Subject: [Spridgets] X's Billy Zoom on Fans Supporting His Cancer Fight: 'I'm Overwhelmed' | Rolling Stone

From: Ron Soave via Spridgets <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2015 18:55:04 -0500

--===============4617009623545617518==
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

--Apple-Mail-3EFC761B-8D24-4B45-A562-9F85D9ECBD7E
	charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Our own. Keep supporting.=20

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/xs-billy-zoom-on-fans-supporting-his-=
cancer-fight-im-overwhelmed-20150713

X's Billy Zoom on Fans Supporting His Cancer Fight: 'I'm Overwhelmed'

"Billy Zoom! Billy Zoom! Billy Zoom!" The dazzling rock & roll name chanted l=
ast night in Orange County, California, belonged to the famously grinning gu=
itarist from X, that first-wave punk band who were minutes away from finishi=
ng four consecutive dates at the Observatory. These were also the final mome=
nts Zoom would spend onstage for a long time, as he begins chemotherapy for b=
ladder cancer this week.

Zoom is bowing out from the rest of the band's summer tour, but public affec=
tion for the guitarist was made very clear. Barely three days in, the GoFund=
Me page set up to raise money for Zoom and his family had far surpassed its i=
nitial $50,000 goal. T-shirts that read "Support Billy Zoom =E2=80=93 Nice g=
uy, punk legend" sold out quickly.

It's his second cancer scare, after surviving a prostate cancer diagnosis mo=
re than five years ago. "I thought I was through with it," Zoom, 67, told Ro=
lling Stone. "It's upsetting to know it's still there. I try to do it a day a=
t a time, because it's too scary if I go further than that."

An hour before showtime last night, Zoom looked relaxed in the back of X's t=
ouring van. He wore a T-shirt with the image of his friend Johnny Ramone, wh=
o died of prostate cancer in 2004. "He was a good friend," Zoom said. "What h=
e did is perfect. He stuck to the formula and I never heard him make a mista=
ke. He played stuff that is really hard to play."

When Zoom got his first cancer diagnosis, one of his first calls was to Ramo=
ne's widow, Linda, who recommended a "rock-star oncology guy." He got his or=
iginal diagnosis the morning of a big X concert at L.A.'s Wiltern Theatre, b=
ut the band kept the news private. "I got a snooty review about how I wasn't=
 smiling like I usually do," Zoom recalled. X were sidelined for nearly a ye=
ar.

Though Zoom's health recovered, his family's resources were exhausted, despi=
te health insurance. This time, he turned to online fundraising. As of today=
, it has reached over $72,000.

"I'm overwhelmed. I can't say enough about things people are doing and their=
 concern. I have to wonder what was different five years ago," Zoom said wit=
h a laugh. "It certainly takes a lot of the stress away. I still have the pa=
rt about being sick and everything, but it's made a huge difference as far a=
s panicking about how are we going to pay the mortgage, how we're going to d=
o this or that."

Donations were accompanied by heartfelt notes expressing thanks to Zoom and t=
he band. "I'm not surprised by the comments," said singer-bassist John Doe, w=
ho founded X with Zoom in 1977. "I'm touched but not surprised: 'For all the=
 joy you've given me over the years, and =E2=80=98You've changed my life.' T=
hat's been X's story. Someone will say, 'Oh, you play music. What's the band=
?' and it's either 'Who?' or 'You changed my life.' There's not a whole lot o=
f, 'Oh yeah, you had that one song and a stupid haircut for a while?'"

The money will be administered by Sweet Relief, the musicians support group.=
 Anything not used by Zoom will be set aside for a fund in his name for othe=
r musicians in need. "We're looking to help people who didn't get the respon=
se that Billy got in their time of need, and we're looking to pay it forward=
," said Mike Rouse, X's manager and a Sweet Relief board member.

Zoom faces two six-week sessions of chemo, followed by a reassessment of his=
 progress. "It's so far probably less life-threatening but probably more pai=
nful," he said of his prognosis. "All cancer's bad."

For Zoom, the interruption comes just as his playing with X had become espec=
ially satisfying for him, with new arrangements of the old punk songs and ni=
ghts dedicated to single albums. On Sunday, the band performed 1987's More Fu=
n in the New World, which Rolling Stone described in its original rave revie=
w as a "furious, fuzz-amped tear through the lives of the underclass and the=
 willfully decadent."

The X quartet was joined by a keyboardist and second guitarist, and the band=
 included songs rarely performed in the past. "Since we started not doing ev=
erything exactly the same, I've been looking forward to every show since the=
n. It was getting a little stale for me. I've been really enjoying myself."

Zoom plans to be back in time for the band's annual holiday "X-mas" tour. Un=
til then, he hopes to be well enough to continue building his series of hand=
made Zoom Custom Shop amplifiers, which are used by a range of players, incl=
uding Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Moby and Rev. Horton Heat.

"Medical costs can be high, but being unable to work for a long time is real=
ly scary," Zoom said. "This time I'd be in really dire straights if people h=
adn't stepped up."

Ron Soave=

--Apple-Mail-3EFC761B-8D24-4B45-A562-9F85D9ECBD7E
	charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"content-type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3D=
utf-8"></head><body dir=3D"auto"><div><base href=3D"http://www.rollingstone.=
com/music/news/xs-billy-zoom-on-fans-supporting-his-cancer-fight-im-overwhel=
med-20150713"><style id=3D"article-content">
        @media print {
            .original-url {
                display: none;
            }
        }

        h1.title {
            font: -apple-system-headline;
            font-weight: normal;
            text-align: start;
            -webkit-hyphens: manual;
        }

        blockquote {
            color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
            margin-left: 20px;
            margin-right: 20px;
        }

        blockquote > *:first-child:before {
            -webkit-margin-start: -6px;
            content: open-quote;
        }

        blockquote > *:last-child:after {
            content: close-quote;
        }

        /* FIXME: We should be able to remove this when WebKit's link color m=
atches UIKit's (<rdar://problem/13650224>). */
        .page a {
            color: rgb(20, 111, 223);
        }

        #article .large-element {
            max-width: 100%;
            height: auto;
        }

        .page {
            font: -apple-system-body;
            text-align: start;
        }

        #article .leading-image, #article figure, #article .auxiliary {
            font: -apple-system-short-subheadline;
        }

        h1 {
            font: -apple-system-subheadline;
        }

        h2 {
            font: -apple-system-footnote;
        }

        h3 {
            font: -apple-system-caption1;
        }

        h4, h5, h6 {
            font: -apple-system-caption2;
        }

        h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
            font-weight: bold;
        }

        hr {
            background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
            height: 1px;
            border: 0;
        }
    </style><link rel=3D"stylesheet" type=3D"text/css" href=3D"safari-resour=
ce:/WBSReaderSharedStyleSheet.css" id=3D"article-content-shared"><title>X's B=
illy Zoom on Fans Supporting His Cancer Fight: 'I'm Overwhelmed' | Rolling S=
tone</title><div class=3D"original-url">Our own. Keep supporting.&nbsp;</div=
><div class=3D"original-url"><br><a href=3D"http://www.rollingstone.com/musi=
c/news/xs-billy-zoom-on-fans-supporting-his-cancer-fight-im-overwhelmed-2015=
0713">http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/xs-billy-zoom-on-fans-supportin=
g-his-cancer-fight-im-overwhelmed-20150713</a><br><br></div><div id=3D"artic=
le">
        <div class=3D"page" style=3D"font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px;"><h=
1 class=3D"title">X's Billy Zoom on Fans Supporting His Cancer Fight: 'I'm O=
verwhelmed'</h1>
				<p>"Billy Zoom! Billy Zoom! Billy Zoom!" Th=
e dazzling rock &amp; roll name chanted last night in Orange County, Califor=
nia, belonged to the famously grinning guitarist from X, that first-wave pun=
k band who were minutes away from finishing four consecutive dates at the Ob=
servatory. These were also the final moments Zoom would spend onstage for a l=
ong time, as he begins chemotherapy for bladder cancer this week.</p>

<p>Zoom is bowing out from the rest of the band's summer tour, but public af=
fection for the guitarist was made very clear. Barely three days in, <a href=
=3D"http://www.gofundme.com/yx66a4" target=3D"_blank" data-track=3D"true" da=
ta-track-action=3D"Tap Link" data-track-label=3D"1 - http://www.gofundme.com=
/yx66a4">the GoFundMe page</a>&nbsp;set up to raise money for Zoom and his f=
amily had far surpassed its initial $50,000 goal. T-shirts that read "Suppor=
t Billy Zoom =E2=80=93 Nice guy, punk legend" sold out quickly.</p>
<p>It's his second cancer scare, after surviving a prostate cancer diagnosis=
 more than five years ago. "I thought I was through with it," Zoom, 67, told=
 <em>Rolling Stone.</em> "It's upsetting to know it's still there. I try to d=
o it a day at a time, because it's too scary if I go further than that."</p>=

<p>An hour before showtime last night, Zoom looked relaxed in the back of X'=
s touring van. He wore a T-shirt with the image of his friend Johnny Ramone,=
 who died of prostate cancer in 2004. "He was a good friend," Zoom said. "Wh=
at he did is perfect. He stuck to the formula and I never heard him make a m=
istake. He played stuff that is really hard to play."</p>
<p>When Zoom got his first cancer diagnosis, one of his first calls was to R=
amone's widow, Linda, who recommended a "rock-star oncology guy." He got his=
 original diagnosis the morning of a big X concert at L.A.'s Wiltern Theatre=
, but the band kept the news private. "I got a snooty review about how I was=
n't smiling like I usually do," Zoom recalled. X were&nbsp;sidelined for nea=
rly a year.</p>
<p>Though Zoom's health recovered, his family's resources were exhausted, de=
spite health insurance. This time, he turned to online fundraising. As of to=
day, it has reached over $72,000.</p>
<p>"I'm overwhelmed. I can't say enough about things people are doing and th=
eir concern. I have to wonder what was different five years ago," Zoom said w=
ith a laugh. "It certainly takes a lot of the stress away. I still have the p=
art about being sick and everything, but it's made a huge difference as far a=
s panicking about how are we going to pay the mortgage, how we're going to d=
o this or that."</p>
<p>Donations were accompanied by heartfelt notes expressing thanks to Zoom a=
nd the band. "I'm not surprised by the comments," said singer-bassist John D=
oe, who founded X with Zoom in 1977. "I'm touched but not surprised: 'For al=
l the joy you've given me over the years, and =E2=80=98You've changed my lif=
e.' That's been X's story. Someone will say, 'Oh, you play music. What's the=
 band?' and it's either 'Who?' or 'You changed my life.' There's not a whole=
 lot of, 'Oh yeah, you had that one song and a stupid haircut for a while?'"=
</p>

<p>The money will be administered by Sweet Relief, the musicians support gro=
up. Anything not used by Zoom will be set aside for a fund in his name for o=
ther musicians in need. "We're looking to help people who didn't get the res=
ponse that Billy got in their time of need, and we're looking to pay it forw=
ard," said Mike Rouse, X's manager and a Sweet Relief board member.</p>
<p>Zoom faces two six-week sessions of chemo, followed by a reassessment of h=
is progress. "It's so far probably less life-threatening but probably more p=
ainful," he said of his prognosis. "All cancer's bad."</p>
<p>For Zoom, the interruption comes just as his playing with X had become es=
pecially satisfying for him, with new arrangements of the old punk songs and=
 nights dedicated to single albums. On Sunday, the band performed 1987's <em=
>More Fun in the New World</em>, which <em>Rolling Stone</em> described in i=
ts original rave review as a "furious, fuzz-amped tear through the lives of t=
he underclass and the willfully decadent."</p>
<p>The X quartet was joined by a keyboardist and second guitarist, and the b=
and included songs rarely performed in the past. "Since we started not doing=
 everything exactly the same, I've been looking forward to every show since t=
hen. It was getting a little stale for me. I've been really enjoying myself.=
"</p>
<p>Zoom plans to be back in time for the band's annual holiday "X-mas" tour.=
 Until then, he hopes to be well enough to continue building his series of h=
andmade Zoom Custom Shop amplifiers, which are used by a range of players, i=
ncluding Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Moby and Rev. Horton Heat.</p>
<p>"Medical costs can be high, but being unable to work for a long time is r=
eally scary," Zoom said. "This time I'd be in really dire straights if peopl=
e hadn't stepped up."</p>
			</div></div></div><div><br><br>Ron Soave</div></bod=
y></html>=

--Apple-Mail-3EFC761B-8D24-4B45-A562-9F85D9ECBD7E--

--===============4617009623545617518==
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

------------------------

[email-masked]

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

--===============4617009623545617518==--