by elizabeth | October 31st, 2010
My pal, portrait and police artist Shawn Feeney, has a tradition of carving a pumpkin each year as an ode to a musician who’s passed on.
In his words:
The time has come for the annual Memorial Jack-o-lantern, commemorating an artist who has died since last Halloween (and I decided I’ll keep focusing on musical artists). Selected from the notables this year – including Vic Chestnutt, Alex Chilton, Guru, Hank Jones, and Eyedea – was Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), the consummate heavy metal vocalist. He was the voice of bands such as Elf, Rainbow, and his own eponymous group, Dio. Following the departure of Ozzy Osborne, he became the front man of Black Sabbath, always greeting the crowds with devil horn hands. Starting in 1979, Dio was involved with the organization Children of the Night, which is dedicated to rescuing America’s children from prostitution.
Here’s a time-lapse video of him carving the pumpkin – wow!
