Richard Wright was not just an integral part of Pink Floyd, but also a true innovator who found new and interesting ways to utilize keyboard and electronic based instruments into a rock band setting, as well as being a master of musical texture and flow. A true trail-blazer. Here's the story form Associated Press:
Pink Floyd member Richard Wright dies at age 65
By MEERA SELVA
LONDON (AP) — Richard Wright, a founding member of Pink Floyd, died Monday. He was 65.
The rock group's spokesman, Doug Wright, who's unrelated, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He said the band member's family did not want to give more details about his death.
Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college and joined their early band, Sigma 6. Along with the late Syd Barrett, the four formed Pink Floyd in 1965.
The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and their 1967 album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was a hit.
In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Barrett, was seen as the group's dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote songs and played the keyboard.
"Rick's keyboards were an integral part of the Pink Floyd sound," said Joe Boyd, a prominent record producer who worked with Pink Floyd early in its career.
The band released a series of commercially and critically successful albums including 1973's "The Dark Side of the Moon," which has sold more than 40 million copies. Wright wrote "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" for that album, and worked on the group's epic compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."
But tensions grew among Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of "The Wall" when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of "The Wall," and did not perform on Pink Floyd's 1983 album, "The Final Cut."
Wright formed a new band Zee with Dave Harris from the band Fashion, and released one album, "Identity," with Atlantic Records.
Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as Pink Floyd. Wright also released the solo albums "Wet Dream" (1978) and "Broken China" (1996).
In July 2005, Wright, Waters, Mason and Gilmour reunited to perform at the "Live 8" charity concert in London — the first time in 25 years they had been onstage together.
Wright also worked on Gilmour's solo projects, most recently playing on the 2006 album "On an Island" and the accompanying world tour.
Gilmour paid tribute to Wright on Monday, saying his input was often forgotten.
"He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound," he said. "I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Get ready for two hours of mind-bending tuneage! There’s some Trey Gunn, Steve Hackett, The Tangent, Zyzygy, and much more to check out. Perfect for an evening alone in a small room with nothing more than a rubber duck and a hookah, or as a sound track to an out of body experience.
Enjoy!
Johneboyradio 8 is up! There’s just about 2 hours of interesting sounds including tunage from Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, IQ, Mars Volta, Marillion and more. So come on in, make yourself comfy, and have a pleasant listen.
Also, there's a few more bits of ocular interesting-ness in the Videos (non-mucic) section, so check 'em out!
And don't be afraid to drop a line and say hi.
Enjoy!
(Note: link to video at the end of article. Also, to clarify my political perspective, my viewpoints are often contrary to those of some of the groups protesting at both conventions. But I am a strong advocate of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I couldn’t care less if the protests were for equal rights for lint and dust bunnies – people have the right to peaceably assemble and publicly dissent and reporters have the right to cover such events.)
It seems that many of my fellow Americans are caught up in the glamour and glitz of the DNC and RNC, as the two big political parties throw a massive hoedown for their supporters and financial contributors on the taxpayers dime. Unfortunately, for all the rhetoric of freedom and democracy going on inside the hallowed halls of either convention, the constitutional rights that We The People should be enjoying are being trampled on within eyesight and ear-shot of the very people who are proclaiming that they are here to protect our liberties.
Events at the DNC have prompted the ACLU to issue a statement of rebuke of Colorado law enforcement. They charge that the police tricked people into pleading guilty by insisting that that they had to do so in order to post bond, intimidating protestors by saying they would be facing “years in jail” for demonstrating, “pre-printed” the arrest forms which led to false charges being filed (which caused many protestors to be charged with "begging, loitering and throwing stones and missiles," when they had not done so), not giving protestors the chance to disperse before arresting them, denied those arrested legal council, and even marched detainees into court barefoot and in leg shackles.
Additionally, there were many reports of police using extreme and excessive force against peaceful protestors, as well as the press. In one incident, an ABC reported was violently shoved across a street by police while he was doing a report, and then arrested for resisting arrest.
One would think that the television press would jump over these stories, but it was not to be. The only mention of protestors by the TV news channels (or, at least, the only stories that I personally saw) were focused on a groups of so-called “anarchists” shoving a Fox news crew around, a run-in between radio broadcaster and documentary film maker Alex Jones and Republican Part mouthpiece Michelle Malkin, and a gaggle of buffoons dressed in Harry Potter robes attempting to levitate the US Mint. The impression this coverage would leave on the general public who believe that the broadcast media are the funnels of truth is that the protestors were either violent without reason, or that they were some sort of fringe-stoner-pseudo-hippies with no cause and bad fashion sense.
Looking at the RNC, which has only just begun at this point, the trampling of our first amendment rights have gone from bad to worse.
Before the RNC even started, the local police (led by the FBI) conducted a series of raids on home used as gathering places for protest groups. In many cases these raids were not accompanied by a warrant; in the cases where a warrant was issued, it was so erroneous as to be laughable.
In one case, a press release was issued by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, which claimed that those detained were “criminal anarchists” and indicated that "materials for bombs", "hazardous materials", “assorted edged weapons”, “wrist rockets”, and “large amounts of urine” were found on the premises.
This release has been challenged by The Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), who are seeking a judicial review of the raid. An NLG spokesperson told reporters that police are actively attempting to prevent the demonstrators from exercising their right to protest given that no charges or official complaints have been filed.
“If they have evidence of a criminal act, then they should charge them,” Bruce Nestor said. “And if they can charge [them] with a complaint, then we will go defend that in court. But right now they are just holding them. You can’t just hold [them] to prevent from exercising their free speech.”
Part of the NLG’s counter statement reads as follows:
“Three of the arrestees are life-long residents of Minnesota. Two previously worked in early childhood education and passed background checks to obtain that employment. All have extensive ties to Minnesota, including employment and family members. One is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. None of the six arrestees have ever been convicted of a felony or crime of violence. One person arrested on Saturday morning, August 30th, was previously detained on Friday night at the St. Paul convergence center where he was photographed and identified. Despite being labeled a “key member” of a “criminal enterprise” and a planner of a “criminal conspiracy,” he was released on Friday night even though Sheriff Fletcher had conducted a months long investigation, using informants, and presumably identified the “key leaders” who he claims were organizing riots and civil disorder.”
In other raids that were conducted, places that were being used by the Press as bases of operation were raided, and reports were detained and questioned, with one incident involved a crew from national radio show Democracy Now.
After the RNC had started, and the TV News was focused exclusively on VP nominee Palin’s pregnant and unwed 17 year old daughter and Hurricane Gustav, but missed the assault of –not one but - two AP reporter by the police in separate incidences. Associated Press photographer Matt Rourke was arrested on a gross misdemeanor riot charge simply for taking pictures of a protest, and AP photographer Evan Vucci, was body slammed, kicked in the ribs and then handcuffed by police, only avoiding arrest by showing his press credentials. “The police had pushed the protesters into a parking lot where they had police coming from all sides to encircle one area,” Vucci said. “Once they got all the protesters into this one parking lot they kind of rushed and arrested all the protesters in there.”
Commenting on these incidents, AP assistant chief of bureau in Washington David Ake said: “Covering news is a constitutionally protected activity, and covering a riot is part of that coverage. Photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news.”
Another incident involved the arrest of two members of the Democracy Now crew for taking video footage of a protest. When the shows host, Amy Goodman (a very renown, awarded, and credentialed journalist), questioned the arrest, she was in turn roughed up a bit and arrested. Although they were later released, they now face felony charges…simply for reporting the news.
A statement by Democracy Now decried the following: “All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,” resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.”
“During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a photographer for the Associated Press.”
Democracy Now has vowed to fight the false charges brought up against their new crew by local law enforcement, which they characterized as an intimidation of independent journalists.
All this being said, I must definitively state that among peaceful protestors there’s always a small contingent of people who are there for no other reason than to cause some sort of violent ruckus. In these situations, I have no problem with police making legitimate arrests, and courts making prosecutions ( In some cases, actual law enforcement officers were caught red handed dressed up as protestors - wearing bandanas over their faces - and acting as agent provocateurs, causing property damage and inciting violence in order to allow for a legitimate excuse for police in riot gear to swoop in and make mass arrests). But to harass, detain, and arrest legitimate protestors, as well as arresting press-pass carrying members of the news media, is not a legitimate use of police power . On the contrary, this is nothing more than an abuse of authority and an overt attempt to chill free speech and freedom of the press.
If I recall correctly, our government officially condemns places like China, Iran, Cuba, and the like for doing exactly what our own law enforcement are doing to us. How come no member of our government has spoken out publicly about any of this?
How come none of this has been broadcast on the TV news?
This is a sad state of affairs for our country. And does not bode well for the future of We The People.
Click Here for Video from the DNC
Click Here for Video from the RNC
Sorry to make you wait, but join JohneboyRadio on the 8th for a couple of more hours of ear-candy!
JohneboyRadio 7 is posted and playable, featuring some amazing tracks from Spock’s Beard, Brother Ape, Echolyn, Adrian Belew and much more. Also, there’s a tribute to LeRoi Moore, the sax player for the Dave Matthews Band, who recently passed away.
Also, I’ve posted three (count em: three!) new playlists in Spotlight ON. There’s an hour each of The Motown Sound, Hits from the 80’s, and selections from the great Frank Zappa.
There’s lots of tasty musical treats to keep your ears busy for a while, so check it out and Enjoy!
I just added a crap-load of new videos, both music and non. So, go check em out and enjoy!!!
LeRoi Moore, the sax player for the Dave Mathew Band, died from complications stemming from an accident he had while riding an ATV at his home. He was 46.
The first I heard of something amiss with Mr. Moore was at a Dave Matthews Band show here in Florida about a month ago. Noting his conspicuous absence, I learned later that he had an accident riding an ATV and was pretty banged up.
There were reports that he was getting better, and that he was to begin a rehab regiment; apparently, some sort of complications arose (outside of the term ‘complications’, no cause of death has been specified in any news report I’ve seen) and he expired on Tuesday.
Hats off for you, LeRoi, and rest peacefully.
I just posted a bit of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the non-music video section. For those who know what that is, go have fun. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about: if you like quirky-funny stuff, or have a bit of a cheesy sense of humor (or none of the above) check it out and see if’n ya’ dig it.
Enjoy!
The RIAA is on the prowl again, this time they have gone after the site, Muxtape. Here' the story from WebWare:
The RIAA shuts down Muxtape By Josh Lowensohn– August 18, 2008 5:08 PM PDT Free music mixtape service Muxtape has temporarily been shut down due to pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). There's not much more information about downtime besides a small note on the front page of Muxtape.com saying that "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA."
Presumably the RIAA had gotten wise to the considerable amount of music that was being hosted and played on the service, bringing it into the same tier as some of the streaming radio services that have had to pay considerable licensing fees just to stream tracks to its users.
Back in April, my colleague Daniel Terdiman chatted with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's senior intellectual property attorney, Fred von Lohmann, who said that a site like Muxtape was only able to scrape by if it did not reach a critical mass, and if it had good legal ground both in principle and on paper. We may be only beginning to see if the latter holds true.
Update: Muxtape's blog has posted a tidbit of information about the downtime:
No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned.
Beta users of Muxtape For Bands: you are unaffected by this outage.
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