Tag Archives: allan holdsworth

Features, In Memoriam

Reflecting On The 2017 Deaths In Music

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If you’ve been reading the PiercingMetal website for a while then you already know that I occasionally need to share the sad news about deaths in the entertainment world. Historically speaking, I’ve been doing them since the days when I had “PiercingMetal Musings” as a side blog that had not yet been integrated into the main site as you see now. Back then I always felt weird about doing such posts but as much as good news should be announced so should the bad stuff and as a known “voice” for the Metal Scene, I try to keep up on them when the news hits the wire. Now with this being said, there is no way possible for me to address every single one of them based on the size of the team and the time that we have so starting this year I will be doing a larger rundown of many of the names that I think you would know. Some have already been discussed in our “In Memoriam” Features, and those artists will be highlighted so you can examine the longer toast that we did. Let’s start from the beginning of the year and raise a glass to their memories one more time.

January 16, 2017: Steve Wright (66), American power pop bassist and songwriter (The Greg Kihn Band)
January 18, 2017: Mike Kellie (69), British psychedelic rock and power pop drummer (Spooky Tooth, The Only Ones)
January 22, 2017: Pete Overend Watts (69), British glam rock bassist (Mott the Hoople)
January 24, 2017: Butch Trucks (69), American rock drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, Les Brers)
January 28, 2017: Geoff Nicholls (68), British rock musician and keyboardist (Black Sabbath, Quartz)
January 31, 2017: John Wetton (67), British progressive rock singer, bassist, and songwriter (Asia, King Crimson)

February 1, 2017: Robert Dahlqvist (40), Swedish alternative rock guitarist and singer (The Hellacopters, Thunder Express, Dundertåget)
February 4, 2017: Steve Lang (67), Canadian rock bassist (April Wine)
February 8, 2017: Tony Särkkä (44), Swedish black metal multi-instrumentalist
February 12, 2017: Al Jarreau (76), American jazz singer
February 13, 2017: Trish Doan (31), American heavy metal bassist (Kittie) (death announced on this date)
February 19, 2017: Larry Coryell (73), American jazz fusion guitarist
February 25, 2017: Rick Chavez, American progressive metal singer and guitarist (Drive)
February 25, 2017: Bill Paxton (61), American new wave keyboardist (Martini Ranch) and actor
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Features, In Memoriam

Legendary Guitar Innovator Allan Holdsworth Has Died (1946-2017)

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As much as I hate to keep churning out these sorts of posts, it seems as though the only constant in our world is death and taxes and with that I must announce that the legendary guitarist Allan Holdsworth has passed away at age 70. It was only a few short hours ago this afternoon that Louise Holdsworth (daughter of the master musician) announced the news of his passing on her Facebook. I’ve embedded the statement for you below the photography by Glen Laferman.

“It is with heavy hearts that we notify everyone of the passing of our beloved father. We would appreciate privacy and time while we grieve the loss of our dad, grandad, friend and musical genius. We will update close friends and family when service arrangements have been made and will notify the public of an open memorial service, which all would be welcome. We are undeniably still in shock with his unexpected death and cannot begin to put into words the overwhelming sadness we are experiencing. He is missed tremendously. Louise, Sam, Emily & Rori.”

Mr. Holdsworth was one of those players that was always on my bucket list to see but one that I sadly never managed to make it to. I don’t play guitar so didn’t manage to follow as much of his work as so many of my friends that do play have but the stuff I listened to was quite extraordinary. I still have a cassette recording from a show that someone copied for me from a Bottom Line show where he was showcasing his skills on the SynthAxe and as I pen these words I’m listening to his collaboration with Jens and Anders Johanssen on an album called “Heavy Machinery”. Even with my limited exposure to his skills its very safe to say that there didn’t seem to be any boundaries to his level of creativity with the guitar and the SynthAxe. No cause of death was disclosed with the posting but when one is released I will amend this reflection. To learn more about the amazing years of Holdsworths career and life you can get it all on the official Wikipedia entry that I have linked below. Thank you Mr. Holdsworth for being such an innovative force in this craft because you have influenced more musicians that you probably had been aware of. May you Rest In Peace and may your family find comfort during this sad time.

Official Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Holdsworth