#RIP, David Bowie (1947-2016)

I needed time to process this before posting my other big music news for today.

As I fell asleep after preparing myself for the week, I woke up very early in the morning (about 2:30am) to start tweeting about news when I saw the shocking announcement:

David Bowie.

Dead.

 Wednesday January 10, 2016.

Age 69.

Cancer.

That news hit me like a ton of bricks. 

David Bowie changed music forever. His style-bending, gender-bending, fashion-forward and bad-ass sense of cool made the world pay attention.

One of my earliest memories of David Bowie was watching the film "Labyrinth" in a theater

along with a group of maybe 30 kids. Summer of 1986. It was one of the strangest and coolest things

I'd ever seen, and that movie remains in my collection, Jareth, the Goblin King, scared the shit out of me and made me want to BE him at the same time.

I then remembered hearing his music growing up. 

"Let's Dance", "Space Oddity"Ziggy Stardust", "China Girl", "Fame" (co-written by the iconic John Lennon), and more importantly (for me), his iconic duet with Queen, "Under Pressure".

Hearing actual session files of these songs now as an adult , listening to each instrument and vocal, being able to isolate the magic, made me a better musician and I thank God I am alive to remember the music and pass it along to my son. 

David, thank you for the music, and thank you for being you unapologetically.

The world will miss you, I will miss you, but I know your wife Iman and your children Duncan and Lexi will miss you much more than any of us fans will ever be able to express.

Rest well, Goblin King.

"Check ignition and may God's love be with you..."

One more thing...

Fuck cancer.