MR

He'd battled cancer, and staved off old age for long enough. And true to form, he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life

SF-Dano wrote:Starliner (live/ Anyone recognize the drummer?) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eHjjT7kKbo&NR=1&feature

slucero wrote:

SF-Dano wrote:Starliner (live/ Anyone recognize the drummer?) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eHjjT7kKbo&NR=1&feature

Smitty... and the solo he has is a must watch... in fact the thole series is awesome...


Ronnie Montrose Live in New York City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlOcifA1mlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQzPtvOX ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEQ9w-Pt ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVBNvWTG ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AA-NFYh ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eHjjT7k ... re=related



Last time I saw him.... I was about 10 feet from the stage for this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT4tZbxn ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75tUGMB1 ... re=related

10-Apr-12 Guitarist Ronnie Montrose's Death Ruled A Suicide
Submitted by: Dana


Michael Molenda of Guitar Player reports:


It wasn’t prostate cancer that killed guitar legend Ronnie Montrose, but the clinical depression that plagued him since he was a toddler.


On March 3rd, 2012, he sought inner peace by taking his own life. A report by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office, released on April 6th, confirms the guitarist died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.


Anticipating the coroner’s findings would soon be made public, the Montrose family asked me to write this article. I was a long-time friend and colleague, and the family wanted the painful story to be told by a member of the Bay Area media that Montrose himself knew and trusted.


The family also posted the following statement at http://ronniemontrose.com:


“By now, the devastating truth of Ronnie’s death is public knowledge. We hope you can understand why we wanted to keep this news a private family matter for as long as possible. We can only hope that you will choose to celebrate Ronnie’s life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way. He loved being a guitarist, a composer, a producer, and a creator of magic. He fully understood his gifts, and yet he constantly pushed himself to evolve, improve, and make better music. He did this for himself, and he did this for you, because he adored and appreciated his fans. Please keep his energy, his joy, and his love in your hearts.”


Montrose did not leave a suicide note, but his wife/manager Leighsa Montrose feels he was probably always planning for an exit.


“Ronnie had a very difficult childhood, which caused him to have extremely deep and damaging feelings of inadequacy,” said Leighsa. “This is why he always drove himself so hard. He never thought he was good enough. He always feared he’d be exposed as a fraud. So he was exacting in his self criticism, and the expectations he put upon himself were tremendous. Now I see that perhaps he didn’t want to carry these burdens for very much longer.”


The torment of self-doubt likely contributed to Montrose’s long-term alcoholism. The toxicology report showed his blood-alcohol level at 0.31% when he died—almost four times the legal limit in California. No evidence of other drugs was found in his system.


“I knew I had married an alcoholic, but Ronnie was never anything but loving,” said Leighsa. “He could be curmudgeonly and cranky, but he was never angry or abusive to me in any way. He definitely had a reputation for his bad temper and controlling personality when he was younger, but he’d always say that I got the best version of himself, and we were nearly inseparable. We ate every meal together. I went to every show he played.”

Read the entire story at Guitar Player http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/ronnie-montrose-death-ruled-a-suicide/148205