Musician Deaths in 2012

As we plunge headfirst into 2013 and everything that comes with it, it seems necessary to take a moment and acknowledge the unusually high number of musical legends who left this word last year. The amount of talent that passed on in 2012 was indeed far above the tally for any given year. The worst of the bad news came during a particularly bad streak in April in May, punctuated, among others, by the deaths of The Band's Levon Helm and the Beastie Boys' own Adam Yauch, both from throat cancer.

Here now is a list of legends who were with us the beginning of last year, and now are not. Click each name to see a reason why the world is now a better place because of their life and legacy.

• Johnny Otis – 1/17/12
• Etta James – 1/20/12
• Don Cornelius – 2/1/12
• Whitney Houston - 2/11/12
• Davy Jones – 2/29/12
• Ronnie Montrose – 3/3/12 (guitarist for Van Morrison, Edgar Winter, Herbie Hancock and more)
• Earl Scruggs – 3/28/12 (the banjo in Flatt & Scruggs)
• Jim Marshall – 4/5/12 (creator of Marshall amps)
• Dick Clark – 4/18/12
• Levon Helm – 4/19/12
• Adam Yauch – 5/4/12
• Donald “Duck” Dunn – 5/13/12 (Stax bass player, Booker T and the M.G.s, Blues Brothers)
• Chuck Brown – 5/16/12 (godfather of D.C. A-Go-Go)
• Donna Summer – 5/17/12
• Robin Gibb – 5/20/12
• Doc Watson – 5/29/12
• Bob Babbitt – 7/16/12 (bassist on countless Motown recordings)
• Dave Brubeck – 12/5/12
• Ravi Shankar – 12/11/12

All I can say is, Thank God For YouTube!

Treasure Island Music Festival 2012 Review

Well, this one's a little late, but hopefully you'll still enjoy reading it. Treasure Island Festival this past fall continued a Bay Area tradition of a weekend that aways features a relaxed vibe, ultimate manageability, and a great lineup of diverse acts.

As usual, the days were split into dance/electronica-based acts on Saturday, and more rock-based acts on Sunday. This lead to a great flow all weekend -- and the cooperative weather was a massive bonus this year, making for some of the best sunsets this side of Route 1.

Here's my review over at Jambase:

Treasure Island Music Festival :: 10.13-14.12 :: Treasure Island :: San Francisco, CA

On Saturday, Toro Y Moi impressed us the most with his afternoon set of funky, experimental bedroom disco. Here he is playing "Low Shoulder" with the sun at his back, and all of us getting down good. Check the crowd pan at 1:53:

The biggest surprise of Sunday had to be the skankin' grooves of Wild Belle, who came out of nowhere and delivered the perfect sunny day set that had enough of an indie vibe to get the hipsters to dance to reggae. Sunday afternoon dance party!



The hushed intensity of The XX's atmospheric songs drove the crowd bananas on Sunday night to close the festival -- the band's voices are nearly erotic in their yearning. Here's a little chunk of their powerful set: