Billy Joel was right
I got a phone call last Friday night from John Chmiel, the owner of the Water Street Music Hall. He was out of town but got some horrible news he needed me to relay to the community of Rochester Groove Rockers that I am close with.
Tony Cavagnaro had been in a car accident and he didn't make it. He hit a tree on his way to a gig, sustained major head trauma and died.
It was like something from a bad movie. A mysterious late night phone call relaying truly unbelievable news. I just sat there and stared at the TV. I don't know for how long. Then came the tears that have been oh so familiar for the last week.
Tony Cavagnaro is the lead singer, guitar player and brain of local band The Buddhahood. If you've never seen The Buddhahood with Tony, you missed out. They are a jamband / reggae / groove outfit that blows my mind every time I see them. I get to be witness to a lot of music. A lot of legends have cross my path in the ten or so years I have been part of ticketed events. The Buddhahood was one of the, if not, THE best act in Rochester. They played at everything. Every festival around, every music venue, opened for some big touring acts and held their own headlining themselves. Go to their website and listen right now: DOWNLOADS
So it was after midnight on Friday. And I started to do what John had asked me to do. Called mutual friends, people in the local music business, casual acquaintances in bands, other music hall owners. I sent out text messages and posted on a local message board. Then the flood came. In comparison, I took the news a lot better than some of the people I told. My phone rang until 3:30AM with disbelievers. No one wanted this news. It's awful.
And it's not just awful because he was 41 with wife and child. It's not just awful because he was a band leader and director of a local outfit whose future was then in question. It's not just awful because he has given light and hope via his music to thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people. It's awful because this was a great man. A person you could not meet and walk away from. He stuck with you after only a few minutes in this giant's presence.
I remember talking with Tony after they had played a long set in front of about 30 people. This happens sometimes, no one shows up. Not often for The Buddhahood, but sometimes, it did. We had shop talk about concerts, local bands and musicians for over an hour- long after the doors to the Hall had closed and everyone was gone. And I took just about everything he said with me - and applied it - in my business and actions thereafter. I couldn't put my finger on why everything he had said made so much sense... but it did. Now, I know. He was the most honest man in music. There was no ulterior motives with Tony. You could just tell that he meant what he said and it was right and true.
And now he's gone.
At his wake, one of our mutual friends told me he could feel the vibration of the world had grown stronger when he passed away. I usually don't subscribe to such hippiness, but I feel it too. I can still feel Tony. I still hear him. And, sometimes, it hurts.
"Send up a signal I'll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun
Darlin' only the good die young
Only the good die young"
- Billy Joel: "Only the Good Die Young"
Goddammit if Billy wasn't right.
This really, REALLY sucks. It's always the bastards of the world who live to be 100 and the truly good, righteous people who leave us way too early. And we're all crushed.
I guess Tony can put it better than Billy Joel:
Tony Cavagnaro had been in a car accident and he didn't make it. He hit a tree on his way to a gig, sustained major head trauma and died.
It was like something from a bad movie. A mysterious late night phone call relaying truly unbelievable news. I just sat there and stared at the TV. I don't know for how long. Then came the tears that have been oh so familiar for the last week.
Tony Cavagnaro is the lead singer, guitar player and brain of local band The Buddhahood. If you've never seen The Buddhahood with Tony, you missed out. They are a jamband / reggae / groove outfit that blows my mind every time I see them. I get to be witness to a lot of music. A lot of legends have cross my path in the ten or so years I have been part of ticketed events. The Buddhahood was one of the, if not, THE best act in Rochester. They played at everything. Every festival around, every music venue, opened for some big touring acts and held their own headlining themselves. Go to their website and listen right now: DOWNLOADS
So it was after midnight on Friday. And I started to do what John had asked me to do. Called mutual friends, people in the local music business, casual acquaintances in bands, other music hall owners. I sent out text messages and posted on a local message board. Then the flood came. In comparison, I took the news a lot better than some of the people I told. My phone rang until 3:30AM with disbelievers. No one wanted this news. It's awful.
And it's not just awful because he was 41 with wife and child. It's not just awful because he was a band leader and director of a local outfit whose future was then in question. It's not just awful because he has given light and hope via his music to thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people. It's awful because this was a great man. A person you could not meet and walk away from. He stuck with you after only a few minutes in this giant's presence.
I remember talking with Tony after they had played a long set in front of about 30 people. This happens sometimes, no one shows up. Not often for The Buddhahood, but sometimes, it did. We had shop talk about concerts, local bands and musicians for over an hour- long after the doors to the Hall had closed and everyone was gone. And I took just about everything he said with me - and applied it - in my business and actions thereafter. I couldn't put my finger on why everything he had said made so much sense... but it did. Now, I know. He was the most honest man in music. There was no ulterior motives with Tony. You could just tell that he meant what he said and it was right and true.
And now he's gone.
At his wake, one of our mutual friends told me he could feel the vibration of the world had grown stronger when he passed away. I usually don't subscribe to such hippiness, but I feel it too. I can still feel Tony. I still hear him. And, sometimes, it hurts.
"Send up a signal I'll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun
Darlin' only the good die young
Only the good die young"
- Billy Joel: "Only the Good Die Young"
Goddammit if Billy wasn't right.
This really, REALLY sucks. It's always the bastards of the world who live to be 100 and the truly good, righteous people who leave us way too early. And we're all crushed.
I guess Tony can put it better than Billy Joel:
"Cause once I'm in my dirt sleep, There'll be trouble no more."
- from "Dirt Sleep"
There will be some sort of benefit for his family / tribute to Tony in the coming weeks and months. Please check with the Buddhahood website for details.
posted by Pete Spaker at 10:14 AM
Hi! I'm Pete. Because I didn't get enough attention as a child, I now seek the approval of complete strangers in all four of my current jobs. I produce concerts with a company called Up All Night, market even more concerts and other ticketed events with a company I formed with my buddy Yates called Sharptoe Design, am a DJ on a local radio station (WBER 90.5FM) and shoot fireworks for Young Explosives, my favorite legal rush. I have so many jobs because I can't ever quit anything. 
1 Comments:
Hey Pete, sorry. I didnt know him, but they are such a fun band. Tragedies like these never make sense and you can never say the right thing. It doesnt sound like he would want you to be angry. It does sound like he left his mark. Its nice that you were able to share that moment with him talking, I bet there's more to learn from it.
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