“On Oct. 27, 2013 Todd Vilardi shared the influence of Lou Reed on his Facebook page. Following Reed’s death that day, Vilardi posted a photo of the Velvet Underground, Reed’s high school picture, and a paragraph about his legacy.
‘sometimes it is blue, and sometimes it is green’ was Vilardi’s last post that day. The words were a quote from the audio artwork/radio broadcast of Delia Derbyshire & Barry Bermange’s “Colours” which accompanied the post.
The last time I saw Vilardi, he was enjoying an evening with his wife Shannon. We talked a bit and laughed a lot. Then he smiled. It was beautiful watching Vilardi play and even more powerful seeing him smile. It was the gift he gave whenever he listened to, talked about and played music.
Vilardi was music. No matter how many times I saw him, no matter where he was, or however long that moment lasted, I was always moved.
Todd Arturo Vilardi died on Oct. 28, 2013″ – Excerpt from my November 8, 2013 Pensacola News Journal Music Matters column.
One of the last times I saw Todd play was with his band Imaginary Air Show at Vinyl Music Hall. West Palm Beach, Florida rock band Surfer Blood were headliners of the show that included Imaginary Air Show and the final performance of O Pioneers! O Pioneers!
– Michael L. Smith
