Last night, at a country bar called Borderline in Thousand Oaks, California, tragedy hit the country music community again. Former Marine Ian David Long went in with a handgun and killed 12 people, including students there for College Night, and a deputy who went in trying to save lives.

Unbelievably, some of the people who survived last night’s shooting were also at last year’s Route 91 Harvest Festival when that horrible mass shooting happened, including an employee of the Borderline Bar. One of last night’s survivors who was also in Las Vegas during last year’s attack told CBS News, “We’re all a big family and unfortunately this family got hit twice.”

This is a bar where countless country stars have played and thousands of country music fans have gone to have a fun night out. Jerrod Niemann played there just last month. Singer/songwriter Aubrey Sellers, who is Lee Ann Womack’s daughter, had planned to be at Borderline last night, but at the last minute she changed her plans because her cat’s eye was swollen shut. Her cat may have saved her life.

I don’t have any answers. I know thoughts and prayers are getting cliché at this point, and they’re obviously not fixing the problem. But after we’ve done our part and voted for the people who are supposed to enact change, it often feels like thoughts and prayers are all we have left.

As of the time of writing this, not all of the people killed have been identified. But this is for Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, Alaina Housley, Justin Meek, Cody Coffman, and all the others who lost their lives while just trying to have a fun night listening to some good country music.

Snoop Dogg says “don’t talk about it; be about it.” The legendary MC has been campaigning, promoting to his fans the seriousness of getting out to the polls and voting.

In conjunction with Levis, the Dogg was at the fashion powerhouse’s store in Santa Monica, taking to the wheels of steel at a rally to promote voting and voter registration.

“It was for Levis and trying to get people out there and vote. It was working in conjunction,” Snoop who spun such records as Notorious B.I.G.’s “Going Back To Cali” and YG’s “F--k Donald Trump” said. “We always try to get good music in the air so people can understand everything is for the right reason. To have the great vibe of having music be the backdrop to the forefront which is voting, in conjunction with Levis, is the main mission. It’s all about fun and putting awareness in the air.”

Like Snoop, a slew of celebrities have been out in full force telling people how pivotal it is to vote in this mid term election. The largest faction of stars were in Tallahassee, FL at a rally for Florida Governor candidate Andrew Gillum. Diddy, Fat Joe, DJ Nasty, Tiffany Haddish, Monica and Fat Joe all came out to show support. A few days ago we saw Oprah Winfrey, Jermaine Dupri and Chris Tucker come together for Stacey Abrams, who is running for Governor of Atlanta.

“It’s crucial,” Snoop insisted of the polls. “I mean look at the president. We don’t want that kind of disaster on no more levels of the game. The only way we effect [change] is to put our voices together and vote. Make some noise and pull our followers together and everybody that’s with us together in support of the right reason and get the right people in office.” 

Everyone will be tuned in tonight to see the election results.

If you are unfamiliar with Dio let me catch you up real quick. Ronnie James Dio was one of the best metal vocalists ever, fronting Rainbow and Black Sabbath, after Ozzy’s 1979 dismissal. Later, he would go on to form a solo project simply called DIO, which brought metal classics such as Holy Diver, Rainbow in the Dark, Last in Line, and so much more! In sum, his career would span over 40 years, until his passing in 2010 to stomach cancer. Six years after his untimely passing, someone thought it was a good idea to bring him back as a hologram.
 
The hologram, created by Eyellusion, made its debut at Wacken 2016. The reviews were mixed, to put it lightly. It was like Obi Wan’s ghost was singing “We Rock.” It was very… off-putting. Awkwardness be damned, the music industry marches on, and Billboard reports that the company that created the hologram is now being represented by major talent agency APA's Steve Martin. If you are thinking “the actor?,” it is not; I googled it. 
 
Martin represents acts like Scorpions, Foo Fighters, and Jack Black. He even managed Dio when he was alive. In the same Billboard report, he notes that there are at least 100 different cities that the hologram act plans to visit next year.
 
"The big question when we first toured Dio through Europe was 'Is anyone actually going to show up?'" Eyellusion founder Jeff Pezzuti tells Billboard. "We sold out the last three shows in Europe and we did really, really well. We're such believers in what we were doing and we're all such massive fans — in my sixth grade class picture, I'm wearing a Dio shirt, so you can imagine taking this all the way across the finish line has been a dream come true."
 
Look I’m all for keeping the memories of musicians alive, but this might be the straw that breaks. When Tupac’s hologram showed up at Coachella for one night surprise, it was such a one-night spectacle to see, especially since the late rapper has been gone for almost 20 years. BUT it only took 4 years for them to debut a hologram for Dio! There are even Hologram tours for Frank Zappa and pianist Glenn Gould in the works.