Updated with details: Blackie Onassis, the Urge Overkill drummer who played on the remake of “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” that was featured in Pulp Fiction and on the band’s 1993 hit “Sister Havana,” died June 13 in Los Angeles, the County Coroner’s Office said. He was 57.
His former bandmates confirmed the news on social media but did not provide other details:
Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time. We are sending much love to his family and all his fans. We know he will be missed.
— Urge Overkill (@UrgeOverkill) June 14, 2023
Born John Rowan on August 27, 1965, Onassis joined Chicago-based alt-rock trio Urge Overkill in the early 1990s and played with the group as they opened for Nirvana’s Nevermind tour in late 1991, which led to the band being signed by Geffen Records. Alongside singer-guitarist Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser,...
His former bandmates confirmed the news on social media but did not provide other details:
Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time. We are sending much love to his family and all his fans. We know he will be missed.
— Urge Overkill (@UrgeOverkill) June 14, 2023
Born John Rowan on August 27, 1965, Onassis joined Chicago-based alt-rock trio Urge Overkill in the early 1990s and played with the group as they opened for Nirvana’s Nevermind tour in late 1991, which led to the band being signed by Geffen Records. Alongside singer-guitarist Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser,...
- 6/14/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1971, the Cannes Film Festival opened with a screening of Gimme Shelter by Albert and David Maysles, an immersive, vérité depiction of two weeks in the touring life of the Rolling Stones. If that was all it did, it might have been forgotten by now. But by a terrible freak of chance, the filmmakers followed the band to the most notorious concert of their entire career — the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in Livermore, CA, where the Stones, along with Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, were set to perform a free concert for 300,000 people on Dec. 6, 1969. “We didn’t know what it was going to be,” Albert said later. “We just had a childish faith that having seen the Stones and getting along with them, there might be a feature film there.”
At the apparent suggestion of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead (who...
At the apparent suggestion of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead (who...
- 5/17/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Music and storytelling are perfect bedfellows. Storytelling appeals to our sense of adventure, while music appeals to our emotions.
Way before the movies, music, and storytelling had forged into a marriage of symbiosis – opera, ballet, theatre; they all used music to help drive the narrative. Throughout the history of narrative storytelling, music has been the protagonist, the antagonist and the elephant in the room. Through leitmotif; variations in pulse; and appropriate tonality, tempo, and texture; music manipulates the audience’s emotional response through the spectrum from fear to despair, and from desperation to triumph.
A great soundtrack should be there, and not there. If you notice the music, it’s usually for a good reason.
From humble beginnings
The advent of the moving image brought grand possibilities for a more intimate, visual method of storytelling, monopolizing upon the wider possibilities of location, the speed of the edit and the intimacy of the eyes.
Way before the movies, music, and storytelling had forged into a marriage of symbiosis – opera, ballet, theatre; they all used music to help drive the narrative. Throughout the history of narrative storytelling, music has been the protagonist, the antagonist and the elephant in the room. Through leitmotif; variations in pulse; and appropriate tonality, tempo, and texture; music manipulates the audience’s emotional response through the spectrum from fear to despair, and from desperation to triumph.
A great soundtrack should be there, and not there. If you notice the music, it’s usually for a good reason.
From humble beginnings
The advent of the moving image brought grand possibilities for a more intimate, visual method of storytelling, monopolizing upon the wider possibilities of location, the speed of the edit and the intimacy of the eyes.
- 1/27/2018
- by Katie Porter
- The Cultural Post
Neil Diamond will always be a classic gem in the rock business.
With over 130 million albums sold, multiple Grammy wins and a spot in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the 76-year old singer is currently celebrating more than half a century in the music industry with his 50th Anniversary tour. To join in his festivities, here are the stories behind some of Diamond’s biggest hits.
1. “Red Red Wine” (1967)
Though the song was first recorded by Diamond, UB40 recorded this song as a cover of the Tony Tribe 1969 reggae version.
UB40 didn’t realize until after it topped...
With over 130 million albums sold, multiple Grammy wins and a spot in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the 76-year old singer is currently celebrating more than half a century in the music industry with his 50th Anniversary tour. To join in his festivities, here are the stories behind some of Diamond’s biggest hits.
1. “Red Red Wine” (1967)
Though the song was first recorded by Diamond, UB40 recorded this song as a cover of the Tony Tribe 1969 reggae version.
UB40 didn’t realize until after it topped...
- 8/21/2017
- by Brianne Tracy
- PEOPLE.com
With regards to directors who know how to place music in movies, Quentin Tarantino is right up there on the top of my list. Martin Scorsese might be number one when it comes to using recorded music. As far as scores to films, that’s an entirely different ballgame. While his best choice of music for possibly any scene in any movie he’s ever done is Steeler’s Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” during the Michael Madsen torture scene in Reservoir Dogs, you have to hand it to Urge Overkill’s remake of “Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon” during
Great Uses of Songs in Movies: “Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon” in the Movie “Pulp Fiction”...
Great Uses of Songs in Movies: “Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon” in the Movie “Pulp Fiction”...
- 4/27/2017
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
Over the last few weeks, the Foo Fighters have been excavating America's storied musical past on their HBO series "Sonic Highways," which documents the making of their new album of the same name. Now, they're bringing some of their biggest influences together to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary, as well as Independence Day in -- where else? -- Washington D.C. Dave Grohl and co's "Sonic Highways" will all converge on the capital city for a Fourth of July bash featuring big names from disparate musical genres, as well as a few extra-musical amusements. The show will take place at Washington D.C.'s massive Rfk Stadium and feature performances by Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy, Seattle classic rockers Heart, NYC rapper LL Cool J (backed by Phoenix native Z-Trip), proto-riot grrl Joan Jett, Austin guitar maestro Gary Clark, Jr., D.C.'s go-go kingpins Trouble Funk, New Orleans icon Trombone Shorty.
- 11/6/2014
- by Dave Lewis
- Hitfix
Twenty years ago today, Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein unveiled the filmmaker’s sophomore movie — an ambitious anthology of crime stories, all interconnected and metatextualized — at a late Saturday night screening at the Cannes Film Festival. A little over three hours later, as the crowd staggered out of the Palais des Festivals, they knew they had an audience favorite on their hands. Soon, they would be able to add Palme d’Or winner, Best Picture Oscar nominee, the first indie film to break the $100 million mark, a gamechanger and a modern classic to the list.
- 5/21/2014
- Rollingstone.com
He hasn't quite gone the writer/director route of fellow rocker Rob Zombie, but Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitar hero Slash launched his own horror movie production company, Slasher Films, back in 2010, and now the first fruits of that labour have arrived. Here's a trailer for Nothing Left To Fear,* directed by Anthony Leonardi III, and with a brief introduction (for Comic-Con) by Slash himself.As you'll see, the film involves a pastor moving with his family to a new rural town which immediately seems creepily over-friendly. Turns out they're in thrall to a "lord" of an alternative lifestyle persuasion. Cue demon-looking things, some oozing, and that CGI thing where people's jaws open wider than they're meant to. It's "inspired by the legend of Stull, Kansas", we're told, which involves the town being a gateway to Hell. Urge Overkill made a record about it, so Slash isn't the film's only rock heritage.
- 7/24/2013
- EmpireOnline
Hoth. Where the weather is cold and the emotions run hot.
Especially those of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her ever scruffy paramour, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, their hormones practically ricochet through the corridors of the Rebel Alliance’s ice planet hideout–abetted by “nerf-herder” name-calling, one unwittingly incestuous kiss, and even a threatened Wookiee make-out session. But ”I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee”/”I can arrange that… You could use a good kiss!” wasn’t the original parting-shot in Han and Leia’s Echo Base lovers’ quarrel. In an early cut of the film,...
Especially those of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her ever scruffy paramour, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, their hormones practically ricochet through the corridors of the Rebel Alliance’s ice planet hideout–abetted by “nerf-herder” name-calling, one unwittingly incestuous kiss, and even a threatened Wookiee make-out session. But ”I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee”/”I can arrange that… You could use a good kiss!” wasn’t the original parting-shot in Han and Leia’s Echo Base lovers’ quarrel. In an early cut of the film,...
- 9/6/2011
- by Christian Blauvelt
- EW - Inside Movies
In this week's Music in the Movies, we pick out ten of cinema's finest non-score soundtracks...
Having focused mainly on scores in this column, I thought I’d turn my attention to soundtracks that consist mainly of sourced material. I've chose some of my favourites, and also asked some Den of Geek 's writers to suggest a few choices of their own. And just to make the list a little more balanced, I've made sure to only choose one film per director...
A Life Less Ordinary
Nominated by N P Horton
I originally intended to include Trainspotting in this article, but I decided to ask my followers on Twitter (comprising largely of DoG writers) to nominate their favourite scores, and this was Mr Horton’s. So given that I wanted to include only one film per filmmaker, out went Trainspotting, and in came A Life Less Ordinary.
Ash’s titular...
Having focused mainly on scores in this column, I thought I’d turn my attention to soundtracks that consist mainly of sourced material. I've chose some of my favourites, and also asked some Den of Geek 's writers to suggest a few choices of their own. And just to make the list a little more balanced, I've made sure to only choose one film per director...
A Life Less Ordinary
Nominated by N P Horton
I originally intended to include Trainspotting in this article, but I decided to ask my followers on Twitter (comprising largely of DoG writers) to nominate their favourite scores, and this was Mr Horton’s. So given that I wanted to include only one film per filmmaker, out went Trainspotting, and in came A Life Less Ordinary.
Ash’s titular...
- 8/26/2011
- Den of Geek
The 2011 MTV Movie Awards aren't just an excuse to hand out buckets of golden popcorn (though, make no mistake about it, we'll be on the edge of our seat when they announce the winner of "Best Scared-As-s--- Performance,") they're also the go-to source for some thoroughly kick-ass musical performances, courtesy of the Foo Fighters, Lupe Fiasco and Trey Songz.
In fact, since they first started in 1992, the Movie Awards have made it a point to feature music, too, and over the years, everyone from D'Angelo to Weezer have graced its stage. So with the 2011 show looming on the horizon (it airs live, Sunday, June 5 at 9 p.m. Et/8 p.m. Ct on MTV,) we decided to take a look back at the Movie Awards' long musical history, and choose the 10 best performances of all time. Sadly, neither Ken Jeong's interpretive dancing or the Les Grossman/Jennifer Lopez booty workout...
In fact, since they first started in 1992, the Movie Awards have made it a point to feature music, too, and over the years, everyone from D'Angelo to Weezer have graced its stage. So with the 2011 show looming on the horizon (it airs live, Sunday, June 5 at 9 p.m. Et/8 p.m. Ct on MTV,) we decided to take a look back at the Movie Awards' long musical history, and choose the 10 best performances of all time. Sadly, neither Ken Jeong's interpretive dancing or the Les Grossman/Jennifer Lopez booty workout...
- 6/3/2011
- by James Montgomery
- MTV Newsroom
Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser of Urge Overkill nearly pulled off a neat trick in the early ’90s, presenting themselves as chic, dick-swinging rock stars before they became actual rock stars. They even had a top-flight fake ID for entry in the arena-rock millionaire’s club: 1993’s Saturation, a witty, whip-smart record that gave cool-guy smarm a good name. Alas, Urge Overkill never really broke through, and two years later, the group was in ruins, saddled with all the usual post-success bullshit—infighting, drug abuse, general bad vibes—without any of the success. Now Urge Overkill is back ...
- 5/17/2011
- avclub.com
So, guys, what are you doing next Friday? Nothing? Well, if you're in the general New York area and you've got a significant chunk of change lying around your house, you could find yourself entering the weekend alongside Quentin Tarantino.
The "Inglourious Basterds" filmmaker will be at the mercy of his past and present colleagues at the Friars Club Roast of Quentin Tarantino next Friday (October 1) at the New York Hilton, and thanks to Charity Buzz, you could be among the select few people in the audience watching with glee as Tarantino is torn to shreds (not literally) by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken and other famous faces.
Charity Buzz is auctioning off two VIP tickets to the roast, with a package that includes "a fabulous lunch amongst the stars" and the opportunity to walk the red carpet alongside notable Hollywood names like Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Michelle Rodriguez and more.
The "Inglourious Basterds" filmmaker will be at the mercy of his past and present colleagues at the Friars Club Roast of Quentin Tarantino next Friday (October 1) at the New York Hilton, and thanks to Charity Buzz, you could be among the select few people in the audience watching with glee as Tarantino is torn to shreds (not literally) by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken and other famous faces.
Charity Buzz is auctioning off two VIP tickets to the roast, with a package that includes "a fabulous lunch amongst the stars" and the opportunity to walk the red carpet alongside notable Hollywood names like Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, Michelle Rodriguez and more.
- 9/24/2010
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Movies Blog
It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since Pulp Fiction debuted, officially making Quentin Tarantino a household name. I was in my junior year of high school when Tarantino’s opus hit theaters. I hadn’t yet gotten the filmmaking bug at that time, that would plant its seed my senior year, but what this film did was to solidify my status as a movie geek.
I’d already been an avid movie-watcher, going through an average of probably 2-3 movies a week. That doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind I was in high school and had plenty of that nasty homework stuff to wade through when I wasn’t working for gas money. What Pulp Fiction did was to make concrete my appreciation of and passion for the creative process of making movies.
Pulp Fiction was such a breath of fresh air… well, fresh air with plenty of profanity,...
I’d already been an avid movie-watcher, going through an average of probably 2-3 movies a week. That doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind I was in high school and had plenty of that nasty homework stuff to wade through when I wasn’t working for gas money. What Pulp Fiction did was to make concrete my appreciation of and passion for the creative process of making movies.
Pulp Fiction was such a breath of fresh air… well, fresh air with plenty of profanity,...
- 8/18/2009
- by Travis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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