{"id":16935,"date":"2017-03-10T01:00:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T06:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=16935"},"modified":"2019-06-10T11:45:04","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T15:45:04","slug":"ronnie-james-dio-hologram-is-there-nothing-sacred-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=16935","title":{"rendered":"Ronnie James Dio Hologram\u2026 Is There Nothing Sacred Anymore?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the 2016 Wacken festival, one of the big pieces of news to arise from the event was the unveiling of a performance of a Ronnie James Dio hologram alongside the member of Dio Disciples.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, you heard me, a hologram.\u00a0 Reports came back from the festival of people in tears, people being completely mindblown, and people being astonished.\u00a0 Am I missing something because when I saw this for myself, a Ronnie James Dio hologram performing live, the only thing I could do was echo the famous words of Walter from The Big Lebowski: \u201cHas the whole world gone crazy?\u00a0 Am I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0There are so many things that are wrong about this that I can\u2019t even fucking begin to know where to fucking start.\u00a0 I mean, who thought that this was even a good idea?\u00a0 Oh wait, Wendy Dio.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Official Ronnie James Dio Hologram Wacken Performance\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N8BeWAhzBd8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A Ronnie James Dio hologram performing with members past Dio (not even original line up) members just sounds like the most asinine thing on the fucking planet.\u00a0 Nothing screams \u201cgive me your fucking money\u201d than this.\u00a0 The Dio hologram made an appearance this at the 2017 Pollstar Awards alongside the Dio Disciples and even after seeing that I had to fight the urge to punch my computer screen while screaming, \u201cWhat the fuck is this shit?\u201d\u00a0 Wendy Dio, Dio\u2019s now widow and apparently the one to tarnish any kind of acceptable legacy left behind by Dio, had this to say:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u201cWe\u2019re developing a new [hologram] right now with six songs,\u201d Wendy told us. \u201cSo if we do an hour show, Ronnie will probably come out four times. If we do a 90-minute show, he\u2019d come out six times. We\u2019re developing that \u2014 should be ready by September.\u201d Wendy couldn\u2019t say for sure if the tour would begin in September, but she promises Ronnie\u2019s hologram will perform Rainbow, Dio and Black Sabbath songs!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ronnie James Dio Hologram Rocks Pollstar Awards\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7eiWahgEnFg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you just read that and didn\u2019t see anything wrong with this there is probably no hope for you at all and you probably thought The Osbournes was a great show.\u00a0 That said, let me start addressing the issue at hand.\u00a0 Technology is something that has been both a blessing and a curse.\u00a0 Some people use technology to do some amazing, ground breaking things while others totally use it like that mad scientist in KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.\u00a0 Just because it can be done doesn\u2019t mean that it should be done and this is a fine case of this.<\/p>\n<p>I just want someone to tell me why the world needs a goddamn Ronnie James Dio hologram going on tour with a bunch of former Dio band members.\u00a0 There are so many ways that we can keep the spirit of Dio\u2019s music alive for generations and generations to come.\u00a0 Pass down your favorite Dio albums to young people, hell, even Dio\u2019s past band mates have been hitting the road (Last in Line and Dio Disciples) which, while a total way to cash in on his legacy, is still keeping his music out there and playing to those that maybe didn\u2019t get a chance to see him.\u00a0 Even in these two situations, I find them both utterly tasteless and nothing more than a cash grab.\u00a0 \u201cOh, we\u2019re paying tribute to our fallen leader.\u201d\u00a0 No, you\u2019re touring and playing his songs for big bucks because you either didn\u2019t get called for the Black Sabbath reunion or you\u2019re broke as fuck and don\u2019t wanna join a Foreigner tribute band.<\/p>\n<p>If I want to remember Ronnie, I will pop in my \u201cFinding the Sacred Heart\u201d DVD and watch Ronnie in his prime.\u00a0 I\u2019ll pop in Heaven &amp; Hell Live at Radio City Music Hall to see remember the greatness of Ronnie in his last years.\u00a0 Why in the living hell would I pay money to go to a concert where I would be watching a hologram of Dio lip synching to his own past live performances of songs while some Dio cover band just lifelessly (except for Simon Wright who rules) play these amazing songs?\u00a0 Would anyone pay to say this and if so, I would love to know why.\u00a0 Ronnie himself would be appalled at the very concept of this so why anyone would get behind this kind of ridiculousness is far beyond my comprehension.<\/p>\n<p>The last time I checked, a hologram had no way of expressing any emotion and is about as lifeless a Craig Goldy on stage or even a Claude Schnell keyboard solo.\u00a0 There is no connection to the crowd, no interaction, and none of the emotive gestures that Ronnie was known for in life.\u00a0 I had the pleasure of seeing Ronnie live a handful of times and there was always a certain magic that projected from his physical being.\u00a0 The way he talked to people in the crowd, the way he pointed at people with that shit eating grin, the way that his voice would soar through the stratosphere the more insane the audience would get were all parts of the experience.\u00a0 Why would anyone want to stand around watching a fake Ronnie James Dio on a hologram screen as vocal tracks from past live performances played through the PA while a cover band played the music?\u00a0 I just can\u2019t wrap my head around it.<\/p>\n<p>Wendy Dio, you should be ashamed of yourself.\u00a0 You have the money already.\u00a0 You have the estate.\u00a0 You\u2019ve already started to cheapen the legacy with your ridiculous merchandise ideas ranging from Dio golf balls to Dio Christmas cards.\u00a0 Why can\u2019t you just leave well enough alone and let us remember Ronnie the way we do.\u00a0 Even for those that never got to see Ronnie live, do you really think that they would be elated say, \u201cDude.\u00a0 I saw the Ronnie James Dio hologram and it was so tight and moving\u201d?\u00a0 No, they won\u2019t.\u00a0 They\u2019ll shell out bucks to see a smoke and mirrors trick that lacks any heart, soul, emotion, or integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, I have to say, shame on you Wendy Dio.\u00a0 How could you even think that this was a good idea?\u00a0 Also, shame on Dio\u2019s former band mates for even choosing to be a part of this.\u00a0 How can you even look at yourselves in the mirror every day and think that this was even remotely and honorable or admirable thing?\u00a0 The last time you guys saw your friend alive should be your fondest memory.\u00a0 Not the fact that you just saw him on a screen on stage.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you but the last time I saw Ronnie is how I will always want to remember him and that was as a living, breathing, passionate, and beautiful human being\u2026 not a fucking image on a screen.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thegreatsouthernbrainfart.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/dio-wacken-production-still-2016-billboard-1548.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the 2016 Wacken festival, one of the big pieces of news to arise from the event was the unveiling of a performance of a Ronnie James Dio hologram alongside the member of Dio Disciples.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, you heard me, a hologram.\u00a0 Reports came back from the festival of people in tears, people being completely mindblown, and people being astonished.\u00a0 Am I missing something because when I saw this for myself, a Ronnie James Dio hologram performing live, the only [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[276],"tags":[1725,1770,359,1769],"class_list":["post-16935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-editorial","tag-dio-disciples","tag-dio-hologram","tag-ronnie-james-dio","tag-wendy-dio"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}