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I remember what an amazingly original sound they had back then compared to virtually everything else: humor, sadness, poignancy, fun and totally different than anything I’d heard. Chuck was a true original and the sweetest guy. And he surrounded himself with very talented musicians. I’ve played with Jimmie Mac (in the Bootlickers with former CBJE bassist and current Margaret Explosion bassist Ken Frank), produced Phil (AKA Rex Havoc) with LaLaLand and known the rest and they are exceptional. But Chuck was the standout.
Different Bob was my favorite of the early stuff but there was so much. People singing along with Considering A Move To Memphis (the closest thing to a hit they had)… -
There was a time between when they first started playing out in Roch., to ’91 when I left for the West Coast that I saw the Colorblind James Experience almost every weekend. Ed T., also from WITR, estimated we saw them 60-70 times. There was an almost addictive quality to their music, to Chuck’s off-the-wall poetry, to their almost indescribable sound, and I loved how all the local guitarists would gather in front of Phil just to watch his solos.
Chuck died the day before my birthday, so now I feel some sort of deep, semi-cosmic connection to him. (This coming from some almost completely devoid of anything remotely spiritual!) Most of the pain of his death has subsided, so whenever I feel sad about the loss of my friend, I listen to St. James Infirmary Blues, or fledgling Circus, or When Nobody Loves You in Heaven, and I feel comforted a little. -
Pingback from PopWars » Blog Archive » Respect on November 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm
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