Calendar Letters: Tom Petty broke our hearts

Petty interview is a salve

I just listened to the last interview. What a gift. That should be transcribed and edited as a textbook on how to be a great musical artist and songwriter. He lays it all out, it’s all there about music, managers, playing live, the science of playing bass in a large concert hall, the business, career longevity, money, songs. I knew Tom Petty since 1972 and watched the whole thing go down. I mean up. This is basically “The Master Speaks” in the form of an interview and you got it all down.

Marty Jourard

Kirkland, Wash.

As a lifelong Tom Petty fan, my heart, like yours, is broken by the devastating news of his passing. Thank you for your beautiful, heartfelt interview in the Calendar yesterday. I especially loved the recording you released of your interview session.

Lisa Schway

La Cañada Flintridge

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Thank you for including the entire audio from that interview in the piece. I listened to it before I went to bed last night, and it brought many smiles to my face to hear the pure joy in his voice.

Jodi Solito

Tampa, Fla.

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I do not believe it is appropriate for a critic to write an obituary. Randy Lewis could not resist taking a dig at Kansas, Foreigner, Bad Company and Journey in his obituary of Tom Petty all in the name of boosting Tom Petty’s prowess.

I am a big fan of those four bands as well as of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. A person’s death should not be used as an excuse to bash his competitors.

Jim Rueff

Fountain Valley

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Great article on Tom Petty. It’s true, it shouldn’t have gone down that way. I wanted to hear about the “next stage” as well.

Annemarie Brown

Bremerton, Wash.

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I have just been reading your last interview with Tom Petty. What a strange feeling must that give a journalist.

Eric Jan Taapken

Rotterdam, Holland

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Thank you for publishing the story about the last interview. It helped me deal with what still seems impossible.

Dorothy DeSimone

Needham, Mass.

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I’m writing to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful last interview with Tom Petty. Although I had read it online, I felt compelled to buy a hard copy and was glad I did for the excellent spread it received and great photos.

I was at one of the Hollywood Bowl concerts only two weeks ago and it still hasn’t sunk in that Tom is gone.

Jan Fox

La Crescenta

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The interview had a few eerie moments when you know what’s coming down the road that made me take pause. I’m so glad you had the opportunity to talk to him one more time for all of us.

Grover Collins

Program director, WKRQ-FM, Cincinnati

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I took my 17-year-old daughter to see Tom Petty back in 1991. She returned the favor last year by taking me to see Mudcrutch in Oakland. Tom and the boys were outstanding. Thanks for a moving interview and story.

Brooks Judd

Turlock

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Your interview with Tom Petty is about the best obituary that any fan of Tom Petty would want to read.

Phillip McDowell

Jacksonville, Fla.

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Thanks for posting the audio and letting us listen in on his final interview. It was such a major and unexpected loss. I still can’t believe it.

Jim Scileppi

New York

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As a hard core lifelong fan I have been shocked and sad like everyone else. I have a tattoo that I got in my 30s and never felt I needed another, but I am going to get one to honor this amazing man. A small bouquet of wildflowers.

Amy Simpson

Valrico, Fla.

Wise response to Vegas tragedy

Ever since the mass shooting in Las Vegas, I have been reading all the articles I could get my hands or keyboard on. I want you to know that I think yours was the best and most sensible of them all [“When Live Shows Turn Deadly,” Oct. 5]. You made one statement that stuck with me. “And invariably it is a man.” Why is this? It’s not just testosterone vs. estrogen, it’s more than that. I believe it’s a deeper inherent problem within our society. We just don’t seem to be able to raise “males” in our culture as well as we do “females.”

Alan Drucker

Los Osos

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I hope that your wise words get the widest distribution possible. Please forward it to all members of Congress. Here’s to “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

Melanie Stepanovich

Los Feliz

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These troubled times prompt thoughts of Beckett. “We can’t go on. We must go on!” And we will. Your words are encouraging and appreciated.

Sheldon Epps

Pasadena

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We must continue to support our musicians and actors as a society. Let’s hope, and even pray, that our legislators will take action and help prevent another incident from occurring.

Steven Gennaro

San Diego

Spielberg films’ personal touch

Regarding “In an About-Face, Lens on Spielberg” [Oct. 6]: What is most remarkable about Steven Spielberg’s films is how deeply personal they are.

Stephen A. Silver

San Francisco

Musician gets too physical

Regarding “Mozart Muses on the Spiritual” [Oct. 7]: There’s nothing spiritual in Martin Frost’s mannerism. Times critic Mark Swed pointed out Frost “bops to the left and he bops to the right, back and forth, as he plays and even when he is not playing.” Very physical, highly distracting.

If Frost ever gets invited back, please have a straightjacket ready to restrain his buffoonery.

Dienyih Chen

Redondo Beach

Broadcaster is a gem for Dodgers

Regarding “Talking a Blue Streak” [Oct. 8]: I’ve been listening to the Dodgers for over 60 years, and I can tell you Alanna Rizzo is fabulous. Yes, she’s very attractive, but not so much so that it detracts from what she does and how she does it. After six decades of listening to the Dodgers, I can’t think of anyone ever better.

Ed Masciana

Torrance

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