i saw this on the CNN website today checking my mail and stuff while en route
home from Seattle.... to be honest, this freaked me out....

this is extremely extremely  disturbing for all working musicians - 
to think that someone can walk in on your gig
and start shooting at you, your fans, your family, whatever....

i don't find any of it very funny, to be honest... the repercussions 
of this are very very serious...

in a bizarre coincidence, i had just bought the new Mojo with John 
Peel on the cover and reading about
the london gig in the 70s where Frank zappa was pushed off the stage 
by some nutbar. The monitor also fell on him
breaking his leg, neck, whatever.... it was never clear why the guy 
did it - either because he was jealous of his girlfriend liking frank 
or he felt zappa hadn't given him his money's worth.....

like many people who are sometimes in the public eye as a performer 
or whatever, you are a target - i was freaked out a few years ago 
when i started getting weird collage letters threatening me and then 
my wife got one when her picture was in the paper for a story on 
brides to be and their wedding dresses (!!!)... and email is a neat 
new way
to send anonymous scary threats also - i was deluged about 4 years 
ago with crazy emails and they finally stopped when i told the guy to 
read what he was sending me, i had gotten it the day i heard my mom 
had cancer, i mean, what the f**?

It can happen to anybody.

food for thought.

prayers and thoughts for a fellow musician first and foremost.



ralph