Tom Ardolino, who pounded the pagan skins for NRBQ -- a band that encompassed power pop and just about every other kind of popular and semi-popular music worth listening to -- passed away on Friday at age 56, after a long battle with an unidentified illness. .
He and the rest of the Q's were practically teen idols in Japan, amusingly enough. Here's a live version of their "I Want You" -- recorded in Tokyo in 1996 -- that shows exactly why.
Fuck you, Death. Seriously -- you're beginning to piss me off.
7 comments:
The Mightiest Goddamned Band on the Planet on nights that the stars lined up correctly. Seriously. RIP, Mr. Tommy. (Ironically, my next show is The Spampinato Brothers on Thurs. - a 4-piece including Joey and Johnny Spamp, and my old pal Mr. Aaron Spade on guitar. Here's hoping that they provide a fitting tribute... ) - bill buckner
That particular track simply amazes me -- it falls together totally chaotically, yet it still has a monster groove.
I have no idea how those guys played so loose and so tight at the same time....
Love NRBQ. Back in the 70s, they used to play live on a Memphis FM radio station. Great stuff.
As others have suggested, Tom was without peer as the tightest sloppy drummer ever. No one was better at fitting 2 measures worth of fills into 1/2 a measure (or so) and still land smack on the one. He will be missed. Dammit.
His joy in playing was in every track.Like all the greats,no one will sound that same way again.
GB
As I understand it he wasn't exactly a drummer until he joined NRBQ.
Sometimes the greatest thing you can ever say about a band is:
Holy fucking shit that was good.
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