MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN AUGUST 2020
MUSICIANS WHO DIED IN AUGUST 2020
AUGUST 2
STEVE HOLLAND (66) / AMERICAN GUITARIST AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE SOUTHERN ROCK BAND MOLLY HATCHET. LIKE LYNYRD SKYNYRD THEY WERE FROM JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. HOLLAND AND DAVE HLUBEK STARTED PLAYING TOGETHER IN 1971 AND THE BAND'S CLASSIC LINEUP FORMED IN 1976. HE WAS ON THE FIRST FIVE HATCHET ALBUMS (1978-1983) AND LEFT IN 1984. LATER APPEARED ON THE LIVE AT THE AGORA BALLROOM, ATLANTA, GEORGIA APRIL 20, 1979 ALBUM (2000) AND EXTENDED VERSIONS (2002). STEVE HOLLAND WAS THE LAST SURVIVING ORIGINAL MEMBER OF MOLLY HATCHET'S CLASSIC LINEUP. IN 2005 HE FORMED GATOR COUNTRY WITH FOUR EX-HATCHET MEMBERS RELEASING ONLY GATOR COUNTRY LIVE (2008). AGAIN, HOLLAND WAS THE LAST SURVIVING ORIGINAL MEMBER.
AUGUST 4
TONY COSTANZA (52) / AMERICAN DRUMMER PLAYING THRASH METAL, GROOVE METAL AND SLUDGE METAL. STUDIED JAZZ DRUMMING WITH IRV KLUGER WHO PLAYED WITH DIZZY GILLESPIE, ARTIE SHAW, STAN KENTON AND WAS BUDDY RICH'S BEST FRIEND. COSTANZA WAS THE ORIGINAL DRUMMER FOR MACHINE HEAD, LATER PLAYED WITH CROWBAR AND DOOM METAL / PUNK ROCK CHICAGO BAND DEBRIS INC.
AUGUST 14
EWA DEMARCZYK (79) / POLISH SINGER WITH A REPERTOIRE OF SOME OF THE GREATEST POETRY, POLISH AND FOREIGN BY KRZYSZTOF KAMIL BACZYŃSKI, JULIAN TUWIM, WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA AND MARINA TSVETAEVA, ANNA AKHMATOVA, JOHANN WOLFGANG von GOETHE, ROBERT BURNS, PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY AMONG OTHERS. BORN AND RAISED IN KRAKOW, FIRST STUDIED PIANO, THEN GRADUATED FROM KRAKOW'S DRAMATIC ARTS ACADEMY.
AUGUST 19
TODD NANCE (57) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN, THE ORIGINAL DRUMMER OF JAM BAND WIDESPREAD PANIC. AT 15 FORMED JUST US WITH HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND LEAD GUITARIST MICHAEL HOUSER. IN 1986 THEY FORMED BLUES ROCK WIDESPREAD PANIC (COMPARED TO OTHER JAM BANDS THE GRATEFUL DEAD OR PHISH). NANCE PLAYED ON THEIR FIRST ELEVEN STUDIO ALBUMS. AT THE SAME TIME HE WAS A MEMBER OF brute, WHICH CONSISTED OF THE WIDESPREAD PANIC MUSICIANS WITH VIC CHESNUTT (1995-2002). THEY ONLY MADE TWO ALBUMS. IN 1997 TODD NANCE CO-FOUNDED SUPERGROUP BARBARA CUE (THREE STUDIO ALBUMS). IN 2014 HE LEFT WIDESPREAD PANIC DUE TO PERSONAL PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES PERFORMING WITH HIS OWN TODD NANCW & FRIENDS.
AUGUST 22
WALTER LURE (71) / AMERICAN MUSICIAN, GLAM- PUNK AND PUNK ROCK GUITARIST, KNOWN AS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE HEARTBREAKERS. HE HAD PLAYED IN THE GLAM-PUNK BAND THE DEMONS AND WAS INVITED TO JOIN A NEW PUNK ROCK GROUP BEING FORMED BY JOHNNY THUNDERS AND JERRY NOLAN (BOTH EX PROTO-PUNK NEW YORK DOLLS) AND RICHARD HELL (EX PROTO-PUNK TELEVISION). JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS PLAYED THEIR FIRST GIG ON MAY 30, 1975 IN QUEENS, NY AND LURE DEBUTED WITH THEM ON JULY 4, 1975 AT CBGB. SOON BECAME VERY POPULAR IN NY UNDERGROUND, PLAYING LOTS OF CLUBS, INCLUDING MAX'S KANSAS CITY. HEARTBREAKERS WERE FOUR VERY TALENTED MUSICIANS, EACH OF GREAT PERSONALITY AND CHARISMA, WHICH WAS THE REASON WHY RICHARD HELL LEFT AFTER ABOUT ONE YEAR TO FORM RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS. SO HE WAS NOT ON THE HEARTBREAKERS DEBUT ALBUM. THIS ORIGINAL LINEUP APPEARS ON A MUCH LATER LIVE AT MOTHER'S (1991) AND ON YONKERS DEMO 1976 (2019). WALTER LURE IS HOWEVER ON THE HEARTBREAKERS ONLY STUDIO ALBUM, THE DEBUT L.A.M.F. (1977) AND ON NUMEROUS LIVE ALBUMS AS WELL. AFTER THE BREAK UP AND A FEW REUNIONS, LURE FORMED HIS OWN BAND THE WALDOS. APART FROM HIS MUSICAL CAREER, HE WORKED AS A STOCK BROKER ON WALL STREET.
AUGUST 23
CHARLI PERSIP (91) / AMERICAN JAZZ DRUMMER, JOINED TADD DAMERON IN 1953, DIZZY GILLESPIE 1953-1958, HARRY "SWEETS" EDISON, HARRY JAMES ORCHESTRA. 1960 AND 1961 TWO DRUM ALBUMS AT BIRDLAND WITH ART BLAKEY, ELVIN JONES, PHILLY JOE JONES). IN 1960 STARTED OWN GROUP THE JAZZ STATESMEN (ROLAND ALEXANDER, FREDDIE HUBBARD, RON CARTER), IN THE 80's HIS BIG BAND SUPERBAND (LATER CALLED SUPERSOUND) RECORDING FOUR ALBUMS. WORKED AND RECORDED WITH DIZZY GILLESPIE, RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK, ART FARMER, LEE MORGAN, DON ELLIS, BOB BROOKMEYER, GEORGE RUSSELL, SONNY STITT, RANDY WESTON, CANONBALL ADDERLEY, ERIC DOLPHY, SONNY ROLLINS, ARCHIE SHEPP, QUINCY JONES, FRANK FOSTER, ERNESTINE ANDERSON, CANDIDO CAMERO, HARRY EDISON, BENNY GOLSON, GIL EVANS, "FATHEAD" NEWMAN, JOE NEWMAN, CECIL PAYNE, JEROME RICHARDSON, JOHNNY GRIFFIN, HANK MOBLEY, OLIVER NELSON, MAL WALDRON, ZOOT SIMS, DINAH WASHINGTON, BIG JOE TURNER, PHIL WOODS, KENNY DORHAM, ERROLL GARNER, KENNY BURRELL AND MANY, MANY OTHERS.
PETER KING (80) / ENGLISH JAZZ SAXOPHONIST, COMPOSER, CLARINETIST. AN INCREDIBLE SELF-TAUGHT MUSICIAN WITH SUCH SURPRISING COLLABORATIONS AS BUZZCOCKS, JIMMY WITHERSPOON, KIRI TE KANAWA, HOAGY CARMICHAEL OR STAN KENTON. STARTED IN 1957 ON ALTO IN A TRAD JAZZ GROUP. RECORDED 15 ALBUMS AS LEADER. WAS IN GROUPS WITH HAMPTON HAWES, PHILLY JOE JONES, NAT ADDERLEY, ZOOT SIMS, AL COHN, RED RODNEY, AL HAIG, ANITA O'DAY, JOE WILLIAMS, JON HENDRICKS AND IN CHARLIE WATTS' TENTET. AS SIDEMAN ALSO MAYNARD FERGUSON, STAN TRACY, TUBBY HAYES, EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, QUINCY JONES, CARAVAN, KEITH EMERSON, THE NICE, ANNIE ROSS, HAL SINGER, KATE WESTBRROK, CLIFFORD T. WARD, HAL SINGER, ALEXIS CORNER.
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE (38) / AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER, SON OF ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY MUSICIAN STEVE EARLE. HE OWED HIS MIDDLE NAME TO TOWNES VAN ZANDT, HIS DAD'S MENTOR. STARTED USING DRUGS AT 12. BEGAN CAREER PLAYING ROCK, RAGTIME, BLUEGRASS AND AMERICANA, THEN PLAYED GUITAR AND KEYBOARD IN STEVE EARLE'S TOURING BAND THE DUKES. HIS COMPOSITION "HARLEM RIVER BLUES" RECEIVED THE AMERICANA MUSIC AWARD AS THE SONG OF THE YEAR (2011). MADE THREE RECORDS KNOWN AS A "FAMILY TRILOGY": SINGLE MOTHERS, ABSENT FATHERS, KIDS IN THE STREET (2014-2017).
AUGUST 24
RILEY GALE (34) / AMERICAN SINGER, VOCALIST WITH CROSSOVER THRASH / HARDCORE PUNK BAND POWER TRIP. MADE TWO ALBUMS WITH THEM, MANIFEST DECIMATION (2013) AND NIGHTMARE LOGIC (2017). ROOTED IN THE DIY SCENE, GALE OFTEN COMMENTED POLITICAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE CAUSES TRYING TO FIGHT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. SPOKE AGAINST GUN POSSESSION AND INEQUALITY. POWER TRIP PLAYED OR TOURED WITH THE DAMNED, D.R.I., OZZY OSBOURNE, DANZIG, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, NAPALM DEATH A.O. RILEY GALE APPEARED ON BODY COUNT'S "POINT THE FINGER" FROM THE ALBUM CARNIVORE RELEASED MARCH 2020.
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