To all of Sean Costello's Friends, I would like you to know about the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research. 

 

Sean overcame many challenges, not the least of which was severe shyness and social anxiety. He demonstrated unbelievable strength to triumph and blaze paths that others could not even dream of. With this in mind, the foundation has specific goals:

 

To support research for early intervention and diagnosis

To provide support for families

To research the connection between bipolar disorder and social anxiety

To lobby for health care policy change to afford help before damage is irreparable, and, in honor of Sean,         

To provide funds for musicians who suffer such emotional challenges, but who often have no health insurance and who live in a world riddled with triggers that encourage relapse.

 

Eventually, it would be my dream to have a center for recovery for musicians and artists, with treatment modalities appropriate for their biochemistry and unique gifts for communication and introspection.

 

I would ask that you consider contributing to this fund as well as providing us with any ideas that you may have for furthering its cause. Sean's life was one of giving in every way he knew how, and I would like to continue that spirit in his honor. You can email me through his MySpace and/or donate by emailing tray@bbandt.com or mailing donation to The Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research at BB&T 3620 Tramore Pointe Parkway Austell GA 30106. 

 

I thank you for all of your support of Sean and hope you will contiune to spread his music to all you know.  It is the legacy he deserves and would be humbly proud to receive.

 

Debbie Smith (Sean's Mom)

TRIBUTES TO AWARD WINNING BLUES MUSICIAN SEAN COSTELLO, 28, DEAD IN ATLANTA ON BIRTHDAY

( Atlanta , GA )---Blues singer, guitarist, composer Sean  Costello was found dead in his Atlanta, GA. Hotel room, Tues., April 15 - the  eve of his 29th birthday.        
Cause  of death has yet to be  determined.
            Costello,  a highly regarded blues musician since age 14, was in the middle of touring to  support his latest album "We Can Get Together" (Delta Groove  Records)
            In  a statement Robert Fitzpatrick, Delta Groove president and Rand Chortoff, CEO,  said: "Losing someone as young, talented and vibrant as Sean, who has  accomplished so much in just a few short years and still had so much potential  is a terribly difficult blow.  
            "Sean  had friends and fans around the world and was unanimously praised, by critics  and fans alike, as one of the main torch bearers of the blues  flame.
            "Now  that potential will go sadly  unfulfilled."
            Costello's  manager Carol Peters: "Everybody who saw Sean saw a brilliant musician working  in an authentic American art form, the blues, in a really personal and  creative way. A tragic loss not just to his friends, family and fans but to  the music community at  large."
            Veteran  producer Michael Rothschild, who worked on three previous albums with  Costello, starting with "Cuttin' In" (2000) that earned Costello a W.C. Handy  Blues award: "I first saw him when he was 14 and he knew all about the music,  and the great guitarists like T. Bone Walker and Charlie Christian - he was  also a great swing guitar player. He was mild mannered, an immense talent in a  small package. There's no telling how far he would have gone with a longer  life."
            Costello  had been called a Bluesman for the 21st Century, one that incorporated the  eclectic mix of music that surrounded him since his early days in Philadelphia (where he  was born) when street corner doo wop entranced his young ears. He had the  chance as a young musician to play with traditionalists (B.B. King), gospel  performers (Five Blind Boys of Alabama), the new wave (Susan Tedeschi), Dylan  expatriates (Levon Helm) and any number of the bluegrass, folk or rock  community who crossed his path.  
            But  Costello never left the bedrock blues elements, using them as energy to extend  his musical thinking and  vision.
            At  age 9 Costello moved to Atlanta . As he was about to graduate high  school with a local reputation as a guitarist, he was offered a record date  with Susan Tedeschi. The resulting album became a hit, Costello joined  Tedeschi and his own career began. Between the ages of 19 and 23 he won awards  (from the Memphis Blues Society, W.C. Handy award nomination), was in and out  of the recording studio, and earned the respect of his peers, such as B.B.  King, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins, and  James Cotton.  
            In  one of his last interviews Costello observed: "All I ever wanted to do was  play the guitar well and I've been fortunate to be able to make a good living  doing it."

 

Sean Costello – April 16, 1979 to April 15, 2008
 
Arrangements for Sean Costello have been made and are below.
 
VIEWING:
Mayes Ward Dobbins Funeral Home
180 Church Street
Marietta , GA
Fri 6:00-9:00
 
FUNERAL:
Shrine of Immaculate Conception
48 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW
Atlanta , GA 30303
(404) 521-1866
 
BURIAL:
Crest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
2000 Marietta Blvd NW
Atlanta , GA 30318
11:00 AM
 
FOUNDATION:
Sean Costello Foundation for Bi-Polar Research
Toby Ray @ BB&T: 678.384.0063 / tray@bbandt.com

 

Delta Groove Press Release: Sean Costello 1979 - 2008

It is with the deepest sadness that we issue this press release, and the news that Delta Groove recording artist Sean Costello passed away in Atlanta, GA on Tuesday, April 15th, one day before his 29th birthday. Sean was not only a member of the Delta Groove musical family, he was also a friend, and words cannot express the sorrow we feel at having to say goodbye so soon. As blues music fans, we unfortunately grow somewhat accustomed to the sadness of the inevitable passing of musical elders after long and fruitful careers. Losing someone as young, vibrant, and talented as Sean, who had accomplished so much in just a few short years and still had so much potential, is a terribly difficult blow, not only to those who knew him personally, but for the music community as a whole. He had been unanimously praised as one of the main torch-bearers of the blues flame for the coming generations, and now that potential will go sadly unfulfilled.

Costello was born in Philadelphia in 1979, moved with his family to Atlanta at the age of 9, and soon afterward picked up the guitar. Within a few short years he'd won the Memphis Blues Society's new talent award, and was on the road with his own band. At age 17 he released his first album, "Call The Cops", acclaimed by Real Blues Magazine as "an explosive debut." He soon joined forces with fellow blues guitarist Susan Tedeschi, with whom he toured and recorded, laying down tasteful lead guitar work on her Gold-certified Tone-Cool debut "Just Won't Burn".



In 2000, Costello released "Cuttin' In" on Landslide Records, which earned him critical acclaim as well as a prestigious W. C. Handy Award nomination for 'Best New Artist Debut.' With 2002's "Moanin' For Molasses", also on Landslide, came a Blues Revue cover story touting Costello as "the top contender to be the next blues star - and soon." Costello's hometown paper The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called his guitar playing "masterful" and of "remarkable maturity." The paper also compared him to such legends as B. B. King, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In 2005, his self-titled fourth CD "Sean Costello" was released by Artemis Records. Produced by Steve Rosenthal (The Rolling Stones, Suzanne Vega, Freedy Johnston), it was an appealing blend of soul, funk, upbeat rock. He was joined by some very special guests: Levon Helm of The Band sits in on two tracks, as does his daughter, Amy Helm, with her group, Ollabelle. Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks and the Conan O'Brien horn section also appear.




Sean's Delta Groove debut CD "We Can Get Together", just released in February, was produced by Costello himself. He was justly proud of "We Can Get Together", calling it the best work he'd ever done, and the critics agreed, with excellent reviews from radio and press alike lauding it his most impressive and mature work to date.

Costello was fortunate enough to earn the respect and admiration of many of his own idols, and had the opportunity to perform with his mentors. He shared stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, and Bo Diddley among many others. He recently said, "All I've ever wanted to do was play the guitar well. I've been fortunate to be able to make a living doing it, and I plan to keep it up for the rest of my life."

Rand Chortkoff and Robert Fitzpatrick, the CEO and President respectively of Delta Groove Music, issued the following joint statement: "Sean Costello was a genius. He was destined to go down in music history as a blues legend. His musical legacy will live on through his music forever. We at Delta Groove Music and all his fans everywhere are devastated by the untimely news of his death. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, loved ones and friends and to all of his many fans around the world. He will not be forgotten."

www.DELTAGROOVEMUSIC.com

Going in alone, Costello finds his voice

Boston Herald - 3/4/2005



Blues fans who know Sean Costello from his teenage stint as Bay State favorite Susan Tedeschi's guitarist might not recognize the current Sean Costello.



His new self-titled CD (on Tone-Cool/Artemis) is largely a vocal album, with a strong r & b/soul slant.



It is a stylish, confident accomplishment. But both the blues and Costello's guitar take a back seat.



Now 25, Costello may have come into the public eye with Tedeschi, but it was leaving her band that changed his life forever.



"My band and I joined Susan right after I graduated high school in 1997. I had met her at the
international blues competition in Memphis in 1994, when I was 15. She came in second, I came in
fourth. I toured with Susan and the band for about 18 months. She was just becoming a big hit when I
left,'' said Costello, an Atlanta boy.



Tedeschi's first CD, "Just Won't Burn,'' recorded with Costello aboard, went gold and gained a
Grammy nomination.



Why did the guitarist leave such a flourishing enterprise? It was a matter of blues aesthetics.



"I was very young, I was hotheaded and I had high ideals about the blues. I was like a hard-core blues
policeman, and we were doing a lot of shows with people like Jonny Lang, who I felt wasn't blues at all,''
he said.



"I realized I just didn't belong. My band stayed with Susan, and I went back to Atlanta.''



The move brought about a moment of crisis for the 19-year-old. "I didn't even know if I wanted to play
music anymore. Then I thought maybe I'd get away from 'the music biz,' and just play blues in bars. I started all over again. And I've
gradually found my own voice,'' said Costello, who plays Johnny D's in Somerville tonight with his band (www.johnnydsuptown.com or 617-
776-2004).



Rebuilding his sound led Costello as far away as possible from what he calls the "screaming guitar monotony'' of the flashy, rockinspired
playing he felt was bastardizing the blues. He also studied the voices of his idols, the masterful soul and r & b singers of the '60s
and early '70s.



Most of the new CD is reminiscent of that era's classic style. Al Green's "I'm a Ram'' gets a jubilant revival.



Most surprisingly, Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate'' is turned into a soul mover.



Half of the album features Costello compositions, and his best songs live up to the soul chestnuts. With help from Ollabelle, Levon Helm, the brass section from Conan O'Brien's house band and the sparkling production work of Steve Rosenthal, a lot of the album creates an emotionally expressive sound you can party to.



The guitarist is still a scholar at heart, and there's even a bit of the blues policeman left in him.



"A lot of (modern blues) lack the fundamentals that were taught to me by the older players: Don't overplay, take your time, build a solo,
don't play over the singer, don't play too loud or long,'' he said.



"In the old days, each blues performer had a very personal style. Now you hear people play the exact same notes and licks,'' said
Costello, whose guitar playing is surprisingly spare on the new album.



Just as he did at 14, Costello still worships the guitar artistry of Hubert Sumlin (who, coincidentally, is playing the Regattabar in
Cambridge tonight.) Yet despite his love of tradition, Costello knows that being a blues preservationist is no way to carry on the legacy of
this idiosyncratic music.



Has Costello found his own voice? Like a parlor trick, the album contains a strange left turn toward jazz singing. Even the tone and
range is different: You'd guess it's another singer entirely. So Costello is still busy trying on styles, yet it's deeper than a mere change of
musical costumes.



"This record is so varied, there's no strategy to it at all,'' he said.
Costello is glad he waited a few years before focusing on singing.



"Age is irrelevant in music. Singing has to come from the heart and
the emotions. You do feel life's emotions very intensely when you're young, but I can understand that anyone over 21 doesn't want to hear
a teenager sing the blues,'' he said with a laugh.