Dio....and me...

One of the reasons I decided to start writing this blog was to talk about different people's affect on my life. I was going to start slow, try and do some funny stuff, and work my way up to the heavier, sadder stuff. However, the events of yesterday changed my plan, so I start with this:

Ronnie James Dio and Me...
(The Quest for Boobs)

I feel like I lost someone I knew, although I never did.

I never got the chance to see Dio live. It was always one thing or the other (too expensive, too far away, too busy). But a lot of my love of music, not only metal, but music began the first time I heard his voice:

At age 12, a friend and I snuck a burned copy of the movie Heavy Metal into his parent's house because we were into fantasy/sci-fi and heard it had a lot of boobs in it. As at age 34 those are important things to me, at age 12, they were quite literally the two most important things in the WORLD. The movie held up well in both regards throughout the first 3/4 of it, but then something really strange occurred, there was this guitar riff that rang out as the evil creatures of darkness began their attack on the city and this voice blasted out:

"Close the city and tell the people
That something's coming to call
Death and darkness are rushing forward
To stamp light from the wall! "

It was a revelation to me. I no longer needed to see the end of this movie, I had found the answer to everything I was looking for in this song. At age 12 I wanted to rebel, I wanted to be a part of this, I now knew what happens when you listen to fools.

I must have rewound that part at least 15-20 times, just for the song. A 90-minute movie lasted 3 hours (we also rewound a lot of the boob parts...give me a break I was 12).

I searched out everything I could find about this music, strangely (or not-so), as a 12-year old boy in 1987, I found it very difficult to find any info. My local library didn't carry anything, my parent's never really took me to the record store, and my 15-year old cousin (my main source of music info) wasn't really into Sabbath. Also my friend's parents found the tape and confiscated it, knowing it for what it was. I was depressed because I couldn't find anything, and as most teenage boys will do, I gave up my search for something easier.

Every so often, they would play Heavy Metal on HBO, and I would be able to reconnect with the song that changed my life, but it wasn't until much later (12-14 years later) that I would be able to truly appreciate Ronnie James Dio's legacy and music.

Too make a long story short, Dio-era Black Sabbath opened my eyes to heavy music but I wouldn't truly reconnect with his music til much later. Because of him I was one of the Rock N' Roll Children.

A lot of people will be writing a lot of things about Dio over the next few days. A lot of these people will have better stories, having seen him in concert, met him, or if they are musicians, went on tour with him. I can't express the same things that these people can.

I never knew the man outside of his music and interviews. I never even saw him live. But if he happens to read this in heaven (and we know he's there, hell didn't want him, cause he would take over). I want him to know that he helped to shape my life in ways that I didn't even realize and probably will never realize. I want to thank him for all that he has brought to the world and to me.

I regret never meeting you Mr. Dio, I would not have known what to say to you if I did, and my ramblings about experiencing your music while looking for boobs in a cartoon would probably get me escorted out by security.

My 12-year old self is making fun of the 34-year old me for crying about someone I didn't truly know, but I see him tearing up too. He lost someone close as well.

I will always love your music, and in my eyes you will live forever.

Thanks Dio, for everything, you will be missed.

-Josh