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Day: August 24, 2006

A Great Drummer, Gone

I’ve played the drums since I was in 3rd grade, and over the years, a handful of drummers molded and shaped my style and technique. Guys like Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, Michael Derosier, John Bonham, and Bruce Gary helped me figure out that drummers don’t just bang loud. It’s all about the rhythm. These guys influenced my playing in so many ways.

Buddy and John died years ago, and on Tuesday, Bruce joined them in drummer heaven.

Bruce Gary was a great drummer, and extremely versatile. Lots of people know him as the beat behind “My Sharona”, that huge hit from The Knack. Yet, few people knew that Bruce played with a ton of people through the years. That’s the true sign of a good drum player. Heck, if you can play with Robby Krieger of the Doors, Jack Bruce of Cream, Bob Dylan, Albert Collins, and Dr. John, you’ve got to be talented.

Bruce was all that and more. A drummers drummer.

Rest in Peace.

More, at theknack.com.

Oh, and a pretty good trumpet player died today too.

Nagin Should Fix That Hole in his Face

What an idiot.

Confronted by accusations that he’s taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defended himself by remarking on New York City’s failure to rebuild Ground Zero.

On a tour of the decimated Ninth Ward, Nagin tells Pitts the city has removed most of the debris from public property and it’s mainly private land that’s still affected – areas that can’t be cleaned without the owners’ permission. But when Pitts points to flood-damaged cars in the street and a house washed partially into the street, the mayor shoots back. “That’s alright. You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair.”

I repeat. What an idiot.

Then again, he’s treating Ground Zero with the same respect the rest of the Left does. It ain’t nothing but a hole in the ground to them.

Take ownership Ray, and stop your freakin’ complaining about how it’s you against the world. You’re so boring. Now go home.

McGavick and the DUI

Mike McGavick, the Republican Senate challenger in Washington State came clean today on a drunk driving incident from 1993.

In a wide-ranging interview, he also discussed his divorce, a political dirty trick and payroll slashing at his old insurance company.

The divorce, his regret over an earlier campaign tactic, and layoffs at Safeco Insurance Co. had all been noted in previous campaign coverage. Word of the DUI in 1993 was new.

McGavick said he had no indication that opponents were about to divulge the drunken driving incident or any other shortcomings he mentioned.

On his Web site, McGavick said his first biggest failure was his first marriage. The second was the DUi incident, about which he wrote:

“The second terrible mistake, which was difficult to discuss with my teenage son, was that I was cited for DUI when I cut a yellow light too close in 1993. I was driving Gaelynn home from several celebrations honoring our new relationship and should not have gotten behind the wheel. Thankfully, there was no accident, but it still haunts me that I put other people at risk by driving while impaired. All in all, it was and remains a humbling and powerful event in my life.”

McGavick retired from Safeco to run for the six-year Senate term. He is challenging Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell.

Welcome to the big leagues Mike. Lesson number one – if skeleton’s occupy one’s closet, clean them out the day you file for candidacy. Holding back on stuff like this is only going to make matters worse when the media grabs hold.