2019 passings


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Dennis Dragon passed away last year and his older brother, Daryl Dragon, just followed him today, age 76.
Rest in power, Captain. I was lucky to know the both of you a lifetime ago.

KTLA Channel 5 News

Did you know their father too?

I met the Dragons through two people:
Ronnie Sindoni was the druggie black sheep son of a famous and very wealthy movie and TV producer who ran his own low power radio station in Malibu called K-BU 91.9 FM.
Naturally, the entire surf community was a part of his little mini media empire, and if you lived in the world located 250 feet above Pacific Coast Highway and the Malibu-Topanga area, not only did the cliffs block the signal, you just didn't even know of its existence unless you were a regular down there.
Dennis Dragon was a member of The Surf Punks, and Daryl had his hitmaker machinery with Tennille.
Hal Jepsen made the surf movies, the ones with the REAL surfers in them.
Hal was dating the sister of Daryl and Dennis Dragon (Kathy) for about four years. And I worked for Hal and for K-BU. I was Hal's videotape editor guru and I shot video of Hal related stuff whenever he needed a cameraman. Hal only worked with motion picture film, he hated videotape.

I only met Carmen Dragon (the father) through my occasional visits to their palatial Malibu seaside home for parties or a little studio work here and there. I knew Dennis because he stopped by Hal's little beachside compound all the time and I wound up editing one of his music videos.
And from time to time Daryl and Tennille would show up with some wine to watch as a sneak peek audience for Hal's latest film clips, which Hal projected in his living room as a preview before taking them out on the road to show all over the surf film theater circuit.

It was a fantastic and wild world that I got to be a small part of, and it's all gone now. With Hal gone, Ronnie in prison for the rest of his life, with Dennis dead and now Daryl passing away, there's really not much left of the era anymore.

Steve Ripley - 1950-2019

Most widely known as the leader of the seminal band The Tractors, and for his 19-year ownership of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s The Church Studio, Steve Ripley was also a renowned guitar player, inventor, engineer, record producer, songwriter, recording artist, studio owner and radio host. He played guitar with Bob Dylan, produced and/or engineered projects for Leon Russell, JJ Cale, Roy Clark, Johnnie Lee Wills, and many others. He is also known for his line of Ripley guitars, and for the invention of the stereo guitar played by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Ry Cooder, and Dweezil Zappa.

Damn, we're gettin old! The hot MILF in Animal House dies of old age troubles. We're screwed.

Phuck. It always happens. Please make it stop or otherwise delay..... Fat chance.

The fraternity house shown in the aforementioned movie was located about two miles as the mynah bird flies from my house. It has since been torn down. And High Plains Drifter might be my most favorite Western of all time. Grim but good.

Verna was great. As with all of us that, and everything else, leaves before we even had a chance to say..... aloha.

Mrs. Wormer? Awwww geez whiz, that is sad.