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The Gift of Music
Tommy DeCarlo, a Charlotte resident and new lead singer of the band "Boston," is donating five new Yamaha 61-key keyboards today to five students who are studying piano at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, NC. The students are in teacher Kristin Stonnell’s piano class. The students will have the opportunity to meet DeCarlo and thank him for his generous donation. The meeting will take place near the main office.
March 09 marks three years since Boston member Brad Delp passed away.
Brad, who was the original vocalist of Boston, and involved with other bands such as RTZ and Beatlejuice, died March 09, 2007 in his Atkinson, NH home. It was revealed in the days after his death that Brad had taken his own life.
Brad's legacy of being such a generous and giving person has been carried on with the Brad Delp Foundation, a chartitable organization set up by his daughter Jenna.
Let's all take some time today to remember Brad and his golden voice. Take out your Boston albums (and RTZ, Delp and Goudreau, and anything else Brad worked on) and play them loud and proud.
I woke up very nervous today. More music business trouble? An IRS audit? My dog ate the tape I finished last week? No, much more serious ... I'm worried about American Idol tonight!!
Now any of you who know me might think I've lost the last few marbles I had left, since I NEVER watch American Idol. In fact, the mere mention would start me on a rant over their stupid age rules that eliminate great singers, and all the glitz and needless hoopla you have to sit through just to watch someone cover a chopped down version of a pop song.
But now all that has changed. Last December I heard a young girl from Cape Cod singing Christmas songs for kids at a little event. I only knew her as a niece of friends of mine, but when I heard the voice, I was mesmerized by her ability to bring these simple songs to life.
Since then I discovered she had tried out for American Idol, and now, even in the early weeks of the competition, her name is becoming a household word, Siobhan Magnus. While her beautiful voice and vocal ability have been almost universally obvious to all, the fact that she is as real, down to earth, and sweet as she seems is known only to the few who have met her.
Siobhan has done all of this by herself starting from nothing, and no matter how far she gets in the competition, she has already earned herself a place in many people's hearts, and I doubt anyone deserves it more.
So I'm very nervous today, because tonight she sings again and I hope with all fingers crossed that things go well for her again.
Ms. Magnus, you've done the impossible, you've made me an AI fan.
-Tom Scholz
Some updates on bandboston.com
The official Boston site has posted some updates on the front page.
Tom Scholz was recently interviewed for a PBS special "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives", hosted by Sir George Martin, which is due to be broadcast in 2010. The documentary is an 8-hour special about the history of recorded music. The camera crew took many shots in Tom's studio Hideaway II.
Artist for The Simpsons gave each band member a BOSTONized Simpsons Cartoon with the following note: To the members of Boston-
I grew up in Chelmsford, Mass, attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and landed the dream job of designing the Simpsons immediately following graduation in 1990. Boston has always by far been one of my favorite bands, and has literally helped me through 1000's of hours while sitting at the old drawing board over the years.
I had the privilege of meeting Brad Delp back in the spring of 2000 and many times after that through his band Beatlejuice. The last time I saw Brad, we discussed my doing a funny-cool Simpsons/Boston piece. He laughed and said, "Oh man, that'd be great - everybody in the band would love that." I hope you like it! It's the least I can do for all the great music over the years and I hope for many years to come! God bless you, your families and all your future endeavors! Your Fan - Lance Wilder and all the Boston Fans here on the Simpsons
The site also mentions the release of the Greatest Hits Remaster, which has been previously reported here.
Also, as some are aware, Michael Sweet's wife Kyle has been battling ovarian cancer. I'm sure you will join me in wishing Kyle the strength to beat this cancer.
Tom Scholz on the Boston album Third Stage: Back in the '70s, the audiences were so stoned that they didn't know if we were playing or not. In '87, we had Third Stage, and that was much more difficult music. The entire band was on the album. We turned a corner for performing at that point.
On March 9, 2007, Boston vocalist Brad Delp sealed himself in his bathroom, lit two charcoal grills, pinned a note on himself that read “Mr. Brad Delp: I am a lonely soul,” lay down on a pillow and inhaled a lethal amount of carbon monoxide.
Delp’s suicide was a shock to family members, close friends, his band and the music world alike. What made the event so perplexing was that Delp had spent his career as a health-conscious vegetarian and promoted and donated to several charities. In music circles, he was known as one of the good guys. He was fan friendly and spent time after every Boston show signing autographs and taking pictures with his admirers. Delp was engaged to be married and was preparing for a tour with Boston at the time of his death.
Boston bandleader Tom Scholz, a friend of Delp’s for more than 30 years, admits that while no one could predict Delp would end his life, the vocalist was suffering much emotional pain.
“No one saw it coming — I certainly didn’t see it coming. Brad wasn’t a happy camper. He had a tough life in a personal sense. He went through two divorces and he had a couple of engagements that never led to marriage. That part of his life was not very good.”
March 09 marks three years since Boston member Brad Delp passed away.