Geezer Butler...

"Happy  63rd Birthday"

Geezer Butler...

Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the founding bassist for heavy metal legends Black Sabbath. His nickname supposedly arises from his habit as a teenager of referring to everyone as "Geezer".

Geezer formed his first band, Rare Breed, with schoolmate John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of 1967. Separated for a time, Ozzy and Geezer reunited in the blues foursome, Polka Tulk, along with Guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed their band Earth, but after finding a band in the small-time English circuit with the same name, soon adopted Black Sabbath in early 1969.

Butler played rhythm guitar in his pre-Sabbath days, including with Rare Breed, but when Sabbath was formed, Iommi made it clear that he wouldn't want to play with another guitarist, so Geezer moved to bass.

Geezer is noted as being one of the first bassists to use a Wah-wah pedal on his bass, as showcased at the beginning of N.I.B. which inspired many later bassists, such as Cliff Burton who cited him as an influence. He was also one of the first bassists to de-tune, the reason being so he could play Iommi's riffs with more ease after he had de-tuned down to C# (one and a half tones down) himself. De-tuning was soon adopted as a standard in most heavy metal bands to follow.

The name "Black Sabbath" was borrowed from a song written by Butler, who got the name from the Boris Karloff film of the same name, at the time he was an avid follower of occultic novelist Dennis Wheatley. Although Ozzy was the focal point of the band, Butler wrote most of the band's lyrics, drawing heavily upon his fascination with the black arts to explore recurring themes of death and destruction.

 

 

During the latter half of the 1970s, Black Sabbath's popularity dwindled, although the group continued on in the early 1980s with ex-Rainbow front-man Ronnie James Dio and then with ex-Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan.

 Butler quit the band in the middle of 1984, forming the Geezer Butler Band. 

In 1988 he joined Ozzy Osbourne to take place in the No Rest For The Wicked World Tour.

 Butler re-joined Black Sabbath in 1991 for the reunion of the "Mob Rules" lineup, but again quit the group after the Cross Purposes tour of 1994.

By 1995, Geezer was back together with Osbourne, to play on the Ozzmosis album. 

After recording Ozzmosis, he formed G//Z/R, issuing "Plastic Planet" in 1995. His next solo album, "Black Science" followed in 1997. 

Geezer returned to Sabbath one more time for the 1997 edition of Ozzfest, and has remained with the band since. In 2005, he released Ohmwork, his third solo album.

-Radioscreamer.com

Stewart Copeland...

"Happy 60th Birthday

Stewart Copeland...

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks. Copeland was ranked by a Rolling Stone magazine reader poll in 2010 as the fifth greatest drummer of all time.

Born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria, VA, Copeland -- the son of a CIA agent -- spent his formative years in the Middle East but attended college in California before settling in England in 1975 and playing drums with the progressive rock unit Curved Air. 

Following the group's dissolution, he founded the Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henri Padovani (the latter soon replaced by Andy Summers). Beginning with their first hit, 1979's "Roxanne," the trio emerged as one of the most popular and innovative bands of the post-punk era, drawing upon reggae, funk, and world music to create a uniquely infectious yet cerebral brand of pop which generated a series of smash singles including "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Every Breath You Take," and "King of Pain."

While with the Police, Copeland -- who in 1980 issued a solo record, Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid, under the alias Klark Kent -- not only earned wide critical acclaim for his intricate, textured drumwork, but he contributed many of the group's songs as well. 

According to Stewart's book, the backup band in this clip is Sting on bass, Andy Summers and Kim Turner on guitar, and Florian Pilkington-Miksa (of Curved Air) on drums.

At the peak of their commercial success, the Police disbanded after touring in support of the 1983 blockbuster Synchronicity.

Copeland was already established as a film composer, however, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his score to Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish.

 In 1985 he released The Rhythmatist, the product of his musical pilgrimage to Africa,

Followed by an ever-increasing number of film scores including a pair of Oliver Stone features.

Wall Street and Talk Radio.

 In addition to acclaimed projects like Ken Loach's Raining Stones, Four Days in September and West Beirut as well as many more mainstream Hollywood productions. 

Copeland's other work includes a stint with the pop-fusion trio Animal Logic as well as authoring the San Francisco Ballet's King Lear, the Cleveland Opera's Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, and Ballet Oklahoma's Prey.

In 2001, it was announced that Copeland would be touring with former Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger and the Cult's Ian Astbury as the Doors of the 21st Century. Copeland later sued the group for breach of contract, claiming they reneged on a promise to use him on tour and in the studio, but the suit was amicably settled with Manzarek and Copeland trading kind words in the press. 

Next was soundtrack work for the Showtime series Dead Like Me and a guest appearance on guitarist Rusty Anderson's Undressing Underwater.

 In 2002 he played a short tour in Italy with the percussion quartet Ensemble Bash and a small orchestra. The tour was documented on the CD/DVD package Orchestralli, released by the Ponderosa label in 2005. 

Copeland then reunited with the Police in 2007, celebrating the band's 30th anniversary with a worldwide tour.

-Allmusic.com