George Kooymans was a founding member of Golden Earring. He did on 22 July at 77 as a consequence of ALS. Quite beloved here in NL for the last 50 some years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kooymans One of the true classics with one of my favourite lyrics: Help! I'm stepping into The Twilight Zone Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned My beacon's been moved under moon and star Where am I to go now that I've gone too far? Soon, you will come to know when the bullet hits the bone Soon, you will come to know when the bullet hits the bone When the bullet hits the bone Golden Earring - Twilight Zone (EUROPEAN VIDEO VERSION) (RESTORED / UPSCALED / 60FPS)

I just saw that Dave Cousins of the Strawbs passed away on 13 July. He was 85. As far a I can recall, we only saw the Strawbs once. That was back in 1975 when they opened for Joe Walsh at Winterland. Truth be told, I wasn't a big fan. I probably only ever owned a couple of their releases. The only one that I remember for sure is Hero and Heroine. (still sounds pretty good in that folk-rock-proggy sort of way. May have to scrounge a copy.) Here is a live version from back in 1975. Strawbs - Hero and Heroine - Live in Tokyo 1975 (Remastered)

I know that they got a bad rep here on the forum but here is a thoughtful piece on their album Secret Treaties. https://www.invisibleoranges.com/view-from-plutonia/ This is truly one of the great classic rock albums. Especially the 8 original tracks. Great, sometimes weird or obtuse, lyrics and stellar guitar playing by Buck Dharma. I have had this in my collection ever since it was released. I still listen to it regularly. How can one resist 'Dominance and Submission'? I will grant that their later releases were very hit or miss. I rarely listen to them. However, as a live band they never stopped being great. I saw them a half-a-dozen times between the mid-70's and late 80's. Some of the bootlegs of their shows are simply superb. Even the live releases, a bit tame and sanitized compared to the bootlegs, are pretty damn good. Check out this gem Veteran of the Psychic Wars (Live at Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL - October 1981) Enjoy.

Wayne passed away at 75. We saw him a couple of times live. He was awesome on the stage. He saw me lip-syncing to the tunes and tossed me his pick. Sometimes the music was a bit difficult. He did what he wanted to (much like someone we know and love 😉) https://deadline.com/2024/02/wayne-kramer-dead-mc5-cofounder-was-75-obituary-1235813102/ A couple of great rock tunes Another fine tune ala Tom Waits All mistakes were made by professionals

It seems that Bill is only actively posting to his Facebook page. I say 'seems' because it cannot be accessed without logging into Facebook. Now, I have absolutely no intention of ever having a Facebook account. Even to keep up with Bill. The interweb and it's masters already know way too much about me. So, I am wondering if the posts can be embedded into Dreamsville? That way anti-social old gits, such as myself, can keep up to date without have to supply Meta with any more data about ourselves*? * Probably too late. I expect Meta already knows everything about me 😪

The Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist has died at 71. The last surviving original member. I sure that we all remember the first time that we heard Free Bird. It was certainly the partying tune of choice back then. (Still a good tune but I ultimately came to prefer Green Grass and High Tides by the Outlaws.) I saw them a couple of times back in the day. Pretty good live. Just a little reminder... For the record, I wasn't at this show.

Robbie Bachman, drummer for BTO, has died at 69. Randy Bachman, older brother and guitarist for BTO, said Another sad departure,” Randy Bachman tweeted last night. “The pounding beat behind BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad & brother Gary on the other side. Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! We saw BTO at Winterland in San Francisco back in April 1976 (BTO/Wishbone Ash/Styx). We actually went for Styx (Yes we did and do like them! 😛). We watched Styx and Wishbone Ash. We intended to leave when BTO came on. After the first couple of songs, we decided to stay. They put on a great show and had the whole hall on their feet. Let's go with a classic! 🎸

I am getting a ' Widget didn't load' message for the chat function. I have disconnected my VPN, cleared cache and cookies and logged out and in. Still not working. Any ideas?

I just saw that Mark Lannegan has died at age 57. We saw him with the Screaming Trees as well as solo. He wrote some great tunes. My personal favourite was his 2004 album Bubblegum.

Robby Steinhardt, founding member of Kansas passed away yesterday at 71. Kansas was a great live band. I first saw them back in 1975 at Winterland in SF. They opened for Blue Oyster Cult and Link Wray. Back then, they were fairly new to us. At that time, they were touring Masque. I remember walking in and seeing the stage covered in Persian rugs and packed with equipment. Even after all these years, I remember really enjoying that show. After that, I think that we saw them maybe twice more. They kind of lost me after Wayward Son. Although, like BöC, I have a lot of bootlegs because they were such a good live band. Here is a clip from a Don Kirsher Rock Concert show in 1975. Robby Steinhardt front and center. They could rock!