OCTOBER 2021 BOOGIE PEOPLE FAN OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to the Boogie People Fan of the Month for October 2021, Vicky M! Learn more about Vicky below!
Where are you from?: Da Bronx, now living in Knoxville, Tennessee
How many years have you been a fan?: More than 30 years
What is your favorite George Thorogood song: Bbbbbb Bad to the Bone
How many times have you seen George Thorogood live? What was your favorite show?: Once, in Chattanooga. I missed 45 years of live shows
What’s one thing that sets you apart from other George Thorogood fans?: I am a proud Mets fan and George gave me his sweat towel
Want a chance to be featured as the Boogie People Fan of the Month? Join NOW!
Gibson Gives: Donates $300,000 To Metro Nashville Public Schools and Music Makes Us To Support Students
NASHVILLE, TN (September 22, 2021) Gibson Gives, the philanthropic arm of Gibson--the iconic American guitar brand--has announced today a $300,000 donation to benefit students attending Metro Nashville Public Schools. The public private partnership Music Makes Us will distribute the donation of guitars and other music equipment across Metro Nashville Public Schools music education programs, as well as sistering school districts.
The Gibson Gives donation will directly benefit students in schools with guitar learning programs including the following schools: Antioch High School, Bellevue Middle School, Donelson Middle School, H.G. Hill Middle School, Hillwood High School, John Overton High School, Maplewood High School, McGavock High School, and Nashville School of the Arts. The donation includes Gibson guitars (electric, acoustic, and bass guitars), 36 amplifiers, 1700 pairs of guitar strings, and 116 guitar stands. Additionally, Gibson Gives has provided 1000 PPE face masks to all Nashville Metro Public Schools music students valued at $4,000.
George Thorogood, Destroyers plan 'Good to Be Bad Tour' stop in Albany
Southwest Georgia blues/rock fans looking for an opportunity to show a little of their Christmas "bad" side will get that opportunity on Dec. 12 when George Thorogood and The Destroyers bring their "Good to Be Bad Tour: 45 Years of Rock" to the Albany Municipal Auditorium.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m..
Since 1976, Thorogood and his band have sold more than 15 million albums, built a classic catalog of hits, and played more than 8,000 live shows. They broke records with their 50 Dates/50 States Tour, delivered landmark performances at Live Aid and on "Saturday Night Live," and became mainstays on rock radio, MTV and stages worldwide for more than two generations. Through it all, they've remained one of the most consistent — and consistently passionate — progenitors of blues-based rock in pop culture history.
Formed in Delaware in 1973, Thorogood and The Destroyers have built a catalog of hits that remains as popular today as the songs were when they were first released. Classics like "I Drink Alone," "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer," "Get a Haircut," "Move It on Over," "Who Do You Love?", and — of course — the genre-defining "Bad to the Bone" are still beloved by fans and have kept the guitar great and his band relevant through 4 1/2 decades of music.
Thorogood, the 2018 winner of the B.B. King Award, is dedicating the Good to Be Bad Tour to the memory of his wife, Maria, who lost a battle with ovarian cancer in 2018. A portion of proceeds from all stops on the tour will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
For the past 45 years, it's been good to be George Thorogood & The Destroyers. And in 2021, their Good To Be Bad Tour: 45 Years Of Rock will prove why like never before.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers to perform Sept. 12 in Troy
Courtesy Dan Thrasher @ Dayton Daily News
Like many bands, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, performing at Hobart Arena in Troy on Sunday, Sept. 12, were on the road in March 2020. The coronavirus changed everything.
“We were active from the end of January 2020 right up until the middle of March,” Thorogood said. “We started in New Zealand and ended up in Mississippi. That’s a lot of travel. We had work scheduled all across the continent and Canada. Then the lockdown came, which was the smart thing to do, and we had to put everything on hold for a while. You know, safety first. You’ve got to get the planet healthy before we can start rocking.”
Thorogood says he was occupied with some unspecified personal issues during last year’s shutdowns, which distracted him from creating new music.
“I’m still in the process of taking care of some things but that allowed me time to do that,” he said. “As far as creativity, I’m not a Paul McCartney or a Bob Dylan by any stretch of the imagination. Something creative usually just hits me. I don’t say, ‘OK, today I’m going to write a song.’ That’s a talent in its own self. Something might hit me and I’ll say, ‘That might be a good idea of something to do.’ But with what’s going on, I really didn’t have time for that sort of thing.”
Thorogood formed the first version of his blues rock band the Destroyers in Delaware in 1973. Rounder Records released the group’s self-titled debut three years later. While there have been ups and downs, the band has continued to record and tour. After releasing projects on EMI and Capitol Records, Thorogood returned to Rounder in 2015.
While there wasn’t time for new music during the COVID shutdowns, Thorogood did have one new release in 2020. Craft Recordings released “Live In Boston, 1982: The Complete Concert” in December. It was his first offering since Rounder released “Party of One” in 2017.
“We have this live thing going and it seems to be doing pretty good,” Thorogood said. “I’ve got to take time out and listen to it one of these days. I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve got to wash my socks and all that fun stuff, but one of these days they’ll tie me to a chair and make me listen to that sucker.”
“I’m always a little rusty when we start out, no matter what the situation is,” he said. “We’ve had stretches off in the past for a year-and-a-half. Some of the cats keep active with their chops, whereas our drummer and myself, we kind of back off when we’re not touring. Then, I found some cats in Southern California and we jammed so I could get my chops up to snuff. We actually did a private party and that helped.”
While he’s enjoying his time back on the road with the band, Thorogood admits it’s quite different than pre-pandemic touring.
“There’s absolutely nothing normal about any of this,” he said. “As we move from state to state and town to town, the venues are different everywhere, but the fan response and turnout is pretty consistent and that’s what’s important.
“There might be a little bit of an extra edge due to the lockdown and everything but it is pretty much business as usual,” Thorogood added. “We’re very fortunate the fans we have are very exuberant people and their enthusiasm has never waned over the years.”