In Memory of Lamya

It is with deep regret that I pass on the information that I found out just today. Singer Lamya has passed away from a heart attack on January 9th 2009. Here is the statement from her official myspace page:

It is with deepest regret to have to inform you all that Lamya has passed away on the 8th of January 2009 in her home town Oman. She died of a heart attack. This has come as a great shock to all of her family and dear friends as I am sure it is to YOU her fans. We will dearly miss her and may God rest her soul.

The reason I am writing this blog is that I had the distinct honor of meeting her and seeing her perform live. I first became aware of Lamya when watching MTV and they were doing a segment on artists to watch. Lamya was one of the artists that was spotlighted and I instantly fell in love with her voice. After going to her website and listening to her album, I went out and purchased it. Needless to say, it was an amazing album. Her voice was a true instrument and anyone who listened knew it.

I found out that she was going to be performing in Arlington, Virginia at a spot called Iota. It's a local venue that has all kinds of live acts perform there. I was able to get to the club after work with some friend of mine for happy hour. During which Lamya and her band began to do a sound check for the show. I went inside to listen to the sound check. There were about 20 people in the bar at the time and none were really paying attention, except for me and another female. During the sound check, I was able to talk with her road manager who introduced me to her. She was so nice. Talked to me for about 10 minutes and signed my cd for me. I then stayed for her show and was blown away. Hearing her sing live was absolutely amazing. Her set lasted for about an hour and 20 minutes. After it was over, the road manager came over to me and asked did I want to come over and talk with them. He went to their tour bus and gave me a promotional video and some other items. Lamya continued to talk with me and also signed a poster for me. I was actually invited to hangout with the band. The all were very personable and were happy to converse with their fans.

If you have not picked up the only album she released, I suggest you do and listen to a true artist. The name of the album is Learning to Fall.

So, it comes as a complete shock to me to find out that she has passed away. My sympathies go out to her family and friends. You will be missed Lamya.

Please enjoy her biggest hit, Empires.

Bring Back Frank Black - A plea for the show Millennium Pt. 1

Sometimes you just never know what is going to happen to you on any given day. I remember on one particular Friday night, I was at home, didn't feel like going out with my friends. Just wanted to sit home and relax. Now, I have known in the past that Fridays are not a good night for television, so when I sat on my couch with the remote, I didn't expect much. But then something happened, without any real knowledge of the show, I saw this:



I was instantly hooked on the show by the opening itself. Then I find out that it stars one of my favorite actors on the planet, Lance Henriksen. Here is an actor that has been in dozens of movies and yet had not received the recognition I thought he deserved. So, I was extremely happy to see Lance with his own television series.

What can I say about Millennium? It is without a doubt one of the greatest shows ever to air on television. It's rare that I get involved and taken in by a show, but Millennium turned out to be one of those shows. It was such a dark show, nothing like this had ever been on television before. Right out of the gate, I knew this would be a problem for the show in the long run, but I kept my fingers crossed and hoped for the best. Although it was cancelled, we were lucky enough to get 3 amazing seasons from the show. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to find other passionate fans and talk with them about the show, our favorite moments, episodes and characters.

The with the release of the dvds, we were able to relive the magic of this great show. It reminds me of another show I was involved with that use to air with Millennium...Brimstone. Here was another show that I became very involved with and after only 13 episodes, FOX cancelled the show. Again, finding fans on the Internet that loved the show as much as I did, we banded together and started a campaign that eventually caught the eye of the President of the SciFi Channel, Bonnie Hammer. They agreed to pick up the original episodes that aired, but after a long battle with Warner Brothers., no new episodes were produced because Warner Brothers would not release the rights to do so. What we proved is that when you get together and focus on a goal, you can make it happen.

While searching for some information on Millennium, I came across the website for BacktoFrankBlack.com. I was blown away by the campaign, the organization and the amount of passion the people behind the site had as well as the fans who visit the site. Although the fire for Millennium had never gone out completely, this reignited the fire for the show and made me want to get back on the campaign trail for this show. Rarely do shows on television get a second chance, but I think that Millennium will get a second chance. Whether it be a tv movie or a straight to dvd release, the fans deserve some sort of closure with Frank Black. I know personally, I would like a couple more seasons of the show, but one can hope right? I am a fan of Millennium and will always be a fan of the show. I have turned several people onto the show as well. They all ask me the same thing, why was the show cancelled? I can give several reasons:

1) A horrible time slot. Friday is the kiss of death for tv shows. Ask the X-Files. It was almost cancelled when it was on Friday nights.

2) Low ratings. Although they were consistent and solid, they were still low for what FOX wanted.

3) The show didn't grab the all to important 18-49 demographic because the show was too dark.

I am sure there are others, but to me those are the main ones. Those added together meant Millennium was on borrowed time.

Here is what this boils down to. I want to thank the people at BacktoFrankBlack.com for igniting that fire in my again for the show Millennium. I want to thank all loyal fans who have stuck with the show throughout the years and have still continued to talk about and spread the word about Millennium. I want to thank the amazing actors, crew, writers and anyone who was involved with the making of the show Millennium. You have all done a masterful job. And finally, I want to thank Lance Henriksen, for creating one of the most amazing characters that has graced the television screen. You sir, are a true genius and I hope that we can again see you on the screen soon. Here's to you Frank Black.

Tha Darkside Vibe #54

Show Intro

Where has Tha Darkside been?

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A lady and her mcnuggets

Artist spotlight: Karina Igesias

Dramatel

Do women want true honesty?

Show outro