Sonny West (79) was a man who once had the pressure of the world on his shoulders with the job of protecting Rock n Roll legend Elvis Presley for sixteen years as a bodyguard. Sonny West passed away from cancer on May 24, 2017, at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He had small parts in Elvis films such as (Kid Galahad) and often stood in as a stuntman for any action sequences. Sonny West married his wife Judy in December of 1970, Judy had acting roles in TV shows such as “The Jackie Gleason Show” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Sonny was even at the famous “Nixon/Elvis” meeting on December 21, 1970; this meeting was the product of Elvis’ obsession with law enforcement badges. President Nixon issued Elvis a badge from the “Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (now known as the DEA).
(Nixon (left) Sonny West (middle) and Jerry Schilling)
Sonny left behind a legacy that is controversial within the Elvis fan base due to the book “Elvis, What Happened?” The book gained traction because of the testimony from three former bodyguards Sonny West, his cousin Red West and Dave Hebler. Sonny, Red, and Dave were fired in 1976 and wrote the book to “Bring Elvis back to his senses.” The tell-all was one of the last books Elvis read, the book was published at the start of August 1977 and Elvis died August 16, 1977; statements from family members of Elvis claimed the book sent him into a depression and that he felt betrayed. Sonny West insists the book was written with good intentions and that Elvis was in a downward spiral and had been for years.
(Sonny West with Elvis)
In 2007, Sonny West set-the-record-straight with his book “Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business” which is a personal standpoint that focuses more on the emotional aspect Elvis had on Sonny’s life. A book signing at the vintage store “Lost In The 50’s” in North Augusta, South Carolina took place in 2007; surrounded by Elvis Gold Records, poodle skirts and Grease memorabilia, Sonny felt right-at-home. Patrons of the signing described Sonny as “Full of stories and laughs” and “His demeanor was that of a man who carried the death of his best friend with much grief/regret but the new book was his way of making peace with what had happened with the bad publicity of “Elvis, What Happened?”
The stories and laughs provide the good memories and Sonny West clearly loved Elvis in his own way. Sonny felt that “Elvis, What Happened?” was his way of protecting The King when he no longer could physically as a bodyguard; the Memphis Mafia lives on. Check out an interview with Sonny West—
Junya Ca$$inova is an upcoming talent with the momentum of Austin, Texas behind him and a philosophy that stands out in a genre of music where it can either make you or break you. Given life into this world on November 26, 1991; Junya Ca$$inova was born Joseph O’Cuilliean in the city of Augusta, Georgia and attended high school in a small town nearby named Thomson; known for its football tradition and NFL legend Ray Guy.
Junya Ca$$inova (middle)
Throughout the years and frequent collaborations with friends and local talents – he gained a sense of loyalty to music, established a mentality of a WOLFHOUND and a truly believes in the statement: “Quit Dreaming.” Project Astral caught-up with Junya Ca$$inova on 5/28/2017 after one of his performances and have an EXCLUSIVE interview with the one-and-only!
Project Astral: Where did the name Junya Ca$$inova originate from? You hail out of Austin, TX, but where are your roots at?
Junya Ca$$inova: Junya Ca$$inova is actually an acronym for “Just Us Niggas Yearning After Crazy Ass $$ IN Our Vision Always.” I was born in Augusta Georgia and raised in a small country town in Georgia named Dearing. I graduated and went to full sail college in Florida; then I moved to Colorado for a while and I visited Austin, Texas shortly after to see my sister. I’ve been here in Austin for the last three years.
Project Astral: What’s your biggest motivation in terms of the creativity you exhibit through your music?
Junya Ca$$inova: Pain, I use it as a stimulus for growth. I do something to make myself comfortable whenever I’m in pain. So I’m always in these cycles of joy/hurt but they are what’s needed to grow into what I desire. The people I surround myself don give up. I don’t give up
Project Astral: Dirty .38 is your newest music video. Describe your experience shooting it.
Junya Ca$$inova: Directed by Niko Zorich; originally we filmed it at a party in West Lake Hills, Austin. This is some crazy shit but the footage got lost on a hard drive and we had to reshoot it. Challenges and mistakes happen, you learn from that.
Project Astral: What spiritual aspects of life are you intrigued with?
Junya Ca$$inova: I am aligned with the teachings of the book (Seth Speaks: The eternal validity of the soul).
Project Astral: Explain your philosophy behind Quit Dreaming?
Junya Ca$$inova: It’s simple. Quit Dreaming, Start Living. Or Quit Dreaming, Make It Real. The movement is a way of living. Anything you inspire or dream and achieve, you quit dreaming. You stop inspiring for a moment and make it happen. Two parts of everything, the creation and then the appreciation. It’s like if you sit there and say you come up with the best record there is, but you never try to make it, then what good is it?
Project Astral: What’s your next project and what will be the influence behind it?
Junya Ca$$inova: The next album is “Irish Wolfhound.” The reasoning behind the name is my Irish heritage and the embodiment of the WolfHound. WolfHounds are brave and believe and die for their dreams. The title of the album is a tribute to my more intellectual side. More pop culture influenced music in terms of sounds.
38-year-old Process Server Shawn Lucas rose to fame on July 3, 2016, through a Youtube video posted of himself accompanied by a cameraman entering the DNC headquarters on July 1, 2016, to serve a lawsuit related to the misconduct of then DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman. The video went viral and provided insight into Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC’s agenda into suppressing the platform and votes of the Bernie Sanders’ campaign.
On August 2, 2016, the lifeless body of Shawn Lucas was found in a bathroom by his girlfriend Savannah King in the apartment they shared. In November 2016, after months of questions and no answers, lab results from the Office of the DC Medical Examiner contributed his cause of death to “Combined adverse effects of fentanyl, cyclobenzaprine, and mitragynine.”
July 10, 2016, merely seven days after the publishing of the Shawn Lucas video, Seth Rich, a DNC staffer and data analyst was killed during an apparent “botched robbery.” The District of Columbia is built on conspiracy theories and political vengeance that dates back to the origins of the United States; the Office of the DC Medical Examiner is regulated to reflect this “philosophy” of corruption and suspicious activities. Even though the DC Medical Examiner did release the official “cause of death,” no official autopsy report can be provided (unless your family) due to “District Law.” This differs from the LA County Coroner’s Office in the aspect that the autopsy results can be requested by the public and are often published on websites.
The Office of the DC Medical Examiner and the LA Coroner’s Office both have been under investigation for misconduct and autopsy discrepancies. In 2011 the Office of the DC Medical Examiner lost its national accreditation after an investigation discovered that many top employees lacked the proper certifications. The death of former Russian Press Minister and businessman Mikhail Lesin ended up in the hands of the Office of the DC Medical Examiner in November 2015; Lesin entered his hotel room on November 4, 2015, at the Doyle Dupont Circle Hotel and was found dead the next day. Blunt force trauma to his head and body were found during the autopsy but the cause of death was ruled “accidental.”
In a statement to Fox News regarding the release of Mikhail Lesin’s autopsy results: “District law prevents the release of the autopsy report or any other information, though she said the autopsy report can be provided to Lesin’s family.” – Office of the DC Medical Examiner
Due to the laws and regulations of the Medical Examiner, Washington DC is the perfect place to commit a ‘suspicious’ murder. If you control the system that performs the autopsies then you control the truth.
Thomas Stearns Eliot
26 September 1888
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died
4 January 1965 (aged 76)
Kensington, London, England
Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1888, T.S. Eliot was a poet, essayist and literary genius who helped stabilize British and American poetry in 1915 with his Magnum opus “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. T.S. Eliot’s symbolic approach to “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” leaves the door of the subconscious open to its readers and the analysis up for debate. Originally titled “Prufrock Among the Women” the poem explores concepts of erotic sexual tension and denial; the intellectual status of Alfred Prufrock is questioned by Alfred Prufrock himself.
T.S. Eliot lived in England most of his life and applied for British citizenship in 1927. He produced very few poems; the majority of his poetry is spread-out and captures the various periods of his life. He approached Christian mysticism and symbology in his later works such as “Four Quartets“. T.S. Eliot combines attributes of Hindu God Krishna into Western mysticism in “The Dry Salvages,” a free-flowing launch into an aquatic journey of meditation; time ceases to maintain a sense of substance as the reality of one’s self is truly processed.
For this work within the mystic realm, T.S. is our TIME MACHINE POET OF THE WEEK.
Controversial stage antics are both a part of Rock n Roll culture and the genres that followed. The iconic moments of controversial stage antics have been documented with Ozzy Osbourne’s infamous 1982 incident where he “bit off the head of a bat” during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa. Since that moment and even before, musicians have pushed the boundaries of their era of reign. Here are five controversial stage performances throughout history that shaped today’s culture of music and art.
Jim Morrison/The Doors
(Jim Morrison and Val Kilmer)
Jim Morrison is the least provocative on our list but for the time-period 1965-1971 he demonstrated the rebellious spirit of Rock n Roll and got in trouble along the way. September 17, 1967, marked The Doors first and only appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. On the night of the performance, producers from the show requested that Jim Morrison change the lyrics of their hit single “Light My Fire” from the lines “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher.” to a censored line “Girl, we couldn’t get much better.” Oliver Stone’s film “The Doors” exaggerates the real encounter but this cemented Jim Morrison as a bad boy of Rock n Roll.
Another incident goes down in Rock n Roll ‘lore as a tale that Jim Morrison exposed himself on stage. The concert took place in Miami, Florida on September 20, 1970. Jim cursed at the crowd and made controversial statements. He was eventually arrested in connection to the case and pleaded to indecent exposure. Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971, from a heart attack brought on by drugs and alcohol.
GWAR
(Oderus & Dave Brockie)
GWAR is a hardcore/metal band that combines science fiction elements and dark comedy to illustrate a ‘theatrical’ stage performance. Previously led by Dave Brockie before his death, GWAR became a cult icon as their concerts featured sci-fi sexual violence, alien specimens, synthetic blood, and semen ‘cannons’ that were utilized to spray the crowd during performances. I attended a concert in 2004 and saw first-hand the carnage and tactics used by GWAR; luckily I stayed in the back of the venue with “All The Remains” frontman Philip Labonte and avoided the “semen” cannon.
David Brockie invented the fictional character “Oderus Urungus” for a frontman and leader singer of GWAR. He often made appearances as Oderus on Fox News and other networks. Oderus Urungus’s backstory is 50 billions years old and originated from the planet “Scumdogia”. Brockie overdosed on heroin in 2014.
GG Allin
(GG Allin & fans)
Born Jesus Christ Allin; GG Allin started his career with a fast track of controversy and a trail of literal shit. He is best known for his song “When I Die” and for his notable appearances on the talk shows such as “Geraldo” and “Jerry Springer“. Frequently presented at his concerts were acts of defecation, fist fights, indecent exposure, self-mutilation and much more. This established GG Allin as a public enemy figure and brought back what GG claimed was the “dangerous” element of Rock n Roll.
In the documentary “Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies,” GG’s performances and interviews with his close friends depict a man who performed for a living and maintained a lifestyle he eventually knew would take his life. GG made promises to his fans that he would commit suicide at a concert in 1989 but this never flourished, instead he overdose on a mixture of cocaine and heroin in 1993 after a concert.
Mayhem/Dead
(Per Yngve Ohlin as Dead)
Black Metal is not only a form of music; it’s also a way of life for those who have followed the movement that has origins in England, Sweden, and Norway. One of the bands that changed the scene and sound of black metal is Mayhem. Mayhem manifested in 1984 in the heart of Norway (Oslo) and consisted of original members guitarist Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous), bassist Jørn Stubberud (Necrobutcher), and drummer Kjetil Manheim. After a brief hiatus and a few member changes, Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead) joined as lead vocalist, and a new drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (Hellhammer) replaced Kjetil Manheim.
Per Yngve Ohlin would soon resemble his nickname after a short stint as Mayhem’s vocalist from 1988-1991. The image needed to prevail within the black metal scene was an intense and morbid stage play of antics that would consist of dead animals, self-inflicted wounds, and Satanic imagery. Known for his anti-social personality and depression, Dead kept a permanent workforce of writing material but started to contemplate his existence as a human or as anything of this physical world. Maniac depression, illusions, and harrowing childhood experiences became a tipping point for the black metal icon. Dead’s image wasn’t just a personification of his inner-demons; he is credited with the “corpse paint” facial makeup that has become a mainstay in metal culture and is hailed as one of the best vocalists of black metal.
Along with the depression, Dead had sleep apnea and might have suffered from Cotard delusion. Plagued by suicidal thoughts and the on-going feud with Euronymous, Dead cut his throat, his wrists and then blew his head off with a shotgun one evening while alone. Euronymous found the body, and instead of calling the authorities, he went to a store and bought a disposable camera. When he arrived back, he rearranged the crime scene and took several exploitive photos.
Gorgoroth
(Gorgoroth performing)
Black Metal yet again. Gorgoroth is the definition of Satanic symbology, founded by guitarist Roger Tiegs (Infernus) in 1992. The band performs Satanic rituals on stage and often includes animal sacrifice/blood, self-mutilation, and depictions of violence. In 2004, Gorgoroth played a concert in Poland which was taped for a future DVD-release; the footage was confiscated by Polish authorities as the performance was deemed “blasphemy,” this footage would later be released in 2008.
Infernus claims to have sold his soul to the devil and has made statements about Gorgoroth’s roots in Satanism. The theme of “church burnings” are often at the forefront of Black Metal’s history and a permanent stain on the legacy of the music.
The brainchild of Dr. Dre and Suge Knight; Death Row Records started off in 1991 as a label for West Coast rap artists to showcase their talents and receive much-needed hype during a time when East Coast rap dominated mainstream radio stations. Death Row Records reign of the rap industry in the 1990’s was created on the philosophy of violence, corruption, and gang-related crimes. Suge Knight is from Compton, California and grew up in the midst of Mob Pirus territory and used funds from the Bounty Hunter Bloods to help create Death Row Records.
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Many of you may recall the notorious “Vanilla Ice” situation or how Suge Knight convinced Eazy E & Ruthless Records to release Dr. Dre from his contractual obligations. These are only a fraction of the brutal occurrences of Death Row Records; their chokehold on the music industry would have lasting effects for years-to-come. Over the decades, many high-profile musicians and associates have ended up on a Death Row Records “hit list” that seems to never cease. Even after the fall of Death Row Records in 2006, the mysterious deaths of its associates and enemies remain unsolved.
Here’s a list of individuals connected to the web of theories surrounding Death Row Records.
Eazy-E
Eazy-E and Ruthless Records went head-on with Death Row Records with the diss song “Real Compton City G’s” and a rivalry was born in rap history. This was only one instance of animosity between the two labels. Suge Knight allegedly terrorized Eazy-E and Jerry Heller with baseball bats and threats to release Dr. Dre from Ruthless Records.
Eazy-E died of complications from AIDS in March of 1995 and his death has remained suspicious due to certain details surrounding his case. Soon after Eazy’s diagnosis, his health spiraled yet he didn’t resemble the typical “AIDS” patient in terms of the physical condition. No women have come forward with claims of contracting HIV from Eazy-E and his wife (Tomica Wright) has no traces of the virus.
Suge Knight made a chilling statement on Jimmie Kimmel about “injecting AIDS” into people.
“See, technology is so high, right? So if you shoot somebody, you’re going to jail forever,” he said. “So they got stuff where they get blood from somebody with AIDS, and they shoot you with it. So that’s a slow death—that Eazy-E thing.”– Suge Knight
Death Row Records provided the bond needed to released Tupac from prison in October 1995. Tupac signed a contract that would result in the production of three albums for his contractual obligation. “All Eyez On Me” counted as two albums since it was a two-disc production; the “Makaveli” album was his last album and would’ve released him from Death Row if he didn’t sign another contract. Tupac wanted to upstart his own label called Makaveli Records and movie company under the name of Euphanasia.
Many disagree on his true intentions; would Makaveli records had been under the Death Row branch or did Tupac want to leave completely, similar to Dr. Dre’s departure for Aftermath Entertainment? Would that be a motive for Suge Knight to kill him or did P-Diddy take personal offense to the diss record “Hit ‘Em Up” and decided it was time for Tupac to die? Or did Death Row Records associate Reggie Wright JR. and Suge Knight’s Ex-Wife have a hand in the setup?
The life of Tupac Shakur came to a screeching halt in Las Vegas; he was there on September 7th, 1996 attending the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match. After leaving the fight, Tupac got into an altercation in the lobby of the MGM. At around 11:15 p.m. thirteen bullets smashed through the passenger side of the BMW Tupac, and Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight were riding in. Suge Knight sustained a head wound from a piece of glass; four of the bullets made their way into Tupac’s flesh. Tupac was pronounced dead six days later on Friday the thirteenth. Many clues were left behind, and countless fans believe he faked his death.
Kadafi
The only eye-witness who told the cops they could possibly identify the shooters was Outlawz member Kadafi. Kadafi was shot and killed execution style November 10, 1996. The shooter later came forward and confessed, he was identified Roddy, a cousin of fellow Outlawz member Napolean. Kadafi was scheduled to look at a police sketch lineup for the Las Vegas Police Department through his lawyer David Kenner but this never flourished.
Different theories have arisen since Kadafi’s death and a post on the Makaveli-Board.net attempts to describe the truth behind his murder —
“I’m not gonna say any names. Yak was indeed murdered by Napolean’s cousin. Yak had gotten some work from someone and they sent dude to collect$ and Yak never paid up and because of that, he was murdered by Napolean’s cousin. It wasn’t an accident, they weren’t playing Russian roulette what others had said it was murder. See yak wasn’t the same after Pac got killed, he was paranoid to death and learned from Pac never leave home without ya gun and vest. They knew yak had his vest on and gun with him when they came to the projects. they knocked on the door and Yak girl told him the door, not thinking nothing of it because of who it was Yak left his gun on the table and went in the hallway. As soon as he went in the hallway Yak was grabbed from behind from one of the dudes and Napolean’s cousin pulled his gun out and pointed it in Yaks face asking where is the money u owe. Now they all were high cause we all use to take pills back then. Yak so high thought it was a joke a said that little ass shit(380caliber) ain’t going through my vest so he raised it to his head and shot him in the eye yak falling to the ground and them two ran off leaving Yak to die in the project hallway. Yaks girl was looking thru the peep hole watching and listening to the whole thing…”
The Notorious B.I.G.
The West Coast/East Coast rap rivalry is responsible for the downfall of two of Hip-Hop’s best-known musicians, Tupac and Biggie Smalls. On March 8th, 1997, Biggie was attending an after party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. Biggie and entourage left the party 12:30 a.m. (March 9th) and while stuck-in-traffic at 12:45 a.m. – A black Chevy Impala pulled beside the Chevy Suburban Biggie was a passenger in; an African American male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie released gunfire. Four bullets from a 9MM blue-steel pistol hit Biggie in the wrist, the back, left thigh and the fatal wound through his right hip. Biggie was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Suge Knight has been implicated in the “hit” and theories related to his gang affiliations have been at the forefront of police inquiries such as Detective Russell Poole’s investigation. Biggie’s murder remains unsolved but the chief suspect is former police officers David Mack and an associate.
Video footage released a few years ago has also led people to believe the shooter(s) were on-foot.
Johnny J
Johnny J was one of Tupac’s favorite producers and contributed to albums such as “Me Against The World” and “All Eyez On Me”. Johnny J’s beef with Death Row followed after Tupac’s death; royalties from Tupac’s albums were never paid and this caused Johnny J to seek financial retribution from the label. On July 27, 2008, Johnny J was arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles, California and sentenced to three years in prison.
On October 3, 2008, while incarnated at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Johnny J somehow managed to sneak by Correctional Officers and jump to his death at 6:45 p.m. It took over 45 minutes for his suicide to be noticed. Theories around his death include a possible gang-related motive acted on the behalf of Blood or Crips members inside the Twin Towers Facility.
Russell Poole
Russell Poole was an LAPD homicide detective and private investigator who conducted the investigation into the death of Notorious B.I.G. and provided the best-known theories on the culprits to his murder. Poole implicated LAPD Officer David Mack and associate Amir Muhammad in connection with Biggie’s death; this theory was featured in a 2001 documentary “Biggie & Tupac”.
Poole began to investigate new information on the deaths of Biggie and Tupac for an upcoming book “Chaos Merchants”. Russell Poole set up a meeting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to discuss new details in the case. Poole attended the meeting along with four investigators connected to the Suge Knight 1 Oak Nightclub shooting in 2014 and another investigator; all who attended are unknown to the public. Russell Poole fell to his death from a suspected heart attack while discussing police corruption within the LAPD in regards to the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Russell Poole allegedly intended to apologize to Suge Knight after this “new evidence” pointed to Reggie Wright JR. and Suge Knight’s ex-wife.
Breaking news from the Seth Rich investigation – Rod Wheeler, a retired homicide detective, and a private investigator has claimed that DNC Staffer Seth Rich had contact with the director of WikiLeaks Gavin MacFadyen before Seth’s murder. Seth Rich allegedly sent up to 44,000 emails, including the infamous “DNC” emails to WikiLeaks leading up to the days of his murder. On July 10 of 2016, Seth Rich was shot twice in the back in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington DC; the initial motive was believed to be related to a botched robbery although no items were taken from Seth’s possession. Investigator Rod Wheeler believes the FBI and the local police were told to “back down” from the murder case.
He stated to Fox News:
“My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of the email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks. I do believe that the answers to who murdered Seth Rich sits on his computer on a shelf at the DC police or FBI headquarters.”
The spokesman for Seth Rich’s family (Brad Bauman) issued a statement that differs from Rod Wheeler’s investigation:
(Photo: Seth Rich)
Seth Rich was alive when cops arrived on the scene. Did the body cameras capture any evidence related to the murder?
Conspiracies and public doubt make for a good plot in a movie, but what about in real life? The public’s negative perception on conspiracies lies in-the-fact that manufactured information upends all viable sources connected to the conspiracy. Mainstream media feeds into the fury of self-doubt; jobs and family commitments overshadow the inner-workings that consume.
WikiLeaks Director Gavin MacFadyen died from lung cancer on October 22, 2016; merely three months after Seth Rich.
Wikileaks has offered a $20,000 reward for information in Seth Rich’s murder.
Assange’s cryptic statement.
“There’s a 27-year-old that works for the DNC who was shot in the back, murdered, just two weeks ago, for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington… I am suggesting that our sources, take risks and they, they become concerned to see things occurring like that”
