Y&T

[Holymagica]

Bloody hell did not expect that news today

For Rockerbob and the many other fans out there...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nui82pcuhgk

[Rockerbob]

Off the Y&T forum....from Dave Meniketti

It is with profound sadness and disbelief that I tell you that my best buddy for 37 years passed away this morning, January 7, 2011 at 1am at Stanford Hospital. Bravely and steadfastly battling the horrible spectacle of lung cancer, at the end he was surrounded by his family members, and the Y&T family up until his final breath.

All the beautiful things that I could say about my buddy Phil could never be summed up in a short sentence or two, and I promise that I will be back to say so much more about how I feel about him and his talents in due time. But for now, at 3am, after just having returned home from his passing, let me at least put this out there.

Phil Kennemore was not only a sweet and passionate man with his life, friends and family, but as an artist, he also had that rare ability to say what was on his mind with the most eloquent, clever, and to-the-point lyrics, yet could turn it on it's head in a second with some other viewpoint on reality and nail the point dead center. He was able to do what very few can - say the things that others have been thinking, but could never quite seem to put into words. He has always had a keen knack for doing that.

As a musician, with those huge fingers, his bass playing was always loud, strong, and deep, filling the largest or smallest of stages equally.

He had an amazingly strong life force that has influenced everyone who ever had the opportunity to be called a friend of his. I am forever grateful for our lifelong friendship, that was always in place throughout the worst and best of times. I will miss his sense of humor, his amazing wit, but most of all I will always miss not seeing him to my left on the stages I will play from this moment forward.

Yes, he was one of the class guys on this planet, and in this business, and I will always do what I can to spread the legacy of Phil Kennemore across the globe on every stage that I land on.

You know how much I love you Phil, and you knew how much your fans and fellow musicians loved and respected you. There was nothing left unsaid. You had a rich and wonderful life and I can only tell you that I was happy to have been alongside you every step of the glorious way.

Cheers to you, Phil.

Your friend forever,
-Dave
_________________
The world is full of kings and queens,
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
Its heaven and hell!

[LindaJeanne]

Rock in peace =^(

[adiszul]

another great musician died from cancer, very big loss, Rest In Peace Brother...
_________________
So live for today
Tomorrow never comes

[Holymagica]

Appreciation: Y&T bassist Phil Kennemore was always ready to rock By Tony Hicks
Contra Costa Times

Phil Kennemore walked out of the dressing room, obviously ready to rock.
The bassist had his stage gear on and his hair was done. He was slapping a few backs and smiling, a comfortable rock star in his element. "Let's do this," he said to someone, suddenly wearing a mock-serious look.
It was 1 p.m., seven hours before his band was supposed to take the stage.

It was September 2005, and Kennemore's band Y&T was scheduled to play the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, along with Night Ranger and a couple of other Bay Area bands, with the proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina victims. Kennemore -- who died of cancer last week at the age of 57 -- was ready to go even though the band hadn't even done its soundcheck. In fact, no one else from Y&T had even arrived yet. No one from any of the bands had arrived yet.
"He was the consummate rock star," says Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti, who played with Kennemore for 37 years and was at his bedside when he passed away Friday. "You hear questions from people, asking if the stories about bands on the road are true. 'Did you really do that?' Yeah, Phil did it all and he loved it all. He was right there, ready to play. You always knew the boy was going to show up for you."

Along with Meniketti, Kennemore -- who leaves behind a wife and a son in his mid-20s -- was the only member of Y&T left from the '70s never to leave the band. Kennemore typified Y&T. He played

relentlessly in a band with a passionate fan base. During its 1980s heyday, few hard rock bands had better songs or a more energized live show. Though big enough to tour the world with names like Motley Crue, AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne, Y&T lacked only the luck and necessary MTV theatrics that propelled other bands to superstardom.

During an interview for the DVD version of the 2008 documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says seeing Y&T play a half-empty club in Hollywood in 1980 was "the turning point for me wanting to play music."

"You could tell they loved what they were doing," Ulrich says. "It was real. They enjoyed the music, they enjoyed the vibe, they enjoyed the 100 or so kids they were playing to. They were playing the songs they wanted to play."

Kennemore's blue-collar attitude typified a band from blue-collar Oakland, says former Y&T drummer Leonard Haze.

"Phil -- we all -- appreciated the fact that, no matter how bad a show was, it was never as bad as some guy, unemployed, banging his head against the wall," says Haze, who met Kennemore when they were in middle school (Kennemore went on to graduate from Oakland's Skyline High School). "As long as (Phil) had food on the table, Y&T was never about money. It was about having a good time."

Haze says Kennemore's father Robert lost both legs and the use of his hands after jumping on a grenade during the Korean War, an action that according to reports saved the lives of three Marines and won him the Medal of Honor.

As a result, the Kennemore family was invited to a number of events over the years in Washington, D.C., none of which they attended. Which is why, when the band was touring the East Coast in the early '80s, Kennemore decided one night it was time to visit the White House. Only their cabdriver told them security issues wouldn't allow him to drop the pair off out front.

"Phil jumps out and runs to the fence and says, 'Leonard, take my picture.' Suddenly, every searchlight you can imagine goes on. Phil starts yelling, 'I'm an American, I love my country, Oh say, can you see "... .' Suddenly a gate starts opening and Phil runs back to the cab and we take off."

Despite his looks and rock star antics, Kennemore's former bandmates praise his bass chops, stage presence, and songwriting ability, which Meniketti says produced about 60 percent of the lyrics of what fans consider classic Y&T songs.

The band had just released its first new studio record in 12 years and was touring when Kennemore began experiencing back pain last spring. Visits with two doctors did not yield a diagnosis. When the pain worsened while Y&T was in the Midwest in July, the band called on friend and St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa to see if team doctors could take a look.

Within a day and a half, they knew Kennemore had lung cancer.

"We thought about canceling the tour, but Phil said, 'No, you can't. We have a new record out and you have to tour,'" Meniketti says. The band brought in replacement bassist Brad Lang while Kennemore returned to the Bay Area to begin treatment. He died Jan. 7.

"Some people will say there's no Y&T without Phil, and I can understand that," says Meniketti. "But Y&T is also the new record. These guys don't want to call it a day. The fans still love us."

The guy who used to show up in full stage gear, ready to rock seven hours before a show, probably wouldn't want it any other way.