It was quite a stunning bit of news to read about Glenn Tipton's Parkinson's diagnosis this morning. I can't say that I was out-and-out shocked or flabbergasted, perhaps because I have become enured over the past several years to ongoing news announcements about the deaths, illnesses and retirements of so many of the rock artists that have filled our lives with magic for such a long time. We have lost so many in such a relatively short span that when they announce yet another one, the shock is blunted because we are already in "shock mode". We are half-expecting another one to leave us, though we don't want it to be this way.
I didn't want it to be this way for Judas Priest, one of my top ten favorite bands of all time, and a band that feels like family because they have been in my life since 1976. It was difficult, to be honest, to continue to follow the band after KK Downing left, because he was so integral to the band's sound. It was also his band. He didn't exactly found JP, that was done by a singer named Alan Atkins, but he was the guy who turned Judas Priest into the band we know today. I did stay a fan, though, after KK left, because he himself said to the fans to keep going, to stick with the band and with the young guy who replaced him, Richie Faulkner. I saw Priest in this incarnation in 2013 (or 2014, not sure which year), and they were great as always, but.......it was different without KK.
And now Glenn Tipton will be gone too. When I heard the news this morning, my first instinct, following sadness, was to say to myself, "well, I guess I won't be going to the show". I already have a ticket to the April 22 concert, but I figured I'd just "eat it" as they say. There was no way I was gonna see a "Judas Priest" show without both of the truly legendary guitarists that played such a role in making them as great as they have always been. The music of Judas Priest, for 40 years, had always been written by some combination of Tipton/Halford/Downing. So I wasn't gonna go because without KK and Glenn, it can't really be considered Judas Priest. But then I changed my mind.
Here is why : it's very simply for Glenn. He, like KK before him, wants fans to come out and support the band with now not one but two replacement guitarists. Under ordinary circumstances I would never do this and never even consider it. Had Glenn not become ill, but instead just quit like KK, I would have said, "well, it's not Judas Priest anymore", and I wouldn't have bought a ticket.
The truth is that, without Glenn onstage, and because KK Downing is gone too, it is certainly not Judas Priest anymore. It will be Rob Halford and bass player Ian Hill, and Scott Travis who has drummed for the band for twenty years but who doesn't have the sound of classic Priest drummer Dave Holland, who died just a couple weeks ago. And those three will be playing Judas Priest songs with two guys on guitar who were either very little or not even born when JP was first making records.
So in truth, it won't be Judas Priest I'll be seeing on April 22. It will be two guys from Judas Priest, including their alltime great singer Halford, and a bunch of replacements.
But I'm going for Glenn Tipton, because he has asked fans to go, and because he did not just quit the band, but got sick, which was beyond his control.
We are losing many of our beloved musicians. If they are not dying, they are retiring. I am hoping to see Elton next year, but so far the prices are out of my league.
One day I would like to write extensively about my rock concert experiences, and not just the concerts but the experience of discovering bands as a teenager, hanging out at a record store every day, and just living - for a time - the Rock Is Life ethos. These musicians have all been my heroes, and I thank every one of them from my core.
Thanks, Glenn! ////
Tonight I began watching the new "Twin Peaks", which everyone else saw last year on Showtime but which I had to wait for the dvd. I bought it for myself as a Christmas present and waited until the right moment to watch the first episode, which turned out to be tonight. I won't attempt a review, because it's Lynch. You don't review David Lynch, you just watch him.
I will say that I was suitably impressed by the first episode. That sounds like a half-assed compliment, I know, but it's better in this case than saying "I was blown away", because......well, just like with Rock Stars Dying, I knew what to expect. I knew it was gonna be great. Hell, it's David Lynch! He doesn't do "not great". He only does "Great" and "Weird", and if you like those two things, then you like David Lynch and you still have no idea what to expect which is why he's so great, because you don't know what's coming next.
So I knew the new "Twin Peaks" was gonna be great before I hit "play" on the remote. And the first episode was every bit as weird as you might not imagine. I am stoked for the rest of the series, because there are 18 episodes in all, and from what I've heard they are all directed by David Lynch.
That's like an eighteen hour Lynch movie, broken up into one hour segments. It's like hitting the Mother Lode in a gold mine of weirdness. :):)
That's all I know for tonight. Tomorrow I will try to get back in to 1989. I need to find some minute fine points I can pick apart as we continue our train of thought, and I will make an effort tomorrow afternoon to concentrate on it.
See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
No comments:
Post a Comment