My heart goes out to you<3

Someone very near and dear to my heart - with whom I have had the pleasure of working, as well as photographing - is going through something most of us cannot fathom. I just saw him on Friday night, in good spirits, only hours before this tragedy occurred. My heart goes out to him and his family, and I wish even in some small way that I could help him.














Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Avril Lavigne Producer Butch Walker Was Renting Flea's Malibu House; He 'Lost Everything'

Wildfires claimed the home over the weekend.

By Kurt Orzeck

In a tragic turn of events, it has come to light that the rental home owned by Flea that burned in the Malibu, California, wildfires over the weekend was being occupied by Avril Lavigne producer Butch Walker - and he lost everything in the blaze.

Walker was touring New York at the time of the incident, and "had just consolidated my entire recording studio and house from Atlanta into the one house in Malibu," the songwriter/producer, who has also worked with Pink, Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is..., Tommy Lee and others, said in a press release. "I lost everything I've ever owned. Every master of every song I've ever recorded, every piece of recording equipment, guitars, drums and things I've collected over the years, cars, motorcycles, every family memorial, heirloom, picture, and document we ever had. ... Gone. I feel like I finally know the difference between 'going back' and 'going home.' "

Over the weekend, Flea said in a text message obtained by the Los Angeles Times that his $4.8 million home in Corral Canyon was "burnt to a crisp" by the fires on Saturday morning. According to TMZ.com, a second, $10 million Malibu home owned by Flea - the one in which he currently resides - did not burn. The one that did was a $4.8 million house that the bassist had been renting - most recently to Walker - and currently has up for sale, the site reports.

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose also had a close call when the fires burned his roof and singed some of his property. According to a report on KCAL-TV, Rose's assistant said the rocker "was with the hose everywhere" on his property, fighting to save his home.

The fires, which have largely been contained, were the worst in Malibu in years, according to the Times. In late October, another series of fires forced evacuations in the area but hit the San Diego area much harder.

SOURCE: http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=5523

"Music"

It's sad for someone my age to look back and know how incredibly amazing music was, and live through how incredibly insufferable music is becoming. Forty or so years ago you had the Beatles, the Police, Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Jeff Beck, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and other artists who put blood, sweat, and tears into their music. They pushed boundaries. They didn't settle for average; they wanted to be the best and most unique at their craft. It's the reason they are still selling records today. Maybe bands these days are trying their hardest. Maybe they were just born less talented. Either way, it's pretty terrifying. Now we're left with Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, The Pussycat Dolls, and... Sean Kingston? Who will even remember them or care in five years, let alone forty? Hearing a portion of "Beautiful Girls" back to back with Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" just drives home the point once again: Music has turned into "music." Selling an image has far surpassed selling a melody, harmony, or lyrical ingenious. No one cares to be talented or respected anymore... they just want to be beautiful, rich, and famous.

This Thanksgiving I thought about how I am thankful for the handful of contemporary artists that do care about music, who include but are not limited to the Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul, Matchbox Twenty, Fiona Apple, John Mayer, and Butch Walker:

"Stand By Me" VS. "Beautiful Girls"

I could get so much more in depth on this subject, but I don't have 24 hours to sit and write about it. So I'll leave it at that.