Rolling Obituary Thread 2023

crazy that Pulp started in 1978

Steve wasn't in the band until 1988 though, so still off-topic.

RIP Wayne ;_;

Trad jazzer and cartoonist Wally Fawkes aka Trog, aged 98.

as a small child i often read "flook by trog" in the hope that the furry moomin-esque animal of that name (flook not trog) wd deliver content that i grasped (instead of opaque insider jokes about deputy labour leader george brown and such)

Yeah, it was "Flook by Trog" until he got bounced off the paper, then went to another paper and it became "Flook by Trog AND KEITH WATERHOUSE"

Kinda lost interest after that.

Maybe I liked Flook because I didn't understand it

David Lindley, though not official yet. 78.

https://claremont-courier.com/latest-news/iconic-claremont-musician-david-lindley-dead-at-78-72983/

Awe shit

one of the few musicians to routinely play remote Humboldt County and became a pretty big draw up there

Holy shit, I was just talking about him with a friend on Wednesday, about how iconic and instantly recognizable his lap steel playing was. Thrilling.

One of those uniquely talented guys (like Ry Cooder) that could pretty much master anything with strings.

Love "Egyptian Gardens."

He even played on Leonard Cohen's debut album

Kaleidoscope was apparently one of Camper Van Beethoven's biggest inspirations. You can hear it.

Oh man, R.I.P. Lindley. His first two solo albums are really good. (Others may be too, I only know those.)

Also of course the falsetto on “Stay” (in addition to all his guitar work obv).

(xpost) I hadn't really thought about that, but definitely.

RIP. It takes a keen mind.

I grew up in David Lindley's Claremont and his presence in the scene, his meaning to so many there, can't be overstated. A titan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P45Dav1SPzY

Tom Sizemore now officially dead.

Former Claremont resident (1979-1983) here also - loved seeing Lindley at the Folk Music Center.

Kaleidoscope was apparently one of Camper Van Beethoven's biggest inspirations. You can hear it.

Yeah when I eventually heard kaleidoscope in the 2000s I immediately thought of CVB

Damn, David Lindley. I saw him at a "Reggae on the Rocks" in the late 80s, he was a highlight.

My own Lindley moment as such was the mandolin he added on the Church's "Antenna" -- subtle but undeniably there, and it sends the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqHVJBSXeZ0

Spot (aka, Glen Lockett), producer of Black Flag, the Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, and many other SST bands.

RIP. Used to see him all the time at shows in Austin. He always had a coffee mug in his hand.

RIP. I’m not sure there’s any producer with their name on more of my favorite albums. Maybe Joe Boyd.

Did not know that his father was one of the Tuskegee Airmen until just now.

Also seem to remember he had this friend who had no idea of his history and one time asked him “hey, are you some kind of big deal or something?”

good people, we just lost my old buddy spotski, a terrible blow. he recorded the minutemen's first stuff, I go way back w/this man. brother matt took this shot six years ago when spotski came to visit our pedro town... man, this is a terrible blow. I love you spotski forever. pic.twitter.com/8Ibn0JrakQ

— mike watt (@wattfrompedro) March 4, 2023

Given the age of everyone, I've been preparing myself mentally for this morbid pop culture deluge, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Saxophonist Carlos Garnett, who played on Miles Davis' On the Corner (and one track each on Big Fun and Get Up With It) and Pharoah Sanders' Live at the East and Black Unity, and also made a bunch of albums on his own and with drummer Norman Connors. Not super well known, but if you're into soulful/spiritual early 70s funk/fusion, check his catalog out.

A podcast with Spot guesting.

https://www.thevinylguide.com/episodes/ep196-spot-producer-engineer-witness-music-history

This is the Tom I choose to remember. So young & full of dreams. He wanted to be DeNiro. I said, but why? You’re already Richard Burton. In many ways, he was. pic.twitter.com/hPDk1YsJ6O

— Dana Delany (@DanaDelany) March 4, 2023

Robert Haimer aka Artie Barnes of the weird pop duo Barnes and Barnes. they're only gonna be remembered for their one bizarre novelty hit but I always thought they were the godfather of stuff like Ween and TMBG (at least, the *early* versions of those bands). lots of great songs in their catalogue. also the only time the actual artist himself commented on my music blog (it was something like "thanks for the nice words, but you're about as accurate as Wikipedia").

Nashville session dude Michael Rhodes

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/michael-rhodes-dead-1235279997/

Disability rights activist Judy Heumann.

Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Last Original Member, Dead at 71

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/gary-rossington-lynyrd-skynyrd-dead-1209960/

rip gary, u were gr8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKbkArYyics

call me the breeze rules mostly bc of gary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsIqEq9OFxE

xps re: Judy Heumann - really inspirational figure for how to effect change when you’re operating from a position of very little power and leverage. Highly recommend the film Crip Camp which covers some of her work and is close to my heart working in summer camp for people with disabilities. RIP.

Georgina Beyer, a trailblazing New Zealand politician who in 1999 became the world’s first openly transgender member of Parliament, has died https://t.co/K53N1lcUFD

— TIME (@TIME) March 6, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/03/04/lou-stovall-artist-printmaker-dead/

Lou Stovall at 86. DC artist, printmaker , poet who worked with Sam Gilliam and also w/ jazz musician/ artist. Lloyd McNeil. With McNeil he made civil rights posters & jazz show posters in late 60s and 1970s that were very creative . The Phillips museum in DC did a retrospective on him last year

RIP Lou Stovall.
I hadn't realized until recently that Lloyd McNeill passed away a couple of years ago. Lloyd was my drawing teacher at Rutgers. He turned me on to Eric Dolphy - they shared the same flute teacher at a certain point - and I enjoyed chatting with him about the creative process.

(A couple months late on this) master lap steel player Freddie Roulette.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/05/blues-guitarist-freddie-roulette-steel-guitar-dead/
https://dekedickerson.com/musings/rip-freddie-roulette/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX06XkUhkbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8NTPNeBIgI

during our november west coast tour, bob stirner and i stopped in to subway guitars in berkeley to poke around a bit and visit with Fatdawg - if you love guitars at all, you should know about this place, period. so, after we'd been there for an hour or so, this slight gentleman walked in and ambled to the back and disappeared up the stairs...fatdawg wouldn't say who he was, but i eventually asked him - "was that freddie roulette?" he seemed surprised that i was even aware of him, but when he came back in some time later, he brought his gig bag, a small pedalboard, and a crappy little amp and proceeded to blow the top of my head off. this is just a sample of the 20 minutes or so that he played for us, standing there in the store, that afternoon. just an unbelievable guy.

ET thanks for that. I barely know the diff b/w lap and pedal and steel, but I like the sound of em. I enjoyed the hell out of hearing AND seeing how he did that.

RIP Mr. Roulette.