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Former LOU REED, FOREIGNER And DOWNCHILD Keyboardist MICHAEL FONFARA Dies At 74

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Internationally renowned Canadian keyboard player Michael Fonfara has died in a Toronto hospital on January 8, 2021, due to complications from his two-year battle with cancer. He was 74.

Born in Stevensville, Ontario in 1946, the former Lou Reed keyboardist/bandleader appeared on nine of Reed‘s albums between 1974 and 2005, including his highest-charting U.S. album (#10) “Sally Can’t Dance” on RCA, as well as “Rock And Roll Heart”, “Street Hassle”, “The Bells” (which Fonfara executive produced) and “Growing Up In Public” that was co-written and co-produced by Fonfara for Clive DavisArista Records in 1980.

A supremely talented musician, Fonfara loved many different styles of music, performing on British-American rock band FOREIGNER‘s iconic album “4”, produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange, including their Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Urgent”. He also recorded with THE EVERLY BROTHERS, ROUGH TRADE, RHINOCEROS, ELECTRIC FLAG and was a current and 30-year plus member of Canadian blues legends DOWNCHILD, who are perhaps best known as the inspiration for Hollywood stars Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi‘s hit film “The Blues Brothers”, until his untimely death.

“He’s the best musician I’ve ever worked with,” states DOWNCHILD leader and co-founder Donnie Walsh. Bassist Gary Kendall echoes that sentiment “Yesterday we lost a brother, a bandmate, a co-writer and a dear friend. If you met him, you loved him. A creative genius.”

Fonfara‘s final recording was DOWNCHILD‘s “Live At The Toronto Jazz Festival”, recorded at their 50th-anniversary party in 2019, where he performed live alongside special guests Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, David Wilcox, Kenny Neal, Gene Taylor and Erja Lyytinen. The new album was just released worldwide on October 16, 2020, as the final chapter of his illustrious career.

2018 Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award) winners DOWNCHILD include some of the most well-respected musicians in Canada, who have performed together for over 25 years — guitarist, harmonica player, leader and co-founder of the band Walsh, lead singer and harmonica player Chuck Jackson, Pat Carey on tenor sax, Mike Fitzpatrick on drums, Kendall on bass, and Fonfara on keyboards.

Fonfara is survived by his wife Avril, his daughters Ashley and Ciara and his grandchildren Brooklyn, Camden, Jamie and Jaxon.Read MoreBLABBERMOUTH.NET

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Fozzy Saves the World 2023: Baltimore Show Review

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Fozzy comes back to Baltimore and brings the rock, the roll and David Arquette.

Chris Jericho and Fozzy always bring a great show with them , this time they had The Nocturnal Affair and Seventh Day Slumber along for the ride .

The Nocturnal Affair is a fun band to watch. A little mix of Dark Goth Rock and alternative industrial is how to explain them. Singer Brendan Shane is a great frontman and knows how to rock out the crowd. 

This was my first time seeing Seventh Day Slumber and they didn’t disappoint. The band puts on a great show and singer Joseph Rojas is not only an amazing singer but just an all around great guy. The band has been around since the late 90s and still just puts on an amazing show. 

Fozzy was next and the crowd was chanting “Fozzy,Fozzy” all night long. Part rock n roll crowd part wrestling crowd, the fans were ready for experience the “Walls of Jericho”. This band is always fun. The whole band just rocks the whole stage and you can tell that they are having fun. Jericho is a natural born entertainer and just oozes charisma all over the stage. 

Billy Grey and Rich Ward are a hoot to watch. Both have so much energy and are bouncing all over the stage , rich even gives PJ a few smooches now and then, and when they rock that guitar solos it’s insane. I love watching the crowd and the little kids who are at the show just enjoying watching  “The Ayatollah of Rock ’N’ Rolla”, with songs like “Drinking with Jesus” and “Judas” the fans go insane. 

As I mentioned in the opening statement, as we were leaving the venue after the show, the former WCW Heavyweight Champion David Arquette was coming into the venue to talk to Jericho. David was in town for monstermania horror con weekend and stopped in get a glimpse of Fozzy. 

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Interview with Morgan Lander of Kittie

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EMPIRE EXTREME NOT ONLY GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO PHOTOGRAPH KITTIE AT BLUERIDGE , EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO TALK TO MORGAN LANDER ABOUT PLAYING THE FESTIVAL AND ALL THINGS KITTIE

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BlueRidge Rock Festival 2022: Candlebox, Chelsea Grin,Powerman 5000, New Found Glory, Saliva, Wage War, 3 Doors Down

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