Today, I decided to throw a little B-Day bash here on the Indie Ear Blog.

Why on April 17?*

I actually don't know (?), but surprisingly, when I began researching who was born today, I discovered that my favorite professional wrestler of all-time shares the same birthday with a punk icon, one of hip-hop's founding fathers, a mysterious rock frontman, indie-rock's favorite pin-up girl from the '90s, and Mr. Reggie Noble himself. Since we don't have the FCC clearance rights to sing "Happy Birthday," we're going to kick it Olive Garden style for the following people.

(left: Happy B-Day to the Hot Rod! He was "rowdy" before rowdy was cool!)

*Alright, I'm an idiot. I just realized that today is April 18. I guess belated birthday wishes are in order for the following people (sorry):

Rowdy Roddy Piper (1954)
Arguably the greatest "bad-guy" professional wrestler of all-time. Infamously smashed a coconut over the head of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka on an installment of his popular interview show, Piper's Pit. If you want me to put a music spin on things (since this is an indie music blog), Piper played the bagpipes (one of the primary reasons he became Roddy Piper) and also smashed Cyndi Lauper's Gold record over the head of Captain Lou Albano during the famous Rock & Wrestling fued of the mid-80's.

Pete Shelley (1955)
Lead singer of The Buzzcocks, one of the first UK punk bands. If you like a little melody in your punk, you can thank The Buzzcocks for that.

Afrika Bambaataa (1957)
What can we say about Afrika Bambaataa? DJ, producer, and cultural icon, he is considered by many to be the Godfather of Hip-Hop and the Father of Electro-Funk Sound. Let's face it, there'd be no Andre 3000 without Afrika Bambaataa. He also famously left behind gang life to start the Zulu Nation, a group that uses hip-hop as a positive cultural force in society.

Maynard James Keenan (1964)
Enigmatic frontman of both Tool and A Perfect Circle, whose performance style (and subtle humor) can only be categorized as "one of a kind."

Liz Phair (1967)
Let's put it this way, if you were a young boy who was into inide rock during the early 90's, there's a good chance you had a crush on Liz Phair. These boys, now all grown up, will still tell you that Exile in Guyville is one of the greatest albums ever.

Redman (1970)
"T-t-time for sum, time for sum aksion!" Popular rapper who is Robin to Method Man's Batman. The pride of Newark, New Jersey!

Click HERE for a special B-Day treat!

HERE'S another!