I spent the last few days wondering where to begin any kind of post about Dimebag. Clients of ours, who happen to live a few doors down from us here in Athens, were openly weeping on their porch. If you’re not into metal, think about how you were moved when you heard about John Lennon. That’s how important he was to the metal culture.
Rather than echo what other folks are saying more eloquently, I want to focus on what this means for you, the working musician.
Could this tragedy have been prevented? Probably not at the show. Whatever was going on in Nathan Gale’s head could only have been helped with lots of intervention, therapy, and probably meds.
Instead, without being morbid, I want you to use this opportunity to make sure your friends, family and loved ones know what to do if you, quite literally, drop off the planet unexpectedly. Invest $20 in a fireproof box in which you should place important contracts, lists of passwords and other information that your heirs will use to take care of things for you. Because your work is important, I want you to designate someone to look after your music when you’re gone. Leave important and detailed instructions for how you want things like recordings and masters handled. And if you have a family to look after, make sure they know how to contact your performing rights organization, your label, etc. so your music can help take care of them for years to come.
You may not have to worry about someone murdering you on stage, but we lose talented folks every year to accidents with cars, boats and planes. Your loved ones and your audience will thank you for taking the time to think of them.
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As I live and work in North Texas, this story was even bigger news here. Two of my employees went to the memorials. They were crushed by the events in Columbus.
The nature of our world, we often perform in venues we wouldn’t invite our Mom to. Always take stock of your surroundings and identify the quick exit. I remember Frank Zappa, after getting jumped by a excited fan while performing, always had this huge bodyguard on stage sitting next to him-keeping an eye on the front row.
Bang! You’re Dead!
Death can, does, and will happen. And for when it happens, Joe Taylor has some good advice on how to make sure you leave more than a pretty corpse. More advice… “If you’re gonna die. Die with your boots on.”