It was 50 years ago today, January 4th, 1962 that Peter Thomas Ratajczyk, better known as Peter Steele was born. Steele was born in Red Hook, Brooklyn to a family of Polish, Russian, Icelandic and Scottish heritage. He was the youngest of six children, with five older sisters. Some folks might know of his time spent fronting the band Carnivore. Most people who follow "rock" music are aware of Peter being the lead singer, bass player, and primary songwriter for Type O Negative. He stood a giant-like 6'8", and although his towering appearance may have intimidated some people, he was an approachable guy that so many of us in the music community genuinely loved, respected, and admired. I still listen to Type O Negative almost every single day, especially in my cars, all my cars are stocked with Type O Negative, the music never grows old with me. One thing I admire most about Peter Steele was his ability to write songs that really put his emotions and feelings, no matter how somber, out in the open with a clear and unobstructed view. Steele shared his inner-self with listeners in a way that so few other recording artists do, and he did so without being soapy or sappy, but with his own unique technique that connects directly to your psyche in a straightforward intrepid manner. Call what he did "Goth Metal", "Doom Metal", or whatever you want, I call it exceptional music that will stand the test of time, and probably endure among serious music aficionados far longer than most other bands of similar genres. Peter Steele's brand of extraordinarily versatile baritone vocalization talent was pretty damn special, and he did lots of innovative recording with it. I really can say that I'm a "fan", John Gill is too. We (Big Stick) are friends with Johnny Kelly, the drummer from Type O Negative, who is also a drag racing enthusiast, and owns a sweet '70 Dodge "Super Bee" that he occasionally races at E'Town. Johnny Kelly recorded guest drums with us on our new Big Stick music that we're releasing in 2012. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's my belief that Johnny is one of the most naturally talented percussionists in all of rock 'n' roll. The other two fellows who played with Peter in the band, guitarist Kenny Hickey, and keyboardist Josh Silver are also incredibly talented and gifted musicians. They all worked with Peter Steele to create Type O Negative's strong repertoire over the years. While there's no denying that Peter had his problems with alcohol and substance abuse, he was actually clean, sober, and back to fine form for a long period of time when he died of heart failure on April 14th in 2010, and he was readying to write and record new music with the band... Oh, how the people who knew him and love him now miss him so damn much... Peter was one man and musician I don't want us to forget...