When we finally took over the back of our building in OB, husband Paul and I had had enough of transient activity in our adjoining hallway, so with the permission of our landlords we set out to make this corridor safe and pleasing for kids at Electric Music Studios. First the walls were textured and painted in faux red, then the floor was painted black, and the corridor was lined with silk and Persian rugs. I began to paint portraits, first on thin plywood, later switching to canvas because of adhesion issues. In a past life (from 1997-2008) I was a portrait artist and made my living painting the likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf....but now I was painting enormous images of all the fallen heroes of rock music, including Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Frank Zappa, and many of the tragic fallen of our time.
Today, as I began to paint our latest "lost" crooner, Amy Winehouse I began to reflect upon all the superstars we have lost at such an early age. Twenty-seven. I recall being on top of the world at the age of 27. What is it that haunted so many of these beautiful young stars that would tip their worlds and send the flying over the edge to their doom? I used to refer to my beautiful hallway as the Rock Hall of Fame, but today I am thinking it is more like the hallway of tragedy.
The next time you venture down that corridor to Electric Ladyland, please stop and reflect on how precious a gift life is, and how rock and roll should not be about tragedy, but about the joy of creating music.
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