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10/04/2007: "RIP Tawn Mastrey"

If you were a headbanger in SoCal twenty years ago - as I was, this news will probably hit you hard.

Tawn Mastrey, the Leather Num, has died.

In 1987, KMET - the greatest rock and roll station that ever was - went off the air. At about the same time, the LA hair metal scene was reaching its zenith, and there was only one place for us to switch our listening loyalty: 105.5 Pure Rock KNAC. One of the biggest reasons to do so was the sultry voice of Tawn Mastrey.

As the metal mania faded, Tawn made the jump to Scott Shannon's grand Pirate Radio experiment, but that, too, didn't last. Like any radio pro, though, Tawn survived, moving from LA to Portland to Minneapolis in search of a microphone and an FM signal.

Unfortunately, her travels have come to an end, as she succumbed to liver damage yesterday. Only 53, she'd contracted Hepatatis-C as a child, but it took this long to finally catch up with her. She fought the good fight, and now is at peace.

Rest well, Tawn ...