UPDATED — Factory now closed Gibson Guitar Forces Its Factory Workers in Nashville in the midst of the Coronavirus

UPDATE: According to the Tennessean, they’ve now closed too:

Nashville-based Gibson guitars closed facilities Friday in an effort to combat the spreading of the novel coronavirus.

Gibson confirmed a temporary closure hours after an order Sunday from Metro Public Health Department to stop all non-essential Nashville business, beginning Monday, for the next 14 days.

The Les Paul and SG model guitar maker operates facilities in Nashville and Bozeman, Montana. In Nashville, Gibson employs about 350 to 400 factory workers and about another 120 in a Nashville-based custom guitar shop.

There were no known coronavirus, or COVID-19, cases among employees at the time of closure, said J.C. Curleigh, Gibson CEO and president. Curleigh began leading the 126-year-old company in late 2018, after Gibson filed for bankruptcy.

“It’s unprecedented, and I think what we’re reading from the board to the leadership team to every individual at Gibson,” Curleigh said, “is no one’s been through this. It’s not as though there’s a playbook.”

Gibson plans to pay factory employees a $1,000 stipend for the two week closure. Company leadership will re-evaluate production after two weeks, with guidance from city, state and federal officials, Curleigh said.

“(There are) a lot of ways, as leaders, we’re navigating this unprecedented time together,” Curleigh said, later adding, “We have a prerogative as a leadership team … two weeks of a factory (closure) or a month of factory (closure) pales into insignificance of the rebuild we’ll all have to do.”

The Montana-based Gibson facility, which manufactures acoustic guitars, also closed Friday.

In Nashville, the brand migrated primary offices last July to Cummins Station. Gibson office employees, about 100 total, began working remotely last Wednesday, Curleigh said.

Good job Gibson. Music is great, but not right now.

Original Story below…

—

This is not good, Gibson Guitars had better rethink this.

Via the Payday Report:

Nashville-based Gibson Guitars last week ordered its headquarters employees to work from home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

However, out at its factory, on old Massam Drive in Nashville, over 300 blue-collar factory workers are being forced to come into Gibson’s factory to build guitars.

“The temperature in the plant is 80 degrees with 50-60% humidity. which is really not good if you are trying to keep a virus down,” says “Mel”, a Gibson Guitar worker, who declined to give their name out of fear of retaliation.

Workers at the plant say that it’s impossible to maintain 6 feet of social distance in the plant. Likewise, many workers haven’t been given protective gloves or masks to wear on the shop floor to spread of COVID-19.

“On the assembly line, people are working closely together. we all touch the guitars,” says Mel.

There is one turnstile in the plant and twice a day more than 300 workers try to exit the plant through the same turnstile. Likewise, all the workers use the same timeclock to check-in, a dangerous vector point for COVID-19.

Fear of the plant being a site of a potential outbreak of COVID was so intense that a local food truck that typically services the plant at break has stopped showing up.

However, workers say that Gibson Guitar management has told workers that they are going to continue production at the plant until there is a positive case of COVID among workers at the plant.]

Also the report says this:

In 2018, the company emerged from bankruptcy and has struggled since then; leading many to wonder if the company is risking workers’ lives for financial reasons.

“I don’t believe it is a necessity,” says Mel. “I realize they got a lot of backorders, but they are putting a lot of people at risk. There are a lot of people at this plant, who are older people, 50 and above, who have been there for many years and they are more at risk than others.”

Workers estimate that approximately 30% of the workforce is over the age of 50; making them at great risk of contracting COVID-19.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” says Mel. “We have the auto industry closing, the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee is closed because of coronavirus”.

Gibson Guitar has long had a reputation of being a hard-nosed employer.

In 1985, Gibson Guitars famously closed its unionized factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan to set up shop non-union in Nashville. The shop has remained non-union up to today, leaving many workers at the mercy of their employers as the pandemic strikes Nashville.

The Thursday Night Music Express – Special Memorial Edition – RIP Greg Lake

We have lost another music legend…

Greg Lake, who fronted both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died aged 69.

One of the founding fathers of progressive rock, the British musician is known for songs including In the Court of the Crimson King and his solo hit I Believe in Father Christmas.

He died on Wednesday after “a long and stubborn battle with cancer”, said his manager.

The news comes nine months after Lake’s band-mate Keith Emerson died.

Keyboardist Emerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, coroners in the US said.

Lake’s manager Stewart Young wrote on Facebook: “Yesterday, December 7th, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer.

“Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been.”

Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett paid tribute on Twitter, writing: “Music bows its head to acknowledge the passing of a great musician and singer, Greg Lake.”

“Another sad loss with the passing of Greg Lake,” wrote Rick Wakeman, keyboardist in prog rock band Yes.

“You left some great music with us my friend & so like Keith, you will live on.” – Via the BBC

Others: Balloon Juice and AOL

UPDATED: Leon Russell Dead at 74

Saw the alert on my Fox News app on my phone.

One of the greatest rock musicians is dead at 74.

Via Rolling Stone:

Leon Russell, renowned multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who collaborated with the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones and Elton John over the course of 50 years in the music industry, died Saturday. He was 74.

He was the forgotten man of Seventies rock — until Elton John pulled him back into the studio to make one more classic album

“Leon Russell died on Nov. 13, 2016 in Nashville at the age of 74. His wife said that he passed away in his sleep,” Russell’s website wrote. “The Master Of Space And Time was a legendary musician and songwriter originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma who performed his gospel-infused southern boogie piano rock, blues, and country music for over 50 years.”

Elton John, collaborated with Russell on 2010’s The Union, paid tribute to the musician on Instagram. “My darling Leon Russell passed away last night. He was a mentor, inspiration and so kind to me,” John wrote. “Thank God we caught up with each other and made The Union. He got his reputation back and felt fulfilled. I loved him and always will.”

His music is heard every day. Like this here, he is the one playing Piano:

Here’s a video from his days with Joe Cocker from the “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” era:

Here’s one of his hits:

RIP…. Sad smile

Update: I think I would selling Leon Russell and Joe Cocker short, if I did not include this clip here. It wasn’t just a rock concert, it was a religious experience, watching these two masters of their crafts at work. Not to mention the talent of all the people on that stage in that era. Looking at this video is a peek into a different time and different world. Enjoy the video:

The Monday Morning Music Express – Special Memorial Edition Presents David Bowie

What a terrible loss for music. 🙁

Some of his best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g

His last two:

Via NYT:

David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personas, died on Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday.

Mr. Bowie’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Steve Martin, on Monday morning.

He died after having cancer for 18 months, according to a statement on Mr. Bowie’s social-media accounts.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family,” a post on his Facebook page read.

His last album, “Blackstar,” a collaboration with a jazz quartet that was typically enigmatic and exploratory, was released on Friday — his birthday. He was to be honored with a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 31 featuring the Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats.

He had also collaborated on an Off Broadway musical, “Lazarus,” that was a surreal sequel to his definitive 1976 film role, “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”

Mr. Bowie wrote songs, above all, about being an outsider: an alien, a misfit, a sexual adventurer, a faraway astronaut. His music was always a mutable blend: rock, cabaret, jazz and what he called “plastic soul,” but it was suffused with genuine soul. He also captured the drama and longing of everyday life, enough to give him No. 1 pop hits like “Let’s Dance.”

Others: No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Comicbook.com, Scared Monkeys, Shakesville, CBS New York, ABC News, Patterico’s Pontifications, 89.3 KPCC,Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mashable, The Verge, Liberal Values, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Althouse and Refinery29

The Sunday Afternoon Music Express Presents: Steve Camp

This one takes me back to simpler time in my life, in the 1980’s. When I was stronger, when I was hardcore for the Lord. This was my feelings about the Church World, at the time. Still is, to a degree. Maybe even more so now.

Fun Fact: Steve Camp was a Baptist, He is now a hardcore Calvinist.

Lyrics:

I feel sick when I look at the sin in my life
I can’t take it any longer
All along I’ve known what to do–what is right
But my heart wasn’t stronger

Why do I do the things I don’t want to do ?
Do you ever feel the same way?
Like sin has got it’s hold over you
You try to stop but you just can’t walk away

Why do I listen to the teaching that tickles my ears?
How they play on my emotions
How can they laugh at the truth in tears (?)
There’s no call for my devotion

Am I man enough to face the truth?
Do you ever feel the same way?
Like the world has got its hold on you
You try to stop but you just can’t walk away

Cheap grace
We’ve watered down the blood he shed
We say we’ve given all
But we have hardly bled

Cheap grace
You know it cost him everything
It’s easy to abuse
What you think is for free

In these last days men’s hearts will turn hard
They become lovers of pleasure
Oh how they run away from their God
To seek other treasures

Why do I do the things I don’t want to do?
Do you ever feel the same way?
Like the world has got its hold on you
You try to stop but you just can’t walk away

Repeat chorus

Am I man enough to face the truth?
Do you ever feel the same way?
Like the world has got its hold on you
You try to stop but you just can’t walk away

Repeat chorus

Do you think it’s for free?

I feel sick when I look at the sin in my life (x2)

I can’t take it any longer (x2)

Cheap grace

The Friday morning music express – Special Memorial Edition – Presents: B.B. King

They say it comes in threes, first a family friend and now, this man.

My other favorite of his:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y8QxOjuYHg

B.B. King, the larger-than-life guitarist and singer who helped popularize electric blues and brought it to audiences for more than six decades, died Thursday in Las Vegas. He was 89. King, who was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 30 years ago, was hospitalized last month due to dehydration. Last October, he was forced to cancel eight tour dates for dehydration and exhaustion. His attorney, Brent Bryson, confirmed his death to the Associated Press. – Source: Rolling Stone

One thing to remember; if there had never been a B.B. King; there would have never been a Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page or none of the rest of them white people who were inspired by this man.

I think this tribute from NBC news is very well done:

Dick Wagner of Michigan Band “The Frost” dead at 71

We lost the man who made “The Frost.” It’s a sad day for classic Rock and Roll in Michigan.

The Story:

It was a final medical battle Dick Wagner couldn’t win.

Wagner, the Michigan-bred guitarist renowned for his work with Alice Cooper, the Frost, Lou Reed and others, died this morning in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 71.

Wagner succumbed to respiratory failure at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, where he had been in intensive care for the past two weeks following a cardiac procedure.

The guitarist had famously overcome a series of medical issues during the past decade, retraining himself on guitar after a stroke paralyzed his left arm. He re-emerged to begin recording, writing and performing gigs, including a triumphant homecoming concert at the Magic Bag in November 2011.

Wagner was born in Iowa, moved with his family to Waterford as a child, and later settled in Saginaw. He was a key figure in southeastern Michigan’s emergent rock scene in the 1960s, a go-to guitarist who made his name with the Bossmen and the Frost.

He was eventually recruited by Alice Cooper for the milestone 1972 album “Welcome to My Nightmare,” and went on to A-list session work with the likes of Reed, Peter Gabriel and Rod Stewart. Rock lore has long held that Wagner was a secret hired hand on albums by several high-profile bands.

via Dick Wagner, esteemed Michigan rock guitarist, dead at 71 | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

Here’s “The Frost” at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq1z_cYFrbs

The Thursday night music express presents: Johnny Winter

It just hit me, I have heard some blues player had passed away and the name for some reason did not click.

Folks, we lost Johnny Winter.

There will probably be a lot of words written about this man and I don’t think that anything that I could say would be any better than what they’ve written.

Rest in peace Johnny say hello to Jimi for me.

This video below is as far as I’m concerned Johnny Winter’s best performance.

Robert Plant does not want to live in Led Zeppelin’s past

There has been a great deal of talk and hype about Led Zeppelin doing a reunion tour — and Robert Plant is having none of it.

Robert Plant – Just another pissy old, overpaid, overrated rock star

Quote:

It’s been nearly seven years since the show at the 02, and the topic of Zeppelin’s aborted tour still rankles Plant, who has come to a pub near his North London home to talk about the group’s new series of archival release. As explains himself his decision to not tour with Zeppelin, he leans forward with menace, and his eyes nearly double in size. “You’re going back to the same old shit,” he says. “A tour would have been an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that’s shitty about about big-time stadium rock. We were surrounded by a circus of people that would have had our souls on the fire. I’m not part of a jukebox!”

Nearly all of Plant’s peers are happy to deal with such a circus considering the insane financial rewards. “Good luck to them,” he sneers. “I hope they’re having a real riveting and wonderful late middle age. Somehow I don’t think they are.”

Needless to say, Jimmy Page has a very different take on the situation. “There’s bound to be fallout if you just do one show,” he says. “At the time of the 02 show we were led to believe there were going to be more. You’ll have to ask Robert why he changed his mind. I don’t even know if he considered it. I don’t know what he thinks.”

via Robert Plant Slams Idea of Zeppelin Tour: ‘I’m Not Part of a Jukebox’ | Music News | Rolling Stone.

I hate to say it, but, I do get Robert Plant’s point. He is simply not interested in cashing in on Led Zeppelin’s legendary status.

One thing people have to understand about Led Zeppelin is this: By 1980, when Led Zeppelin’s drummer, John Bonham died the band was basically running on the vapors of a different era. Jimmy Page was doing heroin, John Bonham was going on drinking binges that would last for days. Now Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were living totally different lives; as they were totally sober and trying to be in a band. This lead to friction in the band. This was further compounded when Robert Plant’s five year old son Karac died of a stomach infection. Jimmy Page nor John Paul Jones showed up for the funeral. This angered Plant greatly.

Plus too, and this is the part that nobody really talks about anymore, but it’s the truth; by 1980, Led Zeppelin sounded, well, dated. By 1980, Zeppelin sounded like, well, the 1970’s and young people of that era had moved on. The young people of the 1980’s were listening to punk and new wave. The ones of listened to rock and roll, had found other bands to listen to, seeing that Led Zeppelin was taking forever to release records. So, a bit of their fan base had been peeled off. So, by 1980, Led Zeppelin was seen largely as a novelty act.

Please Note: I do not write the following as a critic, but as someone who really liked Bonham’s drumming and am saddened that Bonham died the way he did and as a grandson of a man, who was a working alcoholic who tragically died really young:

As a drummer, I feel that I can say this: The only reason Led Zeppelin was what they were, is because of John Bonham’s drumming; this is why they did not attempt to replace him, after he died. The other guys were great musicians, but Bonham’s drumming rounded out and really made that sound. Bonham’s own son does not even remotely sound like him at all. Not only that, but even Bonham’s drumming sound was the result of some old school studio trickery and careful editing of tape; especially in the later years, as the use of alcohol began to cause his drumming ability to suffer. In his later years, Bonham’s inability to do “triplets” was very obvious. Bonham never lost timing, that I’ve ever heard; but his later drumming was not nearly that of his young years. When Bonham was sober, he played well. When he was drunk, he was awful. Bonham, when drunk, would become verbally abusive towards the other band members; this is clear in the intro of one of John Bonham’s isolated tracks of “Fool in the rain.” Bonham could not even count off a song to start a session take without making a mistake.

My point is this: Robert Plant simply does not want to go back to that place again; and quite frankly, I do not blame him one bit.

I know how Ace Frehley feels

I feel Ace Frehley’s pain. Gene Simmons, since revealing that he is Jewish; has taken to playing the Semite card….alot.

An excerpt from an interview:

Paul’s book recently came out. Have you read any of it?

I haven’t read it, but I’m sure he threw me under the bus in one way or another. [Laughs] Although I heard he threw Gene under the bus more than anyone.

Apparently he thinks you and Peter are anti-Semitic.

That’s absurd. I’m engaged to a Jewish lady! I’ve been with her for five years. Her name is Rachael Gordon and she’s a singer-songwriter. I met her in San Diego on my 2008 tour. And my whole life I’ve been in the music business. You know the music business is controlled by Jewish people: My attorney, my accountant—everybody’s Jewish. [Laughs] I’m anti-Semitic? Are you out of your mind? You know what the problem is? Paul’s cranky because he can’t call me a drunk or a drug addict anymore. He can’t say I’m unemployable. He can’t say I don’t show up, because I do these days. So now he’s grasping at straws just to grab headlines for his goddamn book.

via Even Ace Frehley Thinks Kiss Is a Circus | NOISEY.

What killed KISS was the overmarketing of KISS by Gene Simmons (or should I call him Chaim Witz?) and because of Gene’s outspoken Conservative politics. The majority of KISS fans could give two flips about politics, Israel or anything else related. It is too bad that ol’ Chaim turned KISS into his own personal diamond mine and political bully pulpit. For all the controversial imagery in that group; there were some seriously good tunes written by that band — especially in the early years.

I know how Ace Frehley feels. I was basically blackballed by the neoconservative blogosphere; because I did not go along with the hive mind mentality, when it comes to Israel, in the Conservative blogosphere. I also have been called a racist by the same people, because I simply will not buy into the idea of multiculturalism. Which is, for what it is worth; progressive code words for being ashamed that you are a white person.

Anyhow, it is a shame that Simmons would stoop to such tactics against former band mates. But, it is to be expect by those who are a protected minority and seem to believe that they are entitled to some sort of special treatment. The funny thing is that Republicans will fall all over themselves to decry blacks who demand such treatment; but you dare let someone question the same treatment of Jews — and quickly those people are branded haters, by the same very people. It is a sad double standard in Conservative and Republican politics.