David Garibaldi OK after being hit by a train in Oakland

Source: SFgate.com

(Editor's note: David Garibaldi has related to a friend of NSMD that he is OK with only a few broken bones. He says Marc was is worse condition and had to have surgery but word is that both will pull through)

Two members of the local soul, R&B band, Tower of Power, were struck by an Amtrak train at Oakland's Jack London Square Thursday night, according to the group's manager.

Two members of longtime Oakland rhythm and blues band Tower of Power were hit by a train in Oakland near Jack London Square on Thursday night minutes before a scheduled show at Yoshi’s.

Longtime drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc Van Wageningen were struck by an Amtrak train passing outside the popular venue shortly before their show that was scheduled for 8 p.m., said Jeremy Westby, a publicist for the group, which has been performing since the late 1960s.

Both men were taken to the hospital in critical condition after the accident, said Sgt. Aaron Smith of the Oakland Police Department. A group of four people tried to cross the tracks — while the warning guard arms were still down — toward Yoshi’s after a freight train slowly chugged by, Smith said.

But the pedestrians didn’t see the Amtrak train traveling about 25 mph from the opposite direction on another track, he said. Two were able to jump out of the way, but Garibaldi and Van Wageningen were not.

Both men were rushed to nearby Highland Hospital in critical condition, Smith said. Both regained consciousness at the hospital, Westby said.

Both of their scheduled shows at Yoshi’s — an annual affair — were canceled after the accident, said Hal Campos, the club’s general manager.

Though Campos said he didn’t see the train strike, he ran out when he heard the shouts and called 911. Both men got hit by the train and thrown through the air in opposite directions, he said, based on multiple witness accounts.

“The only thing that went through my mind was, ‘Is he OK? Is he going to come out of this 100 percent?’” Campos said, adding that they were unconscious when he found them.

 

The train that hit the men was a Capitol Corridor commuting line that runs between Sacramento and San Jose, said an Amtrak spokeswoman.

Witnesses told police that the train’s operator was sounding the horn when the accident occurred, Smith said.

Known for its hard-driving horn section, Tower of Power now has 10 members, with more than 50 past musicians among its ranks. The band’s hits include “You’re Still a Young Man” and “What is Hip?,” which was co-written by Garibaldi. He joined the band in 1970.

The group’s performance at Yoshi’s is always an anticipated annual highlight for the venue and the band’s fans, Campos said.

Though he didn’t know the two men personally, he said the band was “like family” to Yoshi’s, a place it has been playing as long as most anyone can remember. The band members were headed from a hotel nearby when the train struck, he said.

“The shows were canceled and all that, but that doesn’t matter,” Campos said. “We’ll refund our customers. But what matters here is their lives".

Cymbal Maker Robert Paiste dies

George Lawrence, the staff and the writers of Not So Modern Drummer offer our condolences to the Paiste family, the Paiste employees and the Paiste endorsing artists. 

This from the Paiste Company:

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Robert Paiste, family member, visionary cymbal maker and perennial company principal. In the four generations of family members to guide the company, Robert was a foremost presence. His contribution was of immense importance, and he shaped Paiste in major ways. Robert's life-long focus was the development and production of cymbals and gongs. As an uncompromising perfectionist, he established the benchmarks for quality, fidelity and consistency that are the hallmarks of Paiste today.

Along the way, his work led to numerous innovations, inventions and patents, and among his many accomplishments, the Formula 602, the 2002, and the Signature Series continue to stand out in the cymbal world. Robert's contributions to the realm of cymbal and gong instruments in fact transcended his activities within the Paiste Company. Through his efforts, he shaped and influenced the direction of the entire field in the past half century. Never satisfied, he forever thought of new directions and possibilities to create instruments, indeed, he lived his life for sound:

"Sound is vibration, and vibration is energy. Life energy is vibration and sound, also. So, for us, sound is part of a very deep, basic truth. We are not the only ones who feel like this. There are so many musical-minded drummers who get the same exciting feeling from playing their cymbals. It's not just the sound. It's the vibration, the touch, how it feels, and how it speaks to the drummer. It's a wonderful feeling to produce something, hand it over to the drummers, and see them get the same response. There's a deep truth behind it." - Robert Paiste

Robert was born in the family's country of origin, Estonia. The disruptions during the mid 20th century brought the family through Poland to Northern Germany, where in the late 1940s he joined his father Michail in cymbal and gong making. He moved to Switzerland in 1957 to found the company's new and present home base. Robert went on to lead Paiste together with his brother Toomas throughout the second half of the 20th century. Together, on the foundation of their father's and grandfather's work, they built a cymbal company of world-wide significance.

We are grateful for Robert's lifetime achievements.