Although it has been a challenging year, some wonderful things did happen. We are thrilled that our drummer, Jeff Neal and his wife Ann Marie welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Lauren on October 31.
The tribute for Brad in August raised $11,325 for the DTS Charitable Foundation, which was donated in Brad s memory to The Humane Farming Association. Tom also made a matching contribution from the foundation to Earth Save. These are two organizations that encourage the lifestyle Brad believed in.
Tom recently took some time out from recording some new BOSTON songs to lay the lead guitar tracks for Stryper s Peace of Mind cover that will appear on their next CD. Both Gary and Tom are planning to make a guest appearance with Stryper at a benefit concert on 25 February 2008 in Providence, RI. Proceeds from this show will be going to the Station Family Fund, which provides survivor relief from the horrific February 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island.
Rolling Stone asked Tom to share some memories of Brad for their December issue. Only a portion of what Tom wrote appeared in the magazine... here is his full, unedited response to their request:
Brad has been portrayed by some as overly sensitive, even fragile, yet he was in fact one of the strongest, and strongest-willed people I have ever met. He lived the way he believed he should live, by his own carefully crafted principles.
He was indeed sensitive, not in the sense of a weakness, but rather in his amazing ability to empathize. The sanctity with which he viewed the welfare of animals was just a logical extension of this, and Brad was a very logical man.
His beliefs were not lifted from a book or a mentor, but rather a melding of ideas which he had determined to be true. To this credo he was steadfast and unwavering.
An ethical vegetarian at a time when it was not popularly accepted, Brad stuck to it in the face of adversity, often surrounded by people who neither shared it, or were able to comprehend the forces that directed him. His calm demeanor rarely varied even when faced with people who would have shredded the patience of a lesser man.
Brad and I began working together in the studio thirty-five years ago. The last twenty-five years was like having a Vulcan mind link with him. As we rolled through the hundreds of variations en route to the eventual vocal arrangement of a song, there was rarely any need to speak, both of us having come to know by now what the other was thinking. Even in our musical disagreements, the sense of mutual respect was overwhelming.
Brad kept everyone around him in stitches. He had a sneak attack wit with a dry delivery, yet he pulled it off without putting anyone down. Once, for a spellbound staff at an afternoon stadium sound check, he performed the song "Amanda" start to finish impersonating Michael McDonald by inserting a finger from each hand in the corners of his mouth.
Brad's commitment to the happiness of others was the hallmark of his personality. He loved his fans, but not for the gratification of their attention. He was simply compelled to make them happy, always the last to leave an after show gathering and the first to stop and shake hands with the stragglers waiting at the gate.
Brad will be remembered as the magnificent voice that powered the band BOSTON, but his passing is much more than that. We lost the nicest guy in rock and roll.
Enjoy God Rest Ye Metal Gentlemen, we wish you all abundance, health and peace.