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Just happened to peak at the off-topic, saw Tom Petty, and thought I'd see what was happening. And, found out he was gone. Really tragic. Always loved his stuff, ever since I first heard Break Down. Loved the grooves and his vocals, and the way he fused into the old souls of rock and roll with Harrison, Lynne, Dylan, and Orbison. Just played sweet rock and roll you could not help but love. Too many great ones have left us in the past 2 years. So sad. RIP Tom.
Now CBS and others have said the death cannot be confirmed.
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This is so prevalent in the entertainment world. Not just music it's everywhere in "Hollywood", acting, music, TV shows, news anchors, everywhere.
Big stars like Prince and MJ surrounded themselves with rabid yes men who will say anything to protect their idol so all this BS comes out about how he treated his body like a temple, nobody ever saw him doing anything etc, etc. All BS.
At least Petty admitted it and we all know the recidivism rate for this, right? Anybody read the Carry Fisher autopsy tox screen results? She writes this book years ago telling all about it, becomes a hero, basks in the glory of coming clean. Right, all BS.
This has nothing to do with their influence, their writing, performances, all the joy they gave to their fans. No, this is my personal rant against the Hollywood hypocrisy about this. I'm using the word Hollywood generically. It could be New York, Nashville, anywhere. If you're not doing this stuff and partying hard as a player, actor or wannabe trying to get your foot in the door, you're out. I'm sure there's exceptions but basically, that's it. It's been that way for 100 years and it's still that way now.
I'm a big fan of music obviously and lots of movies and TV shows. Love them, great performances and entertainment value. BUT, I have no illusions about the personal lives of these people. Enjoy their art but don't waste any time reading or listening to interviews about anything and have zero interest in what they say personally. It's all pure 100%, finest grade BS.
Not the first time the media has incorrectly speculated about someones passing, I would wait until we have official information from his family, manager or himself.
This is so prevalent in the entertainment world. Not just music it's everywhere in "Hollywood", acting, music, TV shows, news anchors, everywhere.
Big stars like Prince and MJ surrounded themselves with rabid yes men who will say anything to protect their idol so all this BS comes out about how he treated his body like a temple, nobody ever saw him doing anything etc, etc. All BS.
At least Petty admitted it and we all know the recidivism rate for this, right? Anybody read the Carry Fisher autopsy tox screen results? She writes this book years ago telling all about it, becomes a hero, basks in the glory of coming clean. Right, all BS.
This has nothing to do with their influence, their writing, performances, all the joy they gave to their fans. No, this is my personal rant against the Hollywood hypocrisy about this. I'm using the word Hollywood generically. It could be New York, Nashville, anywhere. If you're not doing this stuff and partying hard as a player, actor or wannabe trying to get your foot in the door, you're out. I'm sure there's exceptions but basically, that's it. It's been that way for 100 years and it's still that way now.
I'm a big fan of music obviously and lots of movies and TV shows. Love them, great performances and entertainment value. BUT, I have no illusions about the personal lives of these people. Enjoy their art but don't waste any time reading or listening to interviews about anything and have zero interest in what they say personally. It's all pure 100%, finest grade BS.
Bob
So why don't you tell us what you REALLY think Bob! Hehe.
Well, Bob may have sounded insensitive to some of you, but he is essentially correct. How many times are we expected to feel sorry for someone who uses substances that either speed up or slow down the heart until that one time they push a little too hard? How often do we read stories about people who overcome a habit that they chose to partake in, and we are supposed to laud their "courage". Does it take courage to take a loaded gun out of your mouth, or common sense?
It's sad when ANYBODY dies, but reality is that we are all going to die. Natural causes is quite different from dying from something that was a conscious choice. It's just that in the case of "normal" people, only a handful of people will care. In my case, I can count them on less than one hand. (I tend to burn bridges.)
However, all that said, I DO wish news sources like TMZ would fact check before they start rumors. I read that Petty died early in the day. Within an hour it changed to heart attack and he was taken off life support. I don't even know where it stands now. Rolling Stone actually picked up the story from TMZ and incorrectly stated he had died about 2 this afternoon.
I was thinking about him a few day before, wondering how old he is now. Must of pick up the vibes. They come here with so much talent and creativity then leave it here for generations to come, job done, going back home to a higher place. I'm fixing a jukebox at the moment, all working good now and it's got Full Moon Fever and The Wilburys on it playing now as I type.
Hopefully, we can see a bright side to his passing.
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Hopefully, we can see a bright side to his passing.
And hopefully part of that bright side is that if you use drugs and smoke like he did, stop or you may join him when you are short of your 67th birthday, too. He used heroin, cocaine and was a chain smoker for years.
For me I remember driving around at a young age and hearing "Here Comes My Girl" and I'm thinking that's the coolest song I heard since the Beatles, maybe the best song ever! Around 1981 my band went to LA to try to "make it" in the music business, stopped in LA for gas and "The Waiting" is playing on the speakers there and i think, man, we could open for the Heartbreakers, that would be big enough and good enough for me. Of course we never got that far. One of the band members was from the area and at a later time we went to find some parts for something electrical, can't remember, but I'm riding in the passenger seat as we're headed to Reseda. I asked my bandmate if that was Reseda down to the right from the freeway. The freeway was running thru the yard where some kids were tossing a ball. I knew that I was experiencing a moment of inspiration that Tom had. There are many other instances and connections. The first time I listened to Wildflowers and was just blown away with how good it is. It's always worth a listen, end to end.
Today the Philly radio station is playing nothing but Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Mudcrutch. I wanted to just keep driving, best radio I've heard in years.
(edited the town name, as I get older the memory isn't as good, I said Pomona when it was Reseda)
I remember reading Don Felder's (of the Eagles) autobiography where he talked about teaching the neighborhood kid, little Tommmy Petty, how to play guitar.
I'm thinking it took...
John
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With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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