Two
members of the rock community disappeared without a trace last
month, one in Los Angeles and another in London. Police fear for the
safety of Manic Street Preachers' guitarist, Richey Edwards, who has
had "a long history of dysfunctional behavior" according to NME,
and has not been seen since February 1. Police discovered his car
abandoned at Auste Service Station, near the Severn Bridge in London,
on Friday, February 17. Edwards walked out of the Embassy Hotel on
Bayswater Road at 7:00 AM on February 1, leaving behind medication,
toiletries, and a packed suitcase. It is thought that he had over
£2,000 ($3,500) cash with him at the time. Detectives believe he drove
to his home in Cardiff Bay, where he left his credit cards, passport,
and Prozac, which he had been prescribed to combat his long-term
depression. Detective Inspector Frank Stockholm of the Cardiff Police
said that the police department would dredge the Severn Estuary, and
they were checking the status of all unidentified bodies that had
washed up in the area. Edwards disappeared on the day he was to due to
fly to America for a week long promotional tour with Manic's singer
James Bradfield. Manic's bassist Nicky Wire said, "If Richey does not
want to come back then that is fine. We just want him to give us a
call. We are genuinely worried. He has never disappeared like this
before."
It has come to light that Edwards withdrew £200 ($350) a day from his
bank account using an automated teller, during the two weeks leading
up to his disappearance. His account has since gone untouched.
According to his manager, Martin Hall, who reported his disappearance
to the Harrow Road Police Station in London on February 2, "he was
fine. There were no signs."
His disappearance comes just six months after he was admitted to a
private clinic suffering from mental exhaustion and depression. It
also has come to light that Edwards handed the band a sheaf of
finished lyrics shortly before leaving, although he left no note
explaining his disappearance. Manic Street Preachers have since
canceled two European gigs, as well as a 26-date US tour between March 8
and April 9. They also have postponed plans to record a track for the
forthcoming film, Judge Dredd. If you have any information,
please call the Cardiff Police on (country code if calling from the US:
0144) 0222 222111.
In a story that uncannily echoes the Richey Edwards disappearance,
Philip Kramer, the former bass guitarist for Iron Butterfly, has also
disappeared. As ATN reported last month, Iron Butterfly had recently
reformed to play some live shows, and to begin working on a comeback
record, their first since 1975. Co-founding member Ron Bushy had
flown to Los Angeles to meet with Kramer on February 12, to begin
planning the reunion. Kramer picked him up from LAX and dropped him
off at his hotel without incident. But sometime later that night,
Kramer who is currently a Thousand Oaks computer exec, made several
frantic cellular phone calls to family and friends. Authorities and
volunteers searched without success on Sunday (Feb. 5). The search
focused on the western San Fernando Valley, after a report that a man
matching his description had been seen at a fast food restaurant, near
Saticoy St. and Winnetka Avenue. When police questioned Bushy, who
appears to be the last person who saw Kramer, he was flabbergasted,
and said (as they always do) that Kramer seemed "in good spirits."
Kramer is 6'5" inches, weighs 220 lb., has brown hair and blue eyes,
and, when last seen, was wearing a white dress shirt, and blue jeans. Call
1-800-359-0237 or the Ventura County Sheriff's department at
805-494-8200 if you have seen him.
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I Robot, New ATN Music & Technology Section, Debuts
![[I, Robot]](images/icons/icon-I_Robot.gif)
ATN
is proud to debut in this issue a new section, I Robot, covering music
and technology. The section kicks off with three columns: "The Producer,"
"alt.music.tech," and "Ex Machina." "The Producer" is written by veteran
record producer Scott Mathews, who has produced and/or worked on recording
sessions with such artists as the late Roy Orbison, John Hiatt, the Beach
Boys, John Lee Hooker, and Keith Richards. He is also in the Durocs, one of
the more innovative rock duos of the past two decades. Mathews will discuss
various aspects of the record making process in an always lively and amusing
way. "alt.music.tech" is written by James Daly (Rolling Stone,
Forbes). Daly will cover topical music/technology issues as well as
report music/tech news. "Ex Machina" is written by Brent Hertig, who will
report on hardware and software, helping ATN users to cut through the hype
when considering the purchase of a new program, piece of equipment or CD-ROM.
We hope you'll check out I Robot and let us know what you think.
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Technology Will Set You Free
If
you use a Mac and have ever wanted to explore digital multi-track
recording, now is the time. ATN sponsor OSC is offering a free demo of Deck
ll, their innovative software which turns a Quadra AV machine, or any
PowerPC, into a multi-track, random access recording studio and sound editing
workstation. Visit the OSC sponsorship page, where you can download the demo.
ATN has used OSC software for years, and we can attest that it's very cool
stuff.
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Say It's Your Birthday!
![[Lou Reed]](images/Reed,_Lou/sm-Reed,_Lou.gif)
Today
is the birthday of Lou Reed (né Louis Firbank), who was born in
1944. He met John Cale in New York in 1964, who was on a Leonard
Bernstein fellowship. They began playing clubs with Sterling Morrison
and Maureen Tucker as The Velvet Underground. Andy Warhol put them in
his Exploding Plastic Inevitable show in 1966, which toured the US and
Canada, adding the haunting, tormented singer Nico to the mix.
Reed's fascination with the more unpleasant sides of urban life,
tempered with a true pop sensibility, dominated their first album.
They made four more, before Reed left in 1971, recording a solo album
titled Lou Reed. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced his
second album Transformer, which gave him his only chart hit,
"Walk On The Wild Side." Equally interested in poetry and
guitar/bass/drums, Reed has proved that rock & roll can be made
interesting and valid for those over 40. At his worst he is
formidable, and at his best an experimental genius who knows no fear.
Also the birthday of Karen Carpenter, Rory Gallagher, George Benson,
Eddie Money, Dale Bozzio, Jay Osmond, Mark Evans (AC/DC), and Jon Bon
Jovi.
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![[Lou Reed]](images/Reed,_Lou/Reed,_Lou.jpg)