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The
spirit of Ronnie James Dio loomed large over Syracuse, New
York's Lost Horizon on Saturday night as more than two-dozen
musicians gathered to pay tribute to the late legend. Held just two
days shy of the first anniversary of Dio's passing, "Lock
Up the Wolves" featured such area artists as co-organizer Terry
LeRoi and his band TITANIUM BLACK performing classics
from throughout Dio's five-decade career, including ELF's
"Hoochie Koochie Lady", BLACK SABBATH's "Heaven
And Hell" and DIO's "Holy Diver".
"The evening went off without a hitch," smiled LeRoi
the following day. "The energy was consistent throughout the
two and a half-hour show. But the highlight for me was walking out
on stage and seeing a full house. Lost Horizon had not hosted that
large of a crowd in a very long time. People came for all over the
area, including Dio's hometown of Cortland."
The music icon, who lost his battle with stomach cancer on May 16,
2010, was a club regular during his days fronting RONNIE AND THE
PROPHETS and ELF.
"The club was called The Yellow Balloon back then, but little
else has changed," explained LeRoi.
Although the show's proceeds will benefit the Ronnie James Dio
"Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund, the evening was
about great music and paying tribute to the Central New York music
scene's most successful alumni. In addition to TITANIUM BLACK,
members of MALACHAI, KANE and CAROLINE BLUE and
SALT CITY JAZZ COLLECTIVE were among the artists who stepped
on stage in different configurations.
"Everyone was excited to see their favorite musician get up and
do his or her thing," said
LeRoi.
The TITANIUM BLACK frontman began to realize just how special
the night would be when the musicians gathered at his home to
practice for the performance.
"Usually, you don't have people applauding at a
rehearsal," he laughed. "The musicians and their friends
came out to my garage to support each other. It was like a club
scene."
LeRoi is already looking forward to next tribute concert.
"I would do this again anytime," he explained. "I
love the collective nature of this event. "There is really
nothing I'd change, though next time I'd love to include musicians
who worked with Dio during his illustrious career. I know
they'd be impressed."
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