Music
Garth Brooks Accused Of Rape In Lawsuit From Hair-And-Makeup Artist
Los Angeles — A woman who claims to have worked as a hair and beauty stylist for Garth Brooks claims he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
In her complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the woman is named Jane Roe rather than her given name. Brooks vehemently rejected the charges in a statement, admitting he attempted to have a judge stop Thursday’s lawsuit from being filed.
Garth Brooks Accused Of Rape In Lawsuit From Hair-And-Makeup Artist
The lady claims in the lawsuit that she has worked for Brooks’ wife, country artist Trisha Yearwood, since 1999 and began working for Brooks in 2017.
She said she was assaulted while traveling from Nashville to Los Angeles with Brooks, who was singing alongside soul singer Sam Moore at a Grammy Awards tribute in October 2019.
Brooks generally travels with an entourage, but the two were alone on his private jet, and he only rented one hotel suite for both of them, according to the lawsuit.
The woman claims that while in the suite, he appeared nude in the bedroom doorway and assaulted her.
According to the lawsuit, he then proceeded as if nothing had happened, expecting her to do his hair and cosmetics right away.
The woman’s lawsuit claims that earlier in 2019, while she was at Brooks’ house, he emerged naked in front of her, seized her hands, and placed them on his genitals.
In court records in that lawsuit, the plaintiff, known as John Doe, claims the charges are “wholly untrue,” and that he only learned of them in July when she threatened to publicly sue him unless he paid her millions of dollars.
He sought a judge to prevent the woman from causing “intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy.”
“For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars,” according to Brooks’ statement. “It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”
Garth explained that he filed the complaint anonymously “for the sake of families on both sides.”
“I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be,” he said.
The woman’s suit also claims Brooks exposed himself to her numerous times, discussed sexual aspirations with her, and sent her explicit text messages.
She claimed she was obliged to continue working for Brooks due to financial difficulties, which he knew about and took advantage of.
An email to the woman’s attorney inquiring if she had submitted her charges to police was not immediately returned.
Garth Brooks Accused Of Rape In Lawsuit From Hair-And-Makeup Artist
The 62-year-old Oklahoma native Brooks was the biggest performer in country music in the 1990s, with classics like “Friends in Low Places” and “The Thunder Rolls.” His concerts featured arena-rock pyrotechnics, while his records reflected a pop-music sensibility. He achieved enormous success that extended beyond normal country listeners.
He married fellow country singer Yearwood in 2005. A message addressed to a Yearwood representative requesting comment on the case received no immediate response.
SOURCE | AP
Music
Phil Lesh, Founding Member Of Grateful Dead And Influential Bassist, Dies At 84
Los Angeles — Phil Lesh, an 84-year-old classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who discovered his real calling as a founding member of the Grateful Dead by reimagining the position of rock bass guitar, died Friday.
Lesh’s death was confirmed via his Instagram account. Lesh was the eldest and one of the most enduring members of the band that helped define the acid rock sound originating from San Francisco in the 1960s.
“Phil Lesh, the bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, died peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and filled with affection. According to the Instagram message, Phil gave enormous delight to everyone around him and left a legacy of music and love.
The message did not specify the cause of death, and attempts to contact spokespeople for more information were not immediately successful. Lesh had already survived prostate and bladder cancer, as well as a liver transplant in 1998 due to the devastating effects of a hepatitis C infection and years of excessive drinking.
Lesh died two days after MusiCares named the Grateful Dead their Persons of the Year. MusiCares, which assists music professionals needing financial or other support, mentioned Lesh’s Unbroken Chain Foundation, among other charity projects. The Dead will be honored in January at a fundraiser dinner in Los Angeles before the Grammy Awards.
Although he kept a low public profile, rarely giving interviews or speaking in front of an audience, fans and fellow band members recognized Lesh as an important member of the Grateful Dead, whose thundering lines on the six-string electric bass provided a brilliant counterpoint to lead guitarist Jerry Garcia’s soaring solos and anchored the band’s famous marathon jam sessions.
Phil Lesh, Founding Member Of Grateful Dead And Influential Bassist, Dies At 84
“When Phil’s happening, the band’s happening,” Garcia famously said.
Drummer Mickey Hart described him as the group’s intellectual, bringing a classical composer’s attitude and skills to a five-chord rock ‘n’ roll outfit.
Lesh credited Garcia for training him to play the bass in the unconventional lead-guitar style for which he would become famous, combining thundering arpeggios with fragments of spontaneously arranged symphonic passages.
A fellow bass player, Rob Wasserman, once stated that Lesh’s style distinguished him from every other bassist he knew. While most others were willing to keep time and play the occasional solo, Wasserman said Lesh was good and confident enough to lead his bandmates through a song’s melody.
“He happens to play bass but he’s more like a horn player, doing all those arpeggios — and he has that counterpoint going all the time,” he told me.
Lesh began his long musical journey as a classically trained violinist, taking third-grade lessons. He began playing the trumpet at 14 and rose to second chair in California’s Oakland Symphony Orchestra while still in his teens.
In 1965, however, he had mostly abandoned both instruments and was working as a sound engineer for a tiny radio station when Garcia approached him to play bass in The Warlocks, a young rock band.
When Lesh informed Garcia that he didn’t play bass, the musician inquired, “Didn’t you used to play violin?” When he responded yes, Garcia said, “There you go, man.”
Lesh sat down for a seven-hour lesson with Garcia, armed with a cheap four-string instrument purchased by his girlfriend, and followed the latter’s advice to tune his instrument’s strings an octave lower than Garcia’s guitar’s four bottom strings. Then Garcia let him go, allowing Lesh to establish the spontaneous playing style he would keep for the rest of his life.
Lesh and Garcia frequently exchanged leads, sometimes spontaneously, and the band as a whole frequently broke into long experimental, jazz-influenced jams during concerts. As a result, even well-known Grateful Dead tunes like “Truckin'” or “Sugar Magnolia” rarely sounded the same twice in a row, which drew faithful fans back to each show.
“It’s always fluid, we just pretty much figure it out on the fly,” Lesh said, chuckling, in a rare 2009 interview with The Associated Press. “You can’t set those things in stone in the rehearsal room.”
Phillip Chapman Lesh was born on March 15, 1940, in Berkeley, California, as the sole child of Frank Lesh, an office equipment repairman, and his wife, Barbara.
In later years, he claimed that listening to New York Philharmonic broadcasts on his grandmother’s radio sparked his interest in music. One of his earliest memories was listening to the famous German composer Bruno Walter conduct the orchestra through Brahms’ First Symphony.
He frequently listed composers such as Bach and Edgard Varèse and jazz legends such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis as his musical influences.
By the time he arrived at the College of San Mateo, Lesh had transitioned from classical music to cool jazz. He eventually became the first trumpet player in the school’s big band and composed several orchestral compositions for the ensemble to perform.
Soon after Lesh began playing bass, The Warlocks changed their name to the Grateful Dead, and Lesh began to captivate audiences with his agility. Crowds congregated in what became known as “The Phil Zone” just before his stage location.
Phil Lesh, Founding Member Of Grateful Dead And Influential Bassist, Dies At 84
Although Lesh was never a prolific songwriter, he did compose music for and occasionally sang some of the band’s most popular songs. These included the lively country song “Pride of Cucamonga,” the jazz-influenced “Unbroken Chain,” and the hauntingly beautiful “Box of Rain.”
Lesh wrote the latter on guitar as a gift for his dying father. He said that after hearing the instrumental recording, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter contacted him the next day with a lyric sheet. That sheet, he claimed, included “some of the most moving and heartfelt lyrics I’ve ever had the good fortune to sing.”
The song was frequently played at the end of the band’s shows.
After the group disbanded following Garcia’s death in 1995, Lesh frequently skipped performances with the other members.
He participated in a 2009 Grateful Dead tour and again in 2015 for a handful of “Fare Thee Well” shows commemorating both the band’s 50th anniversary and Lesh’s final performance with the others.
However, he continued to perform frequently with a revolving band of musicians he dubbed Phil Lesh and Friends.
In later years, he mainly performed at Terrapin Crossroads, a restaurant and nightclub he founded near his Northern California home in 2012 and named after the Grateful Dead song and album “Terrapin Station.”
Lesh is survived by his wife, Jill, and two kids, Brian and Grahame.
SOURCE | AP
Music
One Direction Singer Liam Payne Found Dead In Buenos Aires, Local Media Reports
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne died outside a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday, according to local media.
The 31-year-old British musician fell from the building’s third story.
According to officials, leading local newspapers La Nacion and Clarin reported that police were dispatched to the hotel in the capital’s beautiful Palermo neighborhood in response to an emergency call describing “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
According to news sources, ambulance workers confirmed the singer’s death after finding him in an inside hotel patio.
One Direction Singer Liam Payne Found Dead In Buenos Aires, Local Media Reports
Liam Payne rocketed to global popularity as a member of the now-defunct pop band One Direction, alongside Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.
The boy band formed after finishing third on the British edition of the X Factor music competition show in 2010, however, the group disbanded in 2016 as its members pursued various pursuits, including individual careers.
SOURCE | Reuters
Music
Former Ozzy Osbourne Guitarist Jake E. Lee Shot 6 Times In Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Jake E. Lee, Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist, was shot and injured many times in Las Vegas early Tuesday morning.
According to an emailed statement from Las Vegas police, the victim was shot around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday and taken to the hospital for treatment. There have been no arrests, and the police department said the investigation into the incident, which occurred in a suburb about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the Strip, is still ongoing.
Former Ozzy Osbourne Guitarist Jake E. Lee Shot Multiple Times In Las Vegas
“No further comments will be made while the incident is being investigated by the police.” “Jake and his family appreciate your respect for their privacy at this time,” the message stated.
Amanda Cagan, the representative, said the incident occurred as Lee was walking his dog.
“By the grace of God, no major organs were hit, he’s fully responsive, and expected to make a full recovery,” Tim Heyne, manager for Lee’s rock band Red Dragon Cartel, told The Associated Press.
Former Ozzy Osbourne Guitarist Jake E. Lee Shot Multiple Times In Las Vegas
Jake, 67, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and reared in San Diego. He played guitar in various bands on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip during the 1980s glam metal movement, including an early version of Ratt.
He joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1982 and stayed until 1987, appearing on albums such as 1983’s “Bark at the Moon.” He later played in the metal band Badlands and released two solo albums. He most recently led the Red Dragon Cartel.
SOURCE | AP
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