Debbie Abono (born Deborah Ann Downer; August 31, 1929 – May 16, 2010) was an American
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
of
death metal
Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
and
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
bands during the 1980s and early 2000s.
Biography
Abono was born in
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, as Deborah Ann Downer to Gertrude and E. M. Downer, Jr. She was a granddaughter of E. M. Downer, who founded
Mechanics Bank
Mechanics Bank is a full-service community banking financial institution headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Her career as a heavy metal manager began in the mid-eighties when the members of
Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
, one of the first death metal bands, asked her to manage the group. After they assured her there was "nothing to it ... all you gotta do is get us shows," she agreed and even let them practice at her house. A grandmother at that time, Abono had no connections to
heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...
other than through one of her daughters, who was dating Possessed's then-guitarist
Larry LaLonde
Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde (born September 12, 1968), also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician. He has been the guitarist for the rock band Primus since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment to the bass playing ...
.
According to author David Konow, Abono was unaware of the sometimes
blasphemous
Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...
themes of heavy metal and was offended after reading the lyrics to ''
Seven Churches
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven churches of early Christianity mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them were located in Asia Min ...
'', the band's debut album. Nevertheless, she agreed to continue managing Possessed on the condition that LaLonde and vocalist
Jeff Becerra
Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's growled vocals, they are often called the first band in the death metal genre, and pave ...
finish
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
. Because Possessed suffered from internal conflicts, Abono would go on to manage additional bands in the Bay Area metal scene like
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
,
Vio-lence
Vio-lence is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout its career, they have released demo tapes, three EPs and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay ...
, and Forbidden, as well as death metal bands like Chicago's
Broken Hope
Broken Hope is an American death metal band from Chicago, Illinois.
History
Broken Hope was founded in 1988. They were known as an accomplished mid-paced style death metal band with low-pitched growling vocals. As a band, they were active for ...
and Florida's
Cynic
Cynic or Cynicism may refer to:
Modes of thought
* Cynicism (philosophy), a school of ancient Greek philosophy
* Cynicism (contemporary), modern use of the word for distrust of others' motives
Books
* ''The Cynic'', an 1875 book by James Gordon ...
and
Obituary
An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
. Other bands that she managed included
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...
and
Skinlab
Skinlab is an American heavy metal band formed in 1994 in San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultura ...
.
Abono died on May 16, 2010 from cancer, aged 80. In honour of Abono and
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...
(who had died the same day, also from cancer),
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses, and others, and ...
's
Robb Flynn
Robert Conrad Flynn (born Lawrence Matthew Cardine; July 19, 1967) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band Machine Head and also the only member to feature all Machine Head releases. ...
recorded and released for free online a cover of
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
's "
Die Young
"Die Young" is a song by American singer and songwriter Kesha. It was released on September 25, 2012, as the lead single from her second studio album, ''Warrior'' (2012). Kesha co-wrote the song with its producers, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, and ...
". Abono managed Flynn and Machine Head guitarist
Phil Demmel
Phil Demmel (born April 2, 1967) is an American musician who played lead guitar in the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Machine Head (band), Machine Head between 2002 and 2018, making him their longest running member in that position. He has a ...
when they were members of
Vio-lence
Vio-lence is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout its career, they have released demo tapes, three EPs and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay ...