Debbie Abono (born Deborah Ann Downer; August 31, 1929 – May 16, 2010) was an American

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

death metal Death metal is an 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 growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

bands during the 1980s-early 2000s.

Biography

Abono was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, as Deborah Ann Downer, a granddaughter to 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 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 bands developed a ...

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 best known as the guitarist for Primus, a position that he has served since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment t ...

. According to author David Konow, Abono was unaware of the sometimes

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

themes of heavy metal, and was offended after reading the lyrics to '' Seven Churches'', 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,Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: ''War Black Metal: Die Extremsten der Extremen''. ''Was bleibt, ist Schutt und Asche''. In: ''Rock Hard'', no. 279, pp. 71-73. originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast sty ...

finished

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. 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 existence, they released demo tapes, one EP and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay Area ...

, 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 and

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

. Other bands that she managed included

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

and

Skinlab Skinlab is an American heavy metal band formed in 1994 in San Francisco, California by vocalist/bassist Steev Esquivel (who used to sing in the Bay Area thrash metal band Defiance), guitarist Mike Roberts (now with San Francisco Bay Area's R ...

. Abono died on Sunday, May 16, 2010, after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old. 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 and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

(the latter who had also recently died on the same day 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 ar ...

Robb Flynn Robert Conrad Flynn (born Lawrence Matthew Cardine; July 19, 1967) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band Machine Head. Flynn formed the band along with Adam Duce, Logan Mader and Tony Cos ...

recorded and released for free online a cover of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

'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 Ci ...

". 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 band Machine Head between 2002 and 2018, making him their longest running member in that position. He has also performed in other bands such as V ...

when they were members of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abono, Debbie 1929 births 2010 deaths American corporate directors 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Businesspeople from Oakland, California American women bankers American bankers American women business executives American music managers Deaths from cancer in California Women corporate directors 21st-century American women