#WhatsHappening for July 7, 2019

Hey, hi, howdy my friends. Hope you're doing well so far on this weird work week.

I always feel weird when there's a break a work week. And having to go back on a Friday sucks in a large way. Am I right? Oh well, at least it's a day off.

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I despised the "popification" of country music that came about in the 90s (yes, despite- or maybe because of- working at a country radio station whose format led to incessant repetition of a limited playlist), so I'm really not sure what to make of the blending of rap with the genre. 

Despite my confusion, rapper Lil' Nas is currently riding a wave of success brought about on the strength of his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus (I use the word strength loosely, I mean... it's Billy Ray Cyrus- who's biggest hit is his daughter, Achy Breaky Shitfest aside). What I'm really amazed by, though, is that he picked the last day of Pride Month to (sort-of) come out.

I'm not amazed that he's gay. When it comes to people's sexuality, it basically gets a great, big "eh" from me because it's not something that I'm concerned. As Dr. King suggested, I judge people by the content of their character- and give less than a damn who they love, or the color of their skin, or their religion, or where they're from.

Nope, what I'm amazed by is that he's risking his career- because rap and country music are two exceedingly "macho" genres with very few out performers, and his announcement could cause some backlash on both fronts. Whether or not that occurs will be a good indicator of how accepting fans of those genres are.

Best of luck to him. 

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Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist Gary Duncan died Saturday morning in Woodland, California after suffering a seizure and falling into a coma. 

Duncan was one of the founding members of the band- joining Greg Elmore, John Cipollina, Dino Valenti, David Freiberg, and Jim Murray in San Francisco in 1965, though Valenti left the band almost immediately. The group enjoyed popularity among fans of the psychedelic sound, playing alongside the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company and performing in the the Fillmore and the Avalon, the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival- but didn't release their first album until 1968.

On the delay, Duncan told an interviewer the band "had no ambition toward making records. We just wanted to have fun, play music and make enough money to be able to afford to smoke pot."

Duncan temporarily dropped out of the band the following year, but returned in 1970 and later formed new lineups of the band- which now called itself Quicksilver- and released released several albums in the late ’80s.

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Rick Springfield has postponed his scheduled "Rick Springfield & Friends show in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in the wake of 10 American tourists in the country so far this year.

In a statement he posted to Twitter earlier today, Springfield said his team had "have been closely monitoring the situation" and the postponement was the result of "an abundance of caution and for the peace of mind and well-being of my fans, band and crew..." The November 7th show, he added, would be "rescheduled to take place at Hard Rock Hotel Cancun in 2020. New dates will be determined as soon as possible. We hope to have this announcement within the next two weeks."

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Apropos of nothing, here's Robert Plant performing Immigrant Song for the first time in 25 years.

Plant's last take on the song came on February 9, 1996- when he was on tour with former band-mate Jimmy Page.

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Birthdays today include: Ashley Tisdale (34); Lindsay Lohan (33); Michelle Branch (36); Monie Love (49); Dave Parsons of Bush (54); Pete Briquette of Boomtown Rats (65); and Johnny Colla of Huey Lewis & The News (67). #MusicalBirthdays