I first heard of Ben's passing on the morning of 7/27/10 and the news was shocking. Not only that but when I realized I had just finished writing a song about a journey to the afterlife it sent a shiver down my spine. I had the idea for the song on 7/25/10 and wrote a rough draft. I worked on it some more on 7/26/10 (the day Ben died) and then put the final touches on the next morning.
Then I got the e-mail from a friend on 7/27/10. I was honestly debating whether I should release the song at all because of the subject matter but when I heard about Ben all doubt was erased from my mind and I felt compelled to record it right away.
So I recorded it right away in one sitting while the emotions were still fresh. I can't express in words what Ben's music meant to me and my friends growing up. My best friend cried when I told him. Here's the song and while it's not about Ben I'd like to dedicate it to him. A very special thanks to Charlie Betts for adding slide guitar and AC Mastering for the mixing and mastering of audio:
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Four Dead In Ohio - Kent State - May 4, 1970
In remembrance of the four students who died on May 4th, 1970 at Kent State University. Shot down by the National Guard. A very dark day in American history and a tragedy that did not have to happen and let's hope will never happen again. 9 more students were wounded that day.
I was just a 10 year old kid at the time but I remember the shock and horror of this. Thank you to my friend Phil (k8dux) for singing harmony with me on this.
Here's more information about that tragedy:
For those unfamiliar with the Kent State shootings, here is a brief contextual re-cap courtesy of Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman:
It is difficult to overstate the political and cultural impact of the killing of the four Kent State students and wounding of nine more on May 4, 1970. The nation's campuses were on fire over Richard Nixon's illegal invasion of Cambodia. Scores of universities were ripped apart by mass demonstrations and student strikes. The ROTC building at Kent burned down.
The vast majority of American college campuses were closed in the aftermath, either by student strikes or official edicts. Nixon was elected president in 1968 claiming to have a "secret plan" to end the war in Southeast Asia. But the revelation that he was in fact escalating it with the illegal bombing of what had been a peaceful non-combatant nation was more than Americans could bear. As the ferocity of the opposition spread deep into the grassroots, Nixon's Vice President, Spiro Agnew, shot back in a series of speeches. He referred to student demonstrators as Nazi "brownshirts" and suggested that college administrators and law enforcement should "act accordingly."
On May 3, 1970---the day before National Guardsmen under his purview opened fire at Kent State--Ohio Governor James Rhodes echoed Agnew's remarks by referring to student demonstrators as "the strongest, well-trained militant revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America They're worse than the brownshirts and the Communist element and the night riders and the vigilantes. They are the worst type of people that we harbor in America." Rhodes told a reporter that the Ohio National Guard would remain at Kent State "until we get rid of them" referring to a demographic group that was overwhelmingly white, middle class and in college. The next day, Rhodes, the administration and the FBI sent those students a lethal message.
I was just a 10 year old kid at the time but I remember the shock and horror of this. Thank you to my friend Phil (k8dux) for singing harmony with me on this.
Here's more information about that tragedy:
For those unfamiliar with the Kent State shootings, here is a brief contextual re-cap courtesy of Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman:
It is difficult to overstate the political and cultural impact of the killing of the four Kent State students and wounding of nine more on May 4, 1970. The nation's campuses were on fire over Richard Nixon's illegal invasion of Cambodia. Scores of universities were ripped apart by mass demonstrations and student strikes. The ROTC building at Kent burned down.
The vast majority of American college campuses were closed in the aftermath, either by student strikes or official edicts. Nixon was elected president in 1968 claiming to have a "secret plan" to end the war in Southeast Asia. But the revelation that he was in fact escalating it with the illegal bombing of what had been a peaceful non-combatant nation was more than Americans could bear. As the ferocity of the opposition spread deep into the grassroots, Nixon's Vice President, Spiro Agnew, shot back in a series of speeches. He referred to student demonstrators as Nazi "brownshirts" and suggested that college administrators and law enforcement should "act accordingly."
On May 3, 1970---the day before National Guardsmen under his purview opened fire at Kent State--Ohio Governor James Rhodes echoed Agnew's remarks by referring to student demonstrators as "the strongest, well-trained militant revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America They're worse than the brownshirts and the Communist element and the night riders and the vigilantes. They are the worst type of people that we harbor in America." Rhodes told a reporter that the Ohio National Guard would remain at Kent State "until we get rid of them" referring to a demographic group that was overwhelmingly white, middle class and in college. The next day, Rhodes, the administration and the FBI sent those students a lethal message.
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