Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Here’s the part of this job that I hate. The part where I start getting e-mails that hint at something. The part where I call the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to try and verify if John Entwistle, the brilliant bassist from The Who, was in fact staying there, only to be given a terse “no comment”. The part where I speak to the Clarks County Coroner’s office and verify that, in fact, Entwistle passed away today at the age of 57 of causes still undetermined.

For many people, British rock in the ‘60s can be defined by either the Beatles or the Stones. For me, The Who was always just as important, and I can’t count how many hours I spent blaring their albums at top volume, bouncing around the room, arm pinwheeling on my air guitar, stuttering along to “My Generation” or taking a trip with “Tommy” or trying on the sneer of a true Mod. Their sound remains a crucial part of my musical diet, and as this news sinks in, I plan to put on “Boris The Spider,” as loudly as possible, and mourn Mr. Entwistle’s passing in my own personal way.

Our condolences go out to the friends, family, and fans of The Who in this very sad moment.

Just a quick post-script from Father Geek...

A sad sad day... As many of you old time site readers may be aware ol' Father Geek here (age 57) put his UT Film School acquired media knowledge to use in the late 1960's and early 70's producing and performing over 1000 "Lightshows" on the road throughout the southern United States with tons of top flight regional and national touring rock n roll bands. One of these was The Who, didn't do many with them just a couple of festivals, but I did do some live roadshows of Tommy.

Two of the guys are gone now, and at my age it really makes you reflect on your own mortality. Alot of the rockers I knew and loved have left us in just the last couple of years; George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, the 2 Ramones, as well as others. THE WHO helped shape an earth shaping generation, or two. (Harry's favorite T-shirt at ages 2 and 3 was his PINBALL WIZARD one, he had his own copy of the soundtrack at that age too.) Annnnnd, well John helped shape The Who into the dynamite group they were... ARE! His bass was (is) the heartbeat of that band. We still have all their music, and the visuals of TOMMY, MONTEREY POP, WOODSTOCK, QUADROPHENIA, and the dozens of other film and video appearances to visit again and again. So long John, I'll miss you... Rock on!

Father Geek out...