In the Event of My Demise: The Death of a Rock Star

Last year one of my favorite artists, Amy Winehouse died of an apparent alcohol overdose. To most people it wasn't a surprise, because of the way she lived her life it was inevitable that she would be deceased soon if she didn't change her lifestyle. What perplexes me the most is the way the media and fans embrace tabloid rumors and drunken pictures of their favorite artists, while singing along to the beat of their songs.

After Amy Winehouse shot to international stardom with her second album, Back to Black, the media began an all out frenzy on her personal life and addictions. The last two years of her life she was plastered in every tabloid across the world from L.A. to London.

A similar situation took place in the mid 90's, with the media infused East VS West Coast beef between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records. The end result was the death of the greatest rappers of all-time, and the killer(s) are still unknown.

"Rock Star life style might don't make it"~ Gucci Mane 'Wasted'

One of the most interesting phenomenons in the last fifty years of music is the amount of great artists who passed away in their mid-twenties. To name a few: Tupac Shakur, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Notorious B.I.G., Jim Morrision, Kurt Cobain, Aaliyah and Brian Jones. Wikipedia even has a page called The 27 Club which is dedicated to musicians that died at the age of 27.

The death of musicians, painters, and poets has always been big business. I mean look at Michael Jackson. Thriller sold over 75 millions albums and he still is worth more money dead than alive. It's not the media's fault when an artist dies in a freak accident or when their art imitates life. Listen to the lyrics of Notorious B.I.G., Tupac and Jim Morrison and its very clear that they were fascinated with death.

"F*** the world, f*** my moms and my girl. My life is played out like a jheri curl, I'm ready to die"~ Notorious B.I.G. 'Ready to Die'

Who really benefits when the lives of such young and talented people are ended abruptly? While family, friends and fans are usually the ones who are impacted the most it is usually the record labels and media who gain the most when a celebrity dies.

Look how famous Princess Diana and Basquiat became after their deaths. Even though we are to blame for the decisions that we make, the media in some way has to be held accountable for feeding the public countless amounts of rumors and BS that has nothing to do with music. With more and more people listening and sharing music than ever, their should be more music related news vs tabloid stuff.

Growing up as a child MTV and BET was a place for kids to discover new music, but now we are bombarded with reality TV and other non-music related programming. Today we depend on blogs and other sites like The Hype Machine and We Are Hunted to help us discover new music. One of the reasons I started this site is to provide avenue for artists and fans to connect with each other and focus on what really matters,the music.

Save the Music Yall....

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How to Choose the Perfect Band for Your Party or Event

Analyze Your Guest List

When choosing your perfect band, first you have to analyze the guest list. Are your guests older? Will they prefer dancing or just easy listening? Will they enjoy a larger variety or one specific style? Is your venue set up for a night of dancing or just dinner and music? What kind of budget do you have for your entertainment?

After you've narrowed these down, you'll need to determine what type of band is best for your event: a corporate band, a cover band, or a tribute band?

What's the difference?

Generally, corporate bands are bigger groups of professionally trained musicians that you'll often see at big corporate parties, bigger-budgeted weddings, and on cruise ships. These bands are most often the more expensive option of the group but are usually the guaranteed highest quality. These groups often have the biggest selection of music as they commonly have books of sheet music to read off of and can accept requests on the spot from guests.

Tribute bands are bands that only cover one band or artist and do everything to replicate that band or artist's look, sound, and stage show. These bands are great if you're a die-hard fan, and are always fascinating to watch as they almost always match the show perfectly. These bands are higher priced, but put on the best show.

Cover bands play a little bit of everything. These groups can provide for a very enjoyable evening for crowds that vary in age. Cover bands are a dime a dozen, so you'll always have a large variety to choose from, and they are the most affordable of the different groups. Cover bands come in all shapes and sizes. There are rock cover bands, pop cover bands; jazz and blues cover bands, and some that just will play anything.

Now that you've narrowed your options down, shop around online and make a list of bands that fit into the style and budget that your event calls for.

Once you've made your list, it is essential to go out there and check out each bands live performance. If you don't enjoy their live show, odds are, your guests won't either. A lot of times, these groups have open-to-the-public events that you can attend, and if you call ahead, they can add you to guest lists at private events.

So get out there and have your perfect event. The music will make or break the event. Take your time and choose carefully.

Rafael Galligan writes about CCR Tribute band, Creedence Revived. As an emerging creedence tribute, Creedence Revived has wowed fans of all ages across the world.

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