Lee Altomare Mix

photo by Matthew Melnick 

it was 5 years ago today that my best friend Lee Altomare passed away. with everything that we did together; writing songs, playing shows, traveling... i think what i miss the most is hanging out in his basement and listening to music. sometimes it was an old favorite, sometimes a new discovery, sometimes something he totally forgot he had down there (he had a formidable collection). much of it would serve to inspire our writing, but a lot of the time it was just good songs that we enjoyed (or background music for our bitching about the state of pro-wrestling or what a piece of shit the Watchmen movie was to be).

anyway, i took the liberty of compiling songs that remind me the most of Lee. bands that he loved (Celtic Frost, Bolt Thrower), bands that he was friends with (Deathcycle, Disassociate), bands that i think he liked just to see the look on people's faces (No Doubt), stuff he would randomly start singing in my car for some reason (King Diamond), shit from movies we couldn't shut up about (Goodfellas, Bad Lieutenant)  and a few 90s hip-hop tracks that served as a cool down after practice/shows. 33 tracks, one for each year of his life.

i miss him everyday.

Lee Mix d/l