Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Musician Semonik's cancer struggle reflected in show's music
February 17, 2010By Rege Behe, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I
f it was the end, Jim Semonik wasn't going out with a whimper. If cancer was going to get the best of the Ambridge native and Whitehall resident, he was going to leave this good Earth with a fierce statement.
"At the time I didn't know how certain my future was," says Semonik, a musician and disc jockey. "I was in a lot pain and going through some terrible, terrible stuff, mentally and physically. I said, 'If this is it for me, I'm going out with a bang.' "
From his room last year at Allegheny General Hospital, Semonik sketched out plans for a song-cycle about his travails. He contacted friends and colleagues who, like him, were adherents of the relatively niche world of industrial music. Contributions came from musicians in Philadelphia, Chicago, Tuscon, California, Sweden, Germany and other points around the globe.
The result is a remarkable five-disc collection, "Electronic Saviors," which features songs by 83 industrial music artists, and will be showcased Thursday at the Rex Theater, South Side.
To read the rest of the story, please visit this link to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
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