Rest In Peace Danny Monster Cruz. At just 25 years old, Danny has died on Wednesday 12/13/17 after having a heart attack as a result of living life with Duchenne, a form of muscular dystrophy.

Danny was by far one of the most creative, unique, powerful, inspirational artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different artists, but no one has ever been more memorable to me than Danny. The way he led his band, Flaming Dragons of Middle Earth, was so innovative and amazing, and I’ve never seen anyone else lead a band with that type of approach. At a Flaming Dragons show, the whole fucking audience is in the band! Anyone is welcome to play any instrument they want with him, and he’s able to control an improvising band of 20+ people!

I played flute with FDome unrehearsed at Deep Thoughts after one of my solo performances, and I loved seeing how he’d give band directions; “let’s hear ‘doo doo doo dun dun doo doo dun'”, and the band would jam on that, he sings his lyrics on top, and bam that was a song! So simple and open for musicians of all levels to understand, and yet at the same time it’s a composition!

Not only was he incredibly fucking brilliant musically, but he was so emotional and passionate in his singing and performance! His lyrics were so deep and filled with his pain in his life, but presented with a smile and delivered so hilariously! His music is so beautiful, like nothing you’ve ever heard in his own unique style that I don’t want to attempt describe. I could namedrop Beefheart, Black Flag, Ozzy, Sonic Youth, and more; but fuck that, he’s way better than all those fuckers! Just listen yourself and find out what he sounds like!

I also suffer from muscular dystrophy, and seeing how he presents himself is so inspiring to me, and it meant so much for me to see another disabled performer (who suffered a shitload more than I do) up on stage with a smile and bringing out brightness within everyone around him. He was the funniest person I’ve ever known hands down. With all the pain he lived through, he was always able to look at the beauty within people and not let his wheelchair put him down. For me, who’s a person with a cane, to see someone so brave and expressive on stage like that made me feel comfortable within myself, and it allowed me to view myself as more than just a disabled person and not let it define me. I don’t know any other disabled musicians; possibly being because of inaccessibility within venues, the amount of energy that goes into performing, the level of difficulty for transportation while disabled, ableism within the scene, and many other reasons. But Danny didn’t let any of that awful shit hold him back. Danny says “Drink my diarrhea”!

He started his music career at just 15 years old, got to work with thousands of artists, released 5 albums, played thousands of shows, has countless amounts of videos online, and he inspired every single person he’s ever met. Danny did so many amazing accomplishments while only making it to see 25 and is a true superhero for that.

Scientists have been working very hard on coming up with cure for muscular dystrophy for so long. I’ve been hoping for a cure for my entire life. Many people living with severe cases get their lives cut off at a tragic age just like Danny did. With your help, there could be less suffering from muscular dystrophy and less people dying in their 20’s. I’m lucky that I don’t have it as severe as Danny did; but I am in pain 24/7, I haven’t been able to run since I was 5, my body is slowly decaying more and more every second of my life, and soon I won’t be able to dance. Please consider donating to fight Muscular Dystrophy.

Also please consider donating to the research for not only Muscular Dystrophy, but many other disabilities and birth defects by donating to Stem Cell research.

And of course here’s Danny’s incredible music!

Rest In Peace Danny, you beautiful monster. <3

-Fat Shuggy