Something Swift this way comes…

Steve Perry – Alive And Well It’s been more than ten years since the last Journey album featuring Steve Perry. Thirteen years since his last solo tour, and longer than that since his last album of anything resembling new material. To the world, Steve Perry just vanished. “The time has come” said Perry. “I’ve been sitting out doing a lot of other things for too long”. Frontiers records is pleased to announce the signing of Steve Perry to a multi-project recording and touring contract. An album of new material will be released in 2007, to be followed by a world tour in 2008. In signing with Frontiers, Perry retains rights to any Journey material he has previously appeared on or performed, and to any material licensed as solo work to other companies. “I look forward to getting back out there and singing those songs the way they were written.” Lots of people have tried, and I commend Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto for their efforts, and wish them well, however the fans have spoken and it’s me they want. Now, it’s me they get.”

Not that many people who read this will know, or even care, but I know Swiffer will appreciate this for what it’s worth..

Randy Rhoads played a major part in the bizarre creative impulses of the Ozzy Osbourne rock group. The widely-acclaimed British guitarist, who died yesterday morning in a fiery plane crash here, was called a “musician’s musician” in Record Magazine’s March issue. Rhoads, 25, who lived in Burbank, Calif., joined the Osbourne group without even auditioning, group leader Osbourne is quoted as saying. “He was only tuning up his guitar when I said, ‘You’ve got the gig. Phenomenal!” Osbourne said, “I have a feeling about people. You could be the greatest player in the world, but if you haven’t got the feeling that I want to get, I don’t go for it. Randy (had) presence.” Rhoads and two other people – Andrew Aycock, 36, of Leesburg, the plane’s pilot, and a hairdresser for the group, Rachel Youngblood, 58, of Los Angeles – were killed when the Beechcraft Bonanza they were in clipped the Osbourne tour bus, splintered a pine tree and slammed in the side of a house at Flying Baron Estates, three miles west of the city on a private airfield. Witnesses said the plane circled the airport low three times and on the third pass fell below the tree line and hit the bus. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed this weekend to determine whether the victims were killed on impact or burned to death in the resulting fire. The plush traveling bus, equipped with stereo, television and video games, received minor damage. Several broken side windows and a punctured side panel were evidence of the disaster. The two story house owned by Voncile Calhoun is considered to be a total loss. The roof, upper bedrooms and garage were completely gutted by fire. Firefighters on the scene said there was probably structural damage to the concrete block walls of the home. Two cars, an Oldsmobile and a Ford Granada, were also destroyed when the plane hit the wall and splashed gasoline over the area. The group was in the Central Florida area to play at the Tangerine Bowl’s annual event, Rock Superbowl XIV, scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with such groups as Foreigner, Bryan Adams and UFO. Osbourne canceled the group’s appearance Friday evening a spokesman for the promoters, Beachclub Productions, said, adding that anyone with tickets may get a refund if they wished, though the show will go on as scheduled. At the crash site, one victim was found outside the window of the garage, just below where the plane struck the wall, while the other two were inside, one beside and one atop the burned out automobiles. Fiberglass from the explosive impact of the plane was scattered over more than an acre, with no part of the plane larger than a telephone except the one crumpled wing which hit the bus. Four persons in the bus, including John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne himself, plus two more in the house, escaped the flames, and later the group found rooms at Leesburg’s Hilco Inn, remaining in seclusion. Sheriff’s Department spokesman said they were shaken and upset. Rhoads was voted Best New Guitarist by Guitar Player magazine poll and chosen as England’s Best Heavy Metal Guitarist for 1981 by Sounds magazine. Rhoads and another band member, Rudy Sarzo, a bass player, were also veterans of Quiet Riot, a group which had two successful albums in Japan, but couldn’t get an American contract. Osbourne is well known for his bizarre stage antics and special effects; such as biting the heads from bats and doves and “hanging” a man on stage until he is “dead”. Osbourne has been called “a true geek in a world of make-believe sickies…a hulking, mugging, leering parody of a devil worshiper” in magazine articles. However, beneath his gross exterior lies some creative talent, and he and Rhoads put together two cult albums, “The Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman.” plus another that is scheduled to be released soon. Rhoads was instrumental in writing and arranging many of the album’s songs with Osbourne and others. Osbourne himself is a veteran Heavy-Metal performer. He was previously with Black Sabbath, with whom he broke two years ago. While Sheriff’s Department investigators work and a Federal Aviation Authority representative flew in to determine the cause of the crash, fans may well be contemplating the irony of one of Rhoads’ and Osbourne’s last songs, “Flying high Again.” and it’s lyrics:

“Got a crazy feeling I don’t understand – Gotta get away from here – Feeling like I shoulda kept my feet on the ground – Waiting for the sun to appear.”

Randy Rhoads played a major part in the bizarre creative impulses of the Ozzy Osbourne rock group. The widely-acclaimed British guitarist, who died yesterday morning in a fiery plane crash here, was called a “musician’s musician” in Record Magazine’s March issue. Rhoads, 25, who lived in Burbank, Calif., joined the Osbourne group without even auditioning, group leader Osbourne is quoted as saying. “He was only tuning up his guitar when I said, ‘You’ve got the gig. Phenomenal!” Osbourne said, “I have a feeling about people. You could be the greatest player in the world, but if you haven’t got the feeling that I want to get, I don’t go for it. Randy (had) presence.” Rhoads and two other people – Andrew Aycock, 36, of Leesburg, the plane’s pilot, and a hairdresser for the group, Rachel Youngblood, 58, of Los Angeles – were killed when the Beechcraft Bonanza they were in clipped the Osbourne tour bus, splintered a pine tree and slammed in the side of a house at Flying Baron Estates, three miles west of the city on a private airfield. Witnesses said the plane circled the airport low three times and on the third pass fell below the tree line and hit the bus. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed this weekend to determine whether the victims were killed on impact or burned to death in the resulting fire. The plush traveling bus, equipped with stereo, television and video games, received minor damage. Several broken side windows and a punctured side panel were evidence of the disaster. The two story house owned by Voncile Calhoun is considered to be a total loss. The roof, upper bedrooms and garage were completely gutted by fire. Firefighters on the scene said there was probably structural damage to the concrete block walls of the home. Two cars, an Oldsmobile and a Ford Granada, were also destroyed when the plane hit the wall and splashed gasoline over the area. The group was in the Central Florida area to play at the Tangerine Bowl’s annual event, Rock Superbowl XIV, scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with such groups as Foreigner, Bryan Adams and UFO. Osbourne canceled the group’s appearance Friday evening a spokesman for the promoters, Beachclub Productions, said, adding that anyone with tickets may get a refund if they wished, though the show will go on as scheduled. At the crash site, one victim was found outside the window of the garage, just below where the plane struck the wall, while the other two were inside, one beside and one atop the burned out automobiles. Fiberglass from the explosive impact of the plane was scattered over more than an acre, with no part of the plane larger than a telephone except the one crumpled wing which hit the bus. Four persons in the bus, including John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne himself, plus two more in the house, escaped the flames, and later the group found rooms at Leesburg’s Hilco Inn, remaining in seclusion. Sheriff’s Department spokesman said they were shaken and upset. Rhoads was voted Best New Guitarist by Guitar Player magazine poll and chosen as England’s Best Heavy Metal Guitarist for 1981 by Sounds magazine. Rhoads and another band member, Rudy Sarzo, a bass player, were also veterans of Quiet Riot, a group which had two successful albums in Japan, but couldn’t get an American contract. Osbourne is well known for his bizarre stage antics and special effects; such as biting the heads from bats and doves and “hanging” a man on stage until he is “dead”. Osbourne has been called “a true geek in a world of make-believe sickies…a hulking, mugging, leering parody of a devil worshiper” in magazine articles. However, beneath his gross exterior lies some creative talent, and he and Rhoads put together two cult albums, “The Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman.” plus another that is scheduled to be released soon. Rhoads was instrumental in writing and arranging many of the album’s songs with Osbourne and others. Osbourne himself is a veteran Heavy-Metal performer. He was previously with Black Sabbath, with whom he broke two years ago. While Sheriff’s Department investigators work and a Federal Aviation Authority representative flew in to determine the cause of the crash, fans may well be contemplating the irony of one of Rhoads’ and Osbourne’s last songs, “Flying high Again.” and it’s lyrics:

“Got a crazy feeling I don’t understand – Gotta get away from here – Feeling like I shoulda kept my feet on the ground – Waiting for the sun to appear.”

Okay, so I actually felt moved to write something today. Not something in particular, just something to let folks know that I’m still alive out here. Not that many people read me much anymore, but that’s okay. I’ve been just rolling along doing the daily life thing. I tell you, sometimes I think I live the most boring existence in the world. I try not to bitch about it too much because there are a lot of people the world over that have it much worse than I do…who would give anything to be able to eat three square meals a day, to have a house to live in and a steady job to go to. But sometimes it feels like all I do is wake up, take care of the baby, and then go to work. Day in and day out it varies little, so there’s not a whole lot that I feel like discussing about my life on a daily basis because, well, it’s all always the same.

I’ve decided to try and get into school next quarter and finish up. The school is offering the last two classes that I need, at night (that’s good because I won’t have to get a baby sitter), and I’m going to try and get a loan for the money. I still have to clep the SCT 100 class (intro to computers) and that should hopefully be no problem. Once I’m done with that, I’m done, at least with my associates degree, and while it may not be worth much to anyone else, it’ll be proof that I was able to do it, that I was able to do something I set my mind to. Sometimes that’s worth all the trouble in life I think – proving to ourselves that we can do the work if we only decide to do it and then get out and do it. I may not be worth hiring to anyone on the job market because of my age or my idiosyncrasies, but I know that I can at least do the work, and that helps improve my self worth. Something my friends and family can tell you I don’t have much of. So, hopefully if I can get the money, I’ll be finished with school in a little over three months. I just can’t believe that I’m so close to finishing now…and I have to credit Bru with helping get me going again, reminding me that I’m almost done and that if I don’t hurry and finish, they’ll likely change the course requirements on me. Rae also helped convince me of that too. I wonder sometimes what it is about me that makes people care so much about what happens to me, what causes them to give a damn when maybe they shouldn’t…when the rest of the world definitely doesn’t. I guess I’m dealing with depression, or something. I don’t know, bru could probably tell me. She’s busy though with all her school stuff and I don’t want to bug her with it. I just feel ‘rutty’…you know, as if I am stuck in a trap and can’t get free. Sometimes the smallest things will make me feel better…getting to read on my break, an email from a friend, a phonecall from someone who cares, reminding me that I’m alive, that I’m more than my job, that someone out there in the wide world remembers me and worries that I’m doing okay. Sometimes I have a harder time feeling better. A friend of mine described it best when they said “I feel like a whole lot of BLAH mixed with a good bit of enh”. I guess that’s how I’m feeling….same old same old, day in and day out, I guess that’ll do it to you.

Anyways, that’s pretty much where I’m at right now. Maybe something will change. Maybe not.

S