mostly of national and international syndicated stories and then a heavy dose of Portland stories with only Portland-area businesses finding it relevant to advertise. However, should I want to compile the statistics again this year on how frequently eastern Oregon is represented, I would not be able to very easily. In my last letter I started by saying:

“I read the “Oregonian” pretty much everyday, primarily because of the easy availability. Although the “Oregonian” is available all over Oregon, I don’t find it to represent all of Oregon very well.”

The difference now being that I am not able to read it every day because it is not available easily all over Oregon anymore. So, now, not only does the paper not report on eastern Oregon, it does not even distribute daily. We can only get the Sunday paper. This change was no great surprise, and, honestly, once a week is enough for me. However, this recent decision to stop distribution east of the Dalles magnifies the frustration. It’s precisely that the paper is called the “Oregonian” when it does not represent the entire state, only a very small portion of it. So, now that you don’t report on most of the state or make available to all parts of the state, I wish to again request the paper please change the name to the “Portlandian.” It would be representative, plus I believe Portlanders would really get a kick out of that.

Thank you for your consideration,

daniel “kid” yoshida
KEOL, La Grande

EOU vs Montana St-Northern

Dear Coach Camp, Congratulations on the victory. Two of them to start the season. I especially want to applaud you for a nice game plan on Saturday. Other than some lack of execution plays, which are quite understandable, that was a pretty well-played game. Not sure if it was worth the $12 I paid to get in, but it was fun. Unlike last year, when I wanted to write to you often irritated with play calling, I loved the consistency on Saturday. A couple criticisms I do have would help the heart rates of the fans in the stands. It could have been a little easier win based on two second half field goal situations. 1. Up by seven points, facing a fourth and ten at the 15 yard line, you chose to go for the first down/touchdown. Next time that happens, please warn me so I can sit closer to the ambulance down by the beer garden. I understand that college coaches like to take gambles and that the kicker isn’t exactly David Akers and it was into a head wind, but come on! A 30-yarder to take a two score lead is a no-brainer. It would have done wonders for the kicker’s confidence to make it, about as much as it takes away confidence not being given the chance. Plus, there are much better odds of converting the 30-yard field goal than a fourth and ten. That field goal would have been gold considering that EOU ended up with the ball back 56 seconds to go in the game tied at 14. Instead of kneeling on the ball to run out the clock, we needed a quick scoring drive. I certainly praise you for a quick, well-orchestrated march into field goal range, even though the 37-yard field goal into a cross wind was comparably more difficult than the one you didn’t attempt in the third quarter. I am, to put it simply, a Mark David fan right now. 2. That final field goal situation. On a third down run, QB Pine slides down short of the first down with 20 seconds left. EOU immediately calls a timeout. No, more like, EOU immediately calls a timeout!?! I hope that was an on-the-field decision by a player to stop the game clock with 18 seconds. My only thought was, here we go again trying for another first down… I could understand Montana-Northern calling a timeout, if they had any left. I cannot understand not letting the clock wind down. Why not either win the game on the last play or go to overtime? Why give the other team three hail marys? All that said, those two situations were about my only complaints with the game. I like the defense, a lot. And the new running back is a decent replacement for Sampson, provided he can keep his helmet on. And as obscene as it may sound, I think I like Pine more than Ware. He scrambled well under pressure, and would have had an even better day if a few passes into the receiver’s hands had been held onto. There are some weapons to be sure. Good luck against Carroll again. And who am I to say? Maybe an unorthodox play call on a fourth down will be what it takes to win. daniel "kid" yoshida

pac 12 ~ 2012 football predictions

projected PAC12 North wins-losses - regular season 1. Oregon 10 - 2 2. Washington State 7 - 5 3. Oregon State 7 - 5 4. California 7 - 5 5. Washington 5 - 7 6. Stanford 4 - 8 PAC12 South 1. USC 11 - 1 2. Utah 8 - 4 (or 9 - 3) 3. UCLA 7 - 5 4. Arizona 5 - 7 5. Arizona State 5 - 7 6. Colorado 5 - 7 North Notes: 1. Oregon Ducks why they will stomp: no matter what, the ducks still own the northern division. they really have no one to keep pace with them, even with a few slip ups. their running game is always stellar. this year it maybe a bit underrated since lamichael james left for the nfl, but be wary of de'anthony thomas. thomas ran roughshod over everyone for 10.8 yards per rush as a freshman! he'll probably top 1000 yards as a sophmore, but he's not even the featured back. kenjon barner has been a stud since he was a freshman, nearly topping 1000 yards last year as a junior backup. now, he gets the ball as a starter. watch out!! the ducks special teams is still a top notch unit. and that, along with turnover ratio, is always a deal breaker in the game of football. getting shots around the returns of james & cliff harris, de'anthony returned kicks for 27.3 yards per return & 2 TDs!! kicker rob beard is back from injuries for his senior year, but even if he is ineffective, maldonaldo will be fine & has lots of experience. maldonado was 77-78 on extra points (which the ducks will again be attempting a lot of). senior punter rice averaged 45.9 yards (41.4 net) - that was the best in college football last year. the defense has a lot of experience, particularly the front seven (though we'll have to see how deep they are beyond the starters). what will hold them back: in short, the achilles heel will be the fact that USC is now off probation by the NCAA. USC should account for one of the ducks losses & then are likely to win again in the pac-12 championship game. i can see a couple potential upsets by teams in the north division, such as the cal game, because the ducks are not as complete as before. the loss of darron thomas at QB can't be a good sign, the ducks have the most precarious QB situation in the north, though the team has answered in questionable situations before. the receivers are going to have to prove themselves as well as the defensive backs, who seem to be vulnerable against a few of the stronger passing teams. 2. Washington State who & why they will beat: people are gonna think i am high as hell to pick a second place finish for the cougars & maybe i will be proven wrong, but i believe this team is vastly underrated. they only finished 4-8 last year, but played a lot of teams close. they gave the ducks one of the bigger tests, coming two or three plays short of winning in eugene. they were the first team to outgain the ducks in eugene in 2 years & were only down 5 at halftime. they lost by 15 thanks to a blocked punt & kick return for a TD. this year, the cougs bring back senior QB jeff tuel after two crushing injuries last year. tuel was a starter as a sophmore hitting 60% of his passes for 2,700 yards & he has lots of mobility & scramblability. plus, sophmore halliday is a stellar backup. add in the fact that they got a short list heisman candidate at reciever in marquess wilson. so, with air raid coach mike leach taking over this year, it is almost irrelevant how the running backs will fare, but they did get a bit deeper in the run game. that should help put up even more passing yards & points accordingly. i don't expect wazzu to break their long losing streak against the ducks, since the game will be in seattle, just as much of a home game for the ducks as the cougs. but the cougars also don't have to play USC again this year. and after coming up 3 points shy at UCLA last year, i expect the cougs to trash them in pullman in november. WSU always plays well in corvallis, plus they should destroy the first 4 teams on the schedule. i am also predicting a win in pullman over the huskies in the apple cup for a fairly nice bowl selection. what will hold them back: the defense as a whole figures to give up about as many points last year. they will have to hope the added depth in the defensive backfield will at least slow some teams down to keep games close. expect a lot of shootouts, and as such crapshoots. 3. Oregon State what will be their success: they don’t have to play the trojans! those who know me know i am a beavers fan at heart. the main reason is that mike riley is the most balanced persona to do the job he does. the beavers are coming off a miserable year to say the least. riley doesn’t bat an eye. why? the beavers were actually projected to do well last year even though it had the makings of a bust the first year after losing one of the best running backs in team history (jaquizz rodgers) & a quandry quarterback system between a freshman & a disgruntled junior. riley packed the season in quickly following a loss to a fcs school on the first week of the season & gave the reigns to the freshman QB mannion in building for the future as rodgers brother, james was still banged up half the season – the best beaver reciever of all time – so he didn’t end up with a lot of touches. this year, james rodgers is gone but most of the offense returns in tact, with the experience to match it’s last year talent level. sophmore quarterbacks flourish under riley & mannion’s got the best trio of recievers in the north. they’re going to put up lots of points & this time the defense will not be walked all over, lots of depth & experienced playmakers in the front seven particularly that helps the secondary look even better. what will hold them back: the toughest part of the schedule is early in the season. they could very well be 1-3 when the cougars come to corvallis. and they don’t want to travel to BYU with a 1-4 record, so they are going to have battle early to keep confidence. but then they get 5 winnable games before the ducks come to the season closing civil war party. a bowl birth could be on the line with a win & the beavers have been itching for 4 years now. the running game has lots of question marks, but can only improve. special teams is even more worrisome, could be the achilles heel. 4. California what will be their success: cal always has a pro-style offense with pro-level talent. cal is always loaded at running back & this year is no different. sofele & bigelow will continue to get breaks into the open field. maynard, the senior QB, has as accurate arm as anyone, plus he can scramble. his best target is his brother, followed by some high potential prospects. what will hold them back: i never expect high potential prospeccts to amount to much more than a few highlight reels & lots of marks in the L column. cal has the kind of defense that will smother teams one week and then get absolutely torched the next. i don’t know what team they are supposed to be able to stop this year. they’ll get tested at home straight out of the gate, but get lots of practice in game two, preparing for what might not be too rough of a schedule. 5. Washington who & why they will beat: the pitch and catch game is on par with the other north teams. the huskies managed to stay the course, mimicking the RG3 show in the alamo bowl & that unit has solid battle experience now. they should get off to a 3-1 start to the season, but… what will hold them back: while the defense overall is a bit deeper, they don’t stack up well to the north offenses. points will flow like wine. the huskies d gave up an average of four TDs per game last year & should have no problem matching that feat again this year. while the air game is good, the huskies may have to use it every play because the running game figures to be next to non-existant. the special teams looks rather shaky & three of the first six games are against LSU, Oregon, and USC. they sure better win the other three because the final half season doesn’t get any better with 4 of 6 games on the road, not to mention that their home stadium is closed this year while they share with the seahawks. this team is so unreliable that, after that 3-1 start, it is possible they could lose every game the rest of the season. 6. Stanford what will be their success: stanford has one of the best running backs in the country in stepfan taylor. and on defense, they have a lot of experience & big time playmakers in the front seven, particularly at linebacker. this is going to have to carry the team. what will hold them back: this team is terribly overrated & it really has not that much to do with andrew luck now graduated. not that they should be expected to overcome losing one of the best QBs in the conference, but questions exist all over the offense, tons of young blood, other than the stud running back. so, now it is up to second year coach david shaw to show he can handle a team that is not handed to him on a golden platter. and i have a feeling that the north's pass happy teams can put up some big numbers that the cardinal offense won't be able to match. the defensive back field allowed a lot of yards & points last year & they aren't getting better this year. PAC12 South 1. USC why they will stomp: it’s hard not to believe a team is going to be great when all the experts are predicting them to finish the season ranked #1 in the nation. USC has the leading heisman trophy candidate in senior QB matt barkley & no shortage of stellar recievers to throw to. in fact, they likely have the best recievers in the country. senior running back mcneal gets his shot at full time duties after averaging 6.9 per carry last year. with a NFL type offensive line, the running game will adequately set up the dynamo passing game & the best offenses in the country will have a hard time matching USC’s point totals. the team is a bit young on the defensive front, but their linebackers & defensive backs seem destined for the NFL. it is a good bet that most of the points USC surrenders will be due to getting second & third units experience when games get out of reach. special teams looks good as well. i am not sure who will be returning kicks, but the sophmore place kicker doesn’t miss anything and the punter can put the ball just about anywhere on the field he is asked to. and looking at the schedule, 9 of 12 games in the states of california & arizona, with two others in washington & utah. this will help them stay well rested. now that the sanctions are lifted, USC is eligible for the post season & has something meaningful to play for, pity anyone who is on their schedule. what will hold them back: it’s doubtful that even a few injuries will affect them much, but maybe late night partying & acts of god will intervene. and maybe their idiot coach’s facial expression will contort the play calling somehow. 2. Utah what will be their success: the utes have always been a proud team that surprises everyone. they really should have been in the pac-12 championship game last year (unlike the bruins, the utes actually finished with a respectable 8-5 record). now with a year experience in the conference they can only get better. quarterback play was unexceptional last year, but they return both starting QBs wynn & hays, plus bring in two hyped freshman wilson & hansen that should make them deep. besides, the utes have a rather solid receiving group and a running back who set the school rushing record last year coming back for his senior year. yards, points, time of possession should help this team survive even some of their tougher tests. special teams is always one of the stronger points & with punter sellwood averaging near 40 yard net per punt, this should take some load off the defense. what will hold them back: while the defensive front is solid, the linebackers will have to continue to prove themselves & the very young secondary is a concern. 3. UCLA what will be their success: it helps that UCLA's harder games are at home. jonathan franklin is one of the better running backs in the pac-12 & the defense actually seems quite good, should probably stop most offenses they encounter. what will hold them back: UCLA is gonna have to rely on franklin a lot since they don’t seem particularly deep at any other offensive position. they had a hideous special teams unit last year, though punter locke can sub as a place kicker & make teams start deep. otherwise, a team that wasn’t that good last year (their appearance in the pac-12 championship game at 6-6 was the ridicule of the nation) comes in with lots of young blood & a new coach, who figure to have a lot of growing pains. hopefully, a good running back & decent defense can carry them above some other more questionable teams in the south. 4. Arizona what will be their success: offensive growing pains will be lessened by the fact that the wildcats have an experienced & big offensive line. the wildcats typically have a good secondary and incoming coach richrod is good with special teams. what will hold them back: with the exception of foles the last two years, the wilcats rarely have worthy quarterbacks. they have senior matt scott running the offense this year, who has hardly played his entire career & only has one proven weapon to throw to. plus, the running back situation seems precarious. the run game might produce a lot of numbers, but it will likely be because it gets used a hell of a lot. this team is going to live & die with its high profile newly hired coach. his track record is a mixed bag. he was an A+ at WV, but a D- at Michigan. let’s see what happes in the desert. 5. Arizona State what will be their success: the sun devils have a deep running back situation. cameron marshall topped 1000 yards last year as a junior. sophmore lewis is now a year recovered from having been shot after his freshman year, when he carried for a 5.9 avg. they also have a hyped junior college transfer in marion grice. if nothing else, this team will run the ball up & down the field all year long. they also have a flashy reciever, who scored TDs last year as reciever, kick returner, punt returner & passer. the defense will be able to hold its own with the rest of the pac-12, especially with decent special teams play. what will hold them back: another team with a first year coach makes them very hard to judge. and the schedule just looks way too brutal to really expect much of anything. i picked them to win 5 games, which might be setting the bar too high. starting a freshman at quarterback usually spells a rebuilding team. plus, they are losing 3 starting recievers. 6. Colorado what will be their success: the buffaloes can go nowhere but up. very hyped sophmore quarterback connor wood has just transferred from texas. colorado did win the last game of last season & have three winnable games to start with, which could give them an unprecedented four game winning streak, but after that… what will hold them back: the hodgepodge group on defense that got shredded last year to the tune of 36 points per game returns for likely more of the same. the running game has to start from scratch with the loss of rodney stewart & the recievers are very inexperienced with a bunch of freshman starting. i think this team will learn a lot & gel in time. this year though, they will do as expected. this season should end week 4 at pullman where the buffaloes have never roamed.

tax time (part II)

Thursday July 5, 2012

Dear Department of Revenue,

On 06/27/2012, I recieved a notice that I owed $21 on my taxes due to an underpayment because of an error I made in filing. I am not sure I filed it wrong as you say, but I will believe it and accept paying $21. That is not my complaint.

My complaint is why I need to pay a penalty and interest on the late fee. I called this morning and was told that [fee] was because I did not pay by the due date of April 17. However, it does not seem fair that I should pay a late fee on money that I did not know I owed. This was the first notice I received.

I am paying the full amount due of $22.56, but am requesting a refund of $1.56, which I believe was unfairly charged.

I was told to submit this letter with my payment.

Thank you,

taxpayer yoshida

Also, I never received a reply to the letter I submitted with my taxes and original payment back in February. Could I please have a response sent with my refund?

r.i.p ~ 2012

fred milano (72, jan 1) doo wop singer with dion & the belmonts; lung cancer

larry reinhardt (63, january 2)

rhino played guitar with dickey betts & berry oakley in the mid 60s. when they joined the allman brothers, rhino joined iron butterfly. after that short lived group broke up, rhino started captain beyond (right), whose first two albums are among the most legendary early 70s shredding prog rock albums.

bob weston (64, january 3)

weston added his own bit of drama to the endlessly fascinating fleetwood mac story. he took over on guitar after the unceremonius departure of danny kirwan in 1971. a year and a half later, an affair with mick fleetwood’s wife came to light and he was fired immediately, cancelling the 1972 tour. he only played on two not very critically acclaimed fleetwood mac albums, but there is no doubt it was his slide guitar that made those albums worth hearing. post-fleetwood mac, weston sat in for many others including murray head and sandy denny. he went on to record some rare solo albums which featured cameos from past mac members danny kirwan and even mick fleetwood. (picture above, fleetwood mac 1973: weston on the right, bob welch on left.)

frederica alexandrina sagor maas (111, january 5) screenwriter of the plastic age
don carter (85, january 5) bowler; first athlete to sign $1 million endorsement
tom ardolino (56, january 6) NRBQ drummer
dave alexander (73, january 8) blues pianist; suicide

ruth fernandez (92, january 9) “soul of peurto rican song”

a true rabble rouser, ruth pushed gender barriers as the first female singer in a peurto rican orchestra as well as pushing racial barriers when not granted front door admittance to her own concerts. she signed a columbia records contract at age 14 and then became the first person to perform popular music at the metropolitan opera house in nyc. she also served as a puerto rican senator from 1972-1980, the first singer to hold political office.

robbie france (52, january 14) drummer for ufo, diamond head, skunk anansie
the senator (january 15) cypress tree; world’s fifth odest known tree; fire

jimmy castor (71, january 16) “the everything man”

singer, songwriter known as “the everything man” for playing all types of music from doo wop to funk to latin soul and every instrument from sax to bongos. castor grew up in spanish harlem as close friends of frankie lyman. he had a comparable voice to lyman such that he often filled in with the teenagers when lyman couln’t make gigs. his band the castor bunch went on to record some of the greatest early 70s soul with classics like “troglodyte: cave man” and “bertha butt boogie.” hip hop and dance musicians have sampled liberally from these works over the years, like kanye west, ice cube, and mos def. the movie flashdance featured his most notorious song “it’s only just begun.”

johnny otis (90, january 17) “the godfather of rhythm and blues”

bandleader, producer, radio dj, sogwriter, organic grocery store owner. born greek, he changed his name tootis to identify as black. “the music isn’t just the notes, it’s the culture.” his mustache and soul patch was emulated by zappa into an iconic style. wrote “willie and the hand jive” (which eric clapton famously covered) and gave etta james her break into the music industry when he produced “roll with me henry” in 1956.

etta james (73, january 20)

jerry wexler called etta “the greatest of all modern blues singers.” she had 30+ r&b hits early in her career, but only received mainstream attention later. she led a soap opera life with drug addiction, bad relationships and legal problems. beyonce played etta in the movie “cadillac records” and then etta made a highly publicised rant after beyonce sang “at last” at president obama’s innaguarion in 2008. etta james is in the blues hall of fame and the rock and roll hall of fame. hospitalized with mrsa in 2010 and then diagnosed with alzheimers and leukemia. released her newest album “the dreamer” in early 2011.

john levy (99, january 20) jazz bassist
joe paterno (88, january 22) head coach of penn state nittany lions
shem macauley “slacker” (january 23) british electronic music producer
stig vig (63, january 23) singer for swedish post punk/reggae band dag vag
mark reale (56, january 25) guitarist/singer/songwriter for metal band riot
dick kniss (74, january 25) bass player for john denver
kandi barbour (56, january 26) “actress”
goody petronelli (88, january 28) trainer & manager of marvelous marvin hagler
kell osbourne (72, january 29) singer for the cavaliers & the primes (pre temptations)
leslie carter (25, january 31) singer, sister of nick & aaron carter; drug overdose
mike kelley (57, january 31) early guitarist of destroy all monsters, artist; suicide
king stitt (71, january 31) jamaican toaster; aka “the ugly one”

don cornilius (75, february 1) founder, producer, host of soul train; suicide
angelo dundee (90, february 1) trainer for mohammed ali & sugar ray leonard
charlie spoonhour (72, february 1) former st. louis bilikens basketball coach
david peaston (56, february 1) st. louis r&b singer
jeff fraza (34, february 4) boxer; hit by train
whitney houston (48, february 11) r&b singer; really famous, what do i need to say?
tonmi lillman (38, february 14) drummer for sinergy, to/die/for, ajattara & lordi

dory previn (86, february 14) singer-songwriter; poet
dory was married to andre previn, with whom she co-wrote many songs for motion pictures. her lyrics were sung by just about every famed singer of the 50s and 60s, most famously perhaps being dionne warwick singing “valley of the dolls”. andre’s affair with mia farrow led dory to madness and some time in mental institutions. she emerged a folk singer of the 70s with somewhat autobiographical songs such as “beware young girls”. she wrote many songs about emotionally frail characters, but her most significant accomplishment may have been the song “a stone for bessie smith” written about the premature death of janis joplin. dory wrote two autobiographies, “bogtrotter” and “midnight baby”

russell arms (92, february 13) vocalist on your hit parade
enrique sierra (54, february 17) guitarist for spanish band radio futura

michael davis (68, february 17) bass player mc5, destroy all monsters; liver failure

played bass for mc5 (1964-1972) on all three of their albums. after they disbanded, davis started destroy all monsters with his friend ron asheton. for that band, davis wrote punk classics “meet the creeper” “fast city” “rocking the cradle” “nobody knows”… studied art at university of oregon & portland community college after his music career. davis joined reformed versions of mc5 over the years.

christopher reimer (26, february 21) guitarist for calgary art rock band women
red holloway (84, february 25) jazz & blues tenor sax for sonny rollins, sonny stitt, etta james, roosevelt sykes…

louisiana red (79, february 25) blues singer & gutarist; “sweet blood call”
trayvon martin (17, feb 26) shooting victim
davy jones (66, february 29) singer monkees, partridge family

ronnie montrose (64, march 3) guitarist for 70s rock band montrose; suicide
bugs henderson (68, march 8) dallas blues guitarist
michael hossack (65, march 12) doobie brothers drummer
gary cornell (34, march 18) australian singer for pyramid of coyote
larry stevenson (81, march 25) inventor of kicktail skateboards & makaha skateboards

earl scruggs (88, march 28) bluegrass banjo legend

the three-finger picking style is commonly referred to as “scruggs style.” scruggs got his entry into the bluegrass world from the father of the genre, bill monroe, joining the bluegrass boys in 1945. starting in 1948, scruggs and another blue grass boy, lester flatt, formed the foggy mountain boys, which lasted for over 20 years. one of their most well known compositions became the theme song to the beverly hillbillies in 1962. the duo also appeared in occassional episodes. they also won a 1969 grammy for the classic “foggy mountain breakdown.” flatt and scruggs were allowed entry into the elusive grand ole opry in 1955 and inducted into the country music hall of fame in 1985. the film “banjoman” was filmed during a 1973 tribute concert, featuring doc watson, joan baez, ramblin’ jack elliot and others, and became the definitive earl scruggs documentary. The album “earl scruggs and friends” won a 2002 grammy award and the next year he was given his own syndicated tv program as well as a star on the hollywod walk of fame. in 2008, his career was capped off with a grammy lifetime acheivement award. earl scruggs will likely be the most significant loss to the music world in 2012. (picutre abouve is scruggs with doc watson in 2007)

zoran romic (47, march 31) australian guitarist for chocolate starfish

barney mckenna (83, april 5) banjo legend; last surviving member of original dubliners
thomas kinkade (54, april 6) painter
mike wallace (93, april 7) news anchor 20/20

cynthia dall (41, april 5) photographer; singer, guitarist of smog & as a solo act
cynthia dall may be one of the more unknown musicians to pass away this year, but fans of the 90s indie band smog can never forget her. she was dating bill callahan during the era of “wild love,” “burning kingdom” and “doctor came at dawn” and was featured on each of those albums. she also started a solo career around the same time, releasing a self-titled/untitled (more like completely unmarked) debut for domino records in 1996 and another album “sound restores young men” for drag city in 2002.

jim niven (april 9) australian pianist for captain matchbox whoopee band & the sports
rich teeter (61, april 10) drummer
played on the dictators albums "bloodbrothers" & "manifest destiny". video of teeter in action 1977: http://themusicsover.com/2012/04/10/ritchie-teeter/

dick clark (82, april 18) america’s oldest teenager

being the host of american bandstand for 30 years beginning in 1957 made clark synonymous with the beginnings of the explosion of commercial rock & roll. the show was particularly notable for integrating black & white performers. he also went on to host the game show “pyramid” & “dick clark’s rockin new years eve” to celebrate the ball dropping in manhattan every year.


levon helm (71, april 19) vocalist, drummer for the band

influenced to be a musician after seeing bill monroe in concert at the age of six, levo grew up in the south in the formative years of rock & roll. he was also influenced by early performances of elvis, bo diddley & ronnie hawkins. he later moved to canada with hawkins & recruited the members that would eventually make-up the band. the band went on to work extensively with bob dylan throughout the 70s. after “the last waltz” album & highly acclaimed martin scorsese documentary, the band called it quits for the next 20 years. levon went on to a solo career starting with paul kennerly’s concept album “the legend of jesse james” in which helm played the role of jesse alongside johnny cash, charlie daniel & emmylou harris. that same year, he also played loretta lynn’s father in the movie “coal miner’s daughter”. later in the 80s, he toured with the ringo starr all-stars & then sang on roger waters epic “the wall – live in berlin” backing up sinead o’connor (along with rick danko) on “mother.” levon lived on a ranch in woodstock, where he hosted “midnight rambles” featuring pretty much any musician you can name. it was thanks to these jams & the relentless support from the music community that helped pay for helm’s treatment to survive cancer in the 90s. the midnight rambles very nearly had it’s own reality in the late 00s. “dirt farmer”, helms first solo album in 25 years won a 2007 grammy & he went on to win two ore grammys. one for “electric dirt” (2009) & then another earlier this year for “ramble at the ryman” (2011). he was inducted with the band into the rock & roll hall of fame in 1994. the elton john song “levon” is named after helm. how much more important could one hope to be in the music world than levon helm?

joe muranyi (84, april 20) dixieland clarinetist for village stompers, louis armstrong…
bert weedon (91, april 20) british guitarist
weedon created “play in a day” music books & wrote the song “guitar boogie shuffle.” through his teaching methods, he became an important influence to every british guitarist of 50s, 60s & 70s.
ikuzone (46, april 21) bass player of dragon ash
greg ham (58, april 19) australian saxophonist, pianist; men at work
billy bryans (64, april 23) drummer for the parachute club
tommy marth (33, april 23) saxophonist on the killers albums "sam’s club" & "day and age."

chris etheridge (65, april 24) bassist; international sunshine band & flying burrito bros.

country-rock bass player started out with the international sunshine band & went on to play with the flying burrito brothers (right) as well as gram parsons solo work. etheridge did the bass & piano work on the classic “gilded palace of sin” and co-wrote “hot burrito #1 & #2”. he was also a session & touring musician with emmylou harris, ry cooder, linda ronstadt, willie nelson, the byrds, jackson browne & many others.

jim mccrary (72, april 29) photographer; shot album covers for flying burito bros, carpenters, cat stevens, carole king, joe cocker & lee michaels
kenny roberts (84, april 29) the yodeling cowboy; the down homers (feat bill haley)
thomas borge (80, april 30) last surviving founding member of the sandanistas

charles pitts (65, may 1) funk guitarist; isaac hayes, wilson pickett, isley brothers
junior seau (43, may 2) 12 time pro bowl linebacker; san diego chargers
lloyd brevett (80, may 3) bass player; the skatellites

adam yauch “mca” (47, may 4) mc/bassist/film director; beastie boys

mca formed the beastie boys with kate s (later of luscious jackson) & mike d as a hardcore punk band when he was a teenager. by the mid-80s, they were the hiphop band as the world now knows them. they went on to sell innumerable records, with a string of classics “licensed to ill” “paul’s boutique” “check your head” “ill communication” “in sound from way out” & “hello nasty”. their most recent effort from 2011 “hot sauce committee part 2” which also featured santigold was not appreciated by kid yoshida nearly enough. nonetheless, for all their efforts, the b boys were inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame in april of this year. ten years ago, mca started his own production studio & film distribution company. from that, he produced the bad brains comeback album “build a nation” & distributed the film “wendy & lucy”. even though the b boys were a cohesive collective, mca still lent a heavy above the board presnce & some of the great rhymes. it’s hard to image the b boys continuing without mca. he died way too young after dealing with salivary & lymph node cancer for the past three years. here's a video for pass the mic.

"if you can feel what i'm feeling then it's a musical masterpiece, if you can hear what i'm dealing with then that's cool at least. what's running through my mind comes through in my walk, true feelings are shown from the way that i talk."

michael burks (54, may 6) blues/soul guitarist; “i smell smoke”
everett lilly (87, may 8) american bluegrass mandolin
expanded bluegrass music in the east & northeast & internationally with his brother bea (d. 2005) beginning in 1938. everett played with earl scruggs & lester flatt in the 50s & with the mountaineers did a highly successful tour of japan in 1970s. “true facts in a country song” documentary released on their career in 1979.
vidal sassoon (82, may 9) hair dressing revolutionaire; leukemia
celso chavez (44, may 9) guitarist; founding member of possum dixon
donald dunn (70, may 13) blues bassist for booker t & the mg’s
belita woods (63, may 14) singer for 70s r&b band brainstorm
doug dillard (75, may 16) banjo, singer; the dillards (aka the darlings on andy griffith)
chuck brown (75, may 16) go go guitarist, singer; “bustin loose”

donna summer (63, may 17) disco singer

prominent singer that many referred to as the queen of disco. she won a total of 5 grammys and also had 4 singles hit #1 on the r&b charts in a 13 month period. perhaps the best story about her was told on npr about her poor childhood in the church choir people were so enamored by her that they would give her money and tell her to pay them back when she became famous. she has a song “highway runner” in the timeless classic film “fast times at ridgemont high.” she passed away from lung cancer which was allegedly due to inhalation of toxic chemicals from the 911 disaster.

carrie smith (87, may 20) blues & jazz singer
steve hurdle (41, may 20) guitarist for the gorgots
robin gibb (62, may 20) singer; bee gees
janet carroll (71, may 23) singer, actress “risky business”
hal jackson (96, may 23) first afircan american sports announcer

doc watson (89, may 29) blind bluegrass guitarist

blinded by an eye infection in infancy, he devoted himself to bluegrass & gospel sounds made from a $10 sears & roebock guitar thanks to wages earned from chopping down chestnut trees. moved on to a les paul by the age of 30 & mastered flat picking styles as well some speed tactics that every rock n’ roller has pick up from. following his buddy, earl scruggs, who passed away two months prior, doc had a similar trophy case with 7 grammys, plus a lifetime grammy award & a presidential medal of the arts. here is an excerpt of the earl scruggs story filmed in the 60s with doc watson & his son merle at a very young age.

pete cosey (68, may 30) blues & jazz guitarist; rotary connection, etta james, muddy waters, howlin’ wolf, miles davis, herbie hancock

jack twyman (78, may 30)
orlando woolridge (52, may 31)
leroy ellis (72, june 2)

three notable basketball players passed away on successive days. twyman played for the cincinnati royals in 1959-60 when he became the first player (along with wilt chamberlain the same season) to average over 30 ppg in a season. in 11 seasons, he made the all-star team six times. he was inducted into the hall of fame in 1983. his number 27 is retired by the sacramento kings.
woolridge helped usher in the age of slam dunks with some all-time highlight reels. drafted sixth

overall by the chicago bulls in 1981, he starred for five seasons. when michael jordan came along, woolridge fell on some hard times (on & off the court), until being picked up by the lakers in 1988. he fluttered around the nba a few more years & ended up in europe before going on to coaching. he has one son playing for the tennessee volunteers & another who will play his first season with the wazzu cougars this year.
ellis won the haggerty award in 1962, given to the best division-I player out of nyc. he was then drafted eight overall by the lakers, going on to play 14 years in the association, including a bizzarre 3-year run. he played on the innagural trailblazers season 1970-71, then on the lakers championship team of 1971-72 that won a record 69 games (including a 33 game win streak), then on the 76ers 1972-73 team that lost a record 73 games (of 82). he lived in portland for the duration of his basketball career & died in scappoose.

faruq z. bey (70, june 1) saxophonist of griot galaxy

richard dawson (79, june 2) actor
known for his roles in hogan’s heroes & the iconic host of family feud for ten years, where he kissed many a ladies, richard dawson ended up being married to one of those contestants for the last 31 years of his life. his most notable movie role was in the movie running man,

in which he played the demented host of some sort of gladiator game. arnold schwarzenegger uttered the famous line “i’ll be back” to dawson’s character. maybe the coolest thing that no one knows about dawson though, was that he was somewhat of a singer as well. in the summer of love he dabbled in psychdelia, cutting a 45 “his children’s parade / apples & oranges” on the obscure carnation label.

bobby durango (june 3) singer for rock city angels
herb reed (83, june 4) singer; last surviving member of the platters

ray bradbury (91, june 5) science fiction writer
kid from waukegan, illinois, descended from mary bradbury (hung at salem 1692), which makes him related also to henry david throeau & bradbury robinson. ray grew up in the great depression with a big family, then moved to l.a. & started writing at age 11. he wrote everyday & read poetry everyday for over 75 years straight. never got a driver’s license, lived at home until 27 & married for 56 years to the only woman he ever dated. wrote farenheit 451 & the martian chronociles. had many adventures in television including jane wyman’s fireside theatre, star tonight & alfred hitchcock. he’s got every award imaginable from the presidential medal of the arts to an asteroid named after him. here is the last piece published by bradbury in the new yorker less than a week before his death.

cotton owens (88, june 6) nascar hall of famer

bob welch (65, june 7) guitarist; fleetwood mac, paris
welch was born into a musical family with his father being a movie producer for paramount in 1950s. welch became a member of important 60s interracial groups the seven souls & head west. welch was most notorious for being the bridge that kept fleetwood mac afloat during 71-74 in the post peter green-era & the pre-nicks/buckingham-era. he never got his just due, though he was an instrumental player on seminal albums future games (writing the title track), bare trees (writing “ghost” & “sentimental lady”), penguin & mystery to me (writing “hypnotized”).

but during very strange times for fleetwood mac embroiled in a bizarre legal battle for their own name & welch’s marriage failing, he decided to leave the band after the 74 release heroes are hard to find. this opened the door for buckingham & nicks to join the band that would become 70s legends, but weston never being a member of the 60s blues era or the late 70s supergroup caused him to be left off the rosters inducted into the rock n’ roll hall of fame in 1988. part of this seemed to stem from a lawsuit he had filed against fleetwood mac for royalties, but welch said it best, “it was a transition. but it was an important period in the history of the band. mick fleetwood dedicated a whole chapter of his biography to my era of the band and credited me with 'saving fleetwood mac.' now they want to write me out of the history of the group. it hurts…mick and i co-managed the group for years. i'm the one who brought the band to los angeles from england, which put them in the position of hooking up with lindsey and stevie. i saw the band through a whole period where they barely survived, literally.” after forming a trio called paris in the mid-70s, welch had two very successful solo albums in the late 70s & then kind of drifted into obscurity & became a heroin addict. he recovered, did some session work & lived quietly in nashville, making an experimental jazz record in 1999. on june 7, after an unsuccessful back surgery, welch committed suicide, stating that he didn’t want his wife to have to take care of an invalid. one of welch’s bandmates in fleetwood mac, guitarist bob weston passed away earlier this year. (same picture as above, welch on left, weston on right, mick at bottom center, john & christine on top.)

li’l phat (19, june 7) hip hop artist; shooting in atlanta
chuck share (85, june 7)
taken with the first pick in the first nba draft in 1950 by the boston celtics, share played for three teams that would relocate in future years (fort wayne pistons, milwaukee/st.louis hawks, and minneapolis lakers). he won an nba title with the st. louis hawks in 1958.
stay high 149 (61, june 11) graffiti artist
henry hill (69, june 12) mobster
hill’s life story was documented in the book wiseguy & then made into the scorsese movie goodfellas.

rodney king (47, june 17) lapd beating victim
in 1991, rodney king was beaten by seven l.a. policemen & it was caught on video by a bystander. four officers went on trial, but were acquitted. this further exacerbated racial tension & the feelings of inequality in l.a. & sparked the infamous 1992 l.a. race riots.

king was never really a model citizen & the original reason for his being pulled over in the first place (he was trying to outrun cops because he knew a drunk driving charge would violate his parole for a previous felony conviction) & his bizzarre behavior after being pulled over caused officers to think king was under the influence of pcp. however, the pre-beating events are based on police & witness report, the video starts with the beating in which cops called him that infamous n-word while hitting him more than 50 times. king claimed to have suffered a fractured skull & permanent brain damage. officers at the hospital later bragged about the number of times they had hit king. as the l.a. mayor and the president of the united states expressed confusion of the jury verdict downplaying the use of excessive force, violence in l.a. swarmed out of control with 56 people ending up killed, thousands more injured & over a billion dollars in damaged property before the national guard was finally called to end the violence. rodney king gave a televised “can’t we all just get along speech” & became a figurehead for the new era of social injustice. two of the officers were later found guilty in a federal trial & rodney king won a civil suit for $3.8 million. king was involved in several other drunk driving cases over the next 10 years & then in a bizarre shooting while he rode away from people who were trying to steal his bicycle. he eventually cleaned up & appeared on season 2 of celebrity rehab with dr. drew. & also won a celebrity boxing match against a former pennsylvania cop. king’s problems appeared to be in the past & he was engaged to marry a woman who had been a jury member during 1992 civil suit,

who found him drowned in his swimming pool. rodney king may not have been a model citizen, but then again who really is? i always wonder how many people have never driven under the influence? not eveyone that has done has been caught. how many people have never had any bigotted feelings? people like rodney king beg us to ask these questions of ourselves. his sad life story makes the world a better place.

brian hibbard (65, june 18) welsh singer for the flying pickets
gerry bron (79, june 19) music manager & record label owner
bron was responsible for bringing up uriah heep in the late 60s. he ran bronze records, also releasing motorhead's records "overkill," "ace of spades," "bomber" & "iron fist." bron worked with artists such as marianne faithfull & gene pitney as well. i paid tribute to him in part when i played uriah heep “demon’s & wizards” on the 40th anniversary of its release back in may. and will do the same later when i play “the magician’s birthday.”
gad beck (88, june 24) gay, jewish holocaust survivor. in 2000, he was in the documentary paragraph 175 & published his autobiography "an underground life."

nora ephron (71, june 26)
with both her parents & all three of her husbands being writers, it probably was expected ephron would do something like become a romcom legend writing/ directing films like “when harry met sally,” “sleepless in seattle,” “you’ve got mail,” and “julie & julia.” also helping her natural writing ability was that she lived a dramatic life. she had been the whistleblower of the whistleblower, by trying to expose the identity of the informant of watergate scandal (mark felt). she was for a few years married to carl bernstein, the washington post reporter who teamed with bob woodward to report on watergate. her marriage to bernstein ended when he had an affair with baronness margaret jay. a loose version of that story can be found in ephron’s film “heartburn” starring jack nicholson & meryl streep. nora spent the last 25 years married to nicholas pileggi, who’s career has been mainly devoted to writing screenplays for gangster stories. he’s done a lot of high end ones, notably “goodfellas” the subject of which (henry hill) passed away earlier this month. with the films ephron has been a part of, it is likely assumed she has a few academy awards. she has none, though her trophy case has many accolades.

doris singleton (92, june 26) actress “i love lucy” “twilight zone” “my three sons”
don grady (68, june 27) actor “my three sons”

june rabble rouser of the month! vote please.

vote please! june rabble rouser nominees. to read more, some links to the stories are included.

ann colagiovanni (shaker heights, oh) – 97 year old high school graduate...

ann dropped out of high school in the early 30s to go to work in her family’s store. well, here it is, 78 years later, and she finally is getting that high school diploma from shaker heights high. haven’t found any stories that say what classes she had to finish, but hopefully a.p. life experience got her the rest of the credits she needed. the more amazing part of the story is that her grandson was also graduating shaker high with the class of 2012. ann only had daughters, so this means, on the average, she and her daughter gave birth at 39 years of age if her grandson is either 18 or 19. I guess it’s possible that he too went back to pick up at age 60 his own high school diploma.
cbs news story

sue warren (elyria, oh) – breaks into houses, cleans, leaves bill...

a woman with obsessive cleaning disorder breaks into houses, cleans them and leaves a bill with her name and address. sounds dumb, but if it gets you jobs i guess go for it. she tells police she does this all the time, but a recent case in which she washed the dishes, took out the trash and vaccummed before leaving a bill for $75 landed her in jail on a burglary charge. the price seems a bit steep to me. i don’t think i’d pay more than $10-$15. but if she can get people to pay without sending them to collections, then it seems like getting a free cleaning coupon with the option to continue. if that’s all it really is, i say she should be able to keep going. i wonder what this will do for her cleaning business?
cbs news story

tyler sullivan (minnesota) – presidential pardon for skipping school...

on june 1, president spoke in minnesota. the 11 year old tyler sullivan skips school to go see him speak. so, he gets up to shake hands with obama and then milks prez for a note to be excused from mr. ackerman’s class? actually it seems like obama offered to write the excuse. besides, that seems like an excessive move. the kid went to the speech with his dad. last time i checked a parent was enough to get an excuse.
people magazine story

larry sapienza (warren twp, new jersey) – fired library director re-hired...

this dude was the victim of typical office crap. as the circulation director, you’d think he’d know how to deal with his employees & volunteers. his boss gave him orders on how to change the volunteer schedules. he didn’t agree with the decision, but did as he was told. then he got fired for not following library policy. after a couple months of confusion, he had a hearing on wheter to re-instate him. since his ex-boss (who also got axed) doesn’t talk & prolly denied what she said, he was lucky enough to have a co-worker that overheard the directive & stood up for him. when the hearing was over, sapienza’s great quote, “does this mean i have my job back?” naturally, listening to that hearing proceding, that was my thought exactly. i guess since the entire episode was clouded in rediculous politics, it only made sense to re-instate him with a bunch of legal-ese hogwash that not even the guy reading the verdict could understand. but thankfully, sapienza did get his job back & a couple months off work.
echoes-sentinel article
a victory at change.org!

email, comment, facebook, twitter, whatever it takes to vote!
thank you!!