He passed away this morning after collapsing onstage at his 70th birthday tribute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbJnoRzuxZI
Holy fuck. Please tell me you're. Not fucking seruuus. I was about to post in the dizzunk thread. Fuck. Nooooooooooooo. Please tell me noooooo
Quote from: PIE-GUY on May 02, 2017, 06:21:18 AM
Holy fuck. Please tell me you're. Not fucking seruuus. I was about to post in the dizzunk thread. Fuck. Nooooooooooooo. Please tell me noooooo
Sorry, Dave. 'Tis true. :cry:
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. I can't. I have no idea what his means. I really don't want a world without Bruce. It just has no meaning
Like a baby. I am crying lie a child. I am not ok with this one. Honestly. Not ok. What the fuck do I do now? I'm alone. I'm not ok.
Ouch PG, really sorry.
That's a serious kick in the gut.
RIP Bruce.
ETA. Just fired up the Tweezer from 4-30-1992 with Bruce on Trombone.
This has fucked me up more than a little this morning.
Get weird with me and the Col.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqtlKuz4W74
What a tragic twist of fate. RIP.
My second "Evening with Phish" featured ARU opening, and they killed it. The Colonel had the James Brown mic moves down and his delivery was down right scary.
RIP
Damn, how horrible.
what a way to go
he was doing what he loved best
RIP
Oof.
RIP.
Cannot stop crying.
The footage is tough to watch.
My friends were the promoters for this show. I had been watching the set-up and rehearsals all week on my FB feed and had a lot of friends in the audience last night. Have not heard from my friend that organized the whole show. He must be devastated. I first saw ARU open up for Phish on 4/27/91 and they were one of my favorite bands instantly. Just so unique and killer. I have a lot of friends that went on to work with and for Bruce over the years and they are all reeling. What a loss, but what a way to go. RIP
Quote from: Caravan2001 on May 02, 2017, 04:41:52 PM
Quote from: rowjimmy on May 02, 2017, 03:05:53 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 02:09:44 PM
The footage is tough to watch.
I can't even.
It's brutal...
Yeah I'm not ready to go there. This one hurts a lot... as a performer I put him right there with Prince, just an absolutely captivating presence on the stage, and I was lucky enough to see him in tiny clubs a handful of times. Fuck.
Quote from: rowjimmy on May 02, 2017, 03:05:53 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 02:09:44 PM
The footage is tough to watch.
I can't even.
That's one video I'll never watch. This was a tough day at work. :shakehead:
Wow. Just... wow.
What a way to go.
This one is hurting me. Fuck.
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
Lol!
What a crazy way to go out.
I saw him once in GA. Was some wild music.
RIP
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Aww damn I haven't checked out the Paug for a hot minute and I see this plus other bad shit...I need to seek enlightenment and understanding so there can be another voice for healing.
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Yeah, at least check out the YEM from the last Albany Palace Theatre show. You must be familiar with that jam. Pretty sure it is Spring 93 but it could be 92....all time YEM.
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Start here:
https://youtu.be/QARwULqjYyo
Quote from: Caravan2001 on May 03, 2017, 12:16:00 AM
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Yeah, at least check out the YEM from the last Albany Palace Theatre show. You must be familiar with that jam. Pretty sure it is Spring 93 but it could be 92....all time YEM.
Well yeah dude, 5-5-93. And obvs, it's amazing. I think they are on the Tiptina 91 release too.
Just haven't really heard much of his own music.
Quote from: PIE-GUY on May 03, 2017, 12:46:19 AM
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Start here:
https://youtu.be/QARwULqjYyo
Thanks man, will check it out.
And the first ARU album is amazing. Stream it wherever you stream things or listen to it on the tubes...
https://youtu.be/7y47pjQqHdw (https://youtu.be/7y47pjQqHdw)
Quote from: PIE-GUY on May 03, 2017, 12:46:19 AM
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Start here:
https://youtu.be/QARwULqjYyo
Good stuff, thank you.
Quote from: Hicks on May 03, 2017, 02:19:48 AM
Quote from: Caravan2001 on May 03, 2017, 12:16:00 AM
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Yeah, at least check out the YEM from the last Albany Palace Theatre show. You must be familiar with that jam. Pretty sure it is Spring 93 but it could be 92....all time YEM.
Well yeah dude, 5-5-93. And obvs, it's amazing. I think they are on the Tiptina 91 release too.
Just haven't really heard much of his own music.
I need to check that out.
Quote from: Caravan2001 on May 03, 2017, 12:37:36 PM
Quote from: Hicks on May 03, 2017, 02:19:48 AM
Quote from: Caravan2001 on May 03, 2017, 12:16:00 AM
Quote from: Hicks on May 02, 2017, 11:18:15 PM
Quote from: mbw on May 02, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I was just watching an interview with him, and he is lamenting the state of music these days lacking soul and what not, and he says "Mumford and Sons is about as sexual as a brick." :hereitisyousentimentalbastard
I gotta say, that while I'm aware that ARU was a big influence for Phish I'm not really very familiar with their music.
But the above statement definitely makes me feel an affinity for Col. Bruce.
RIP, now is probably as good a time as any to get acquainted with his work.
Yeah, at least check out the YEM from the last Albany Palace Theatre show. You must be familiar with that jam. Pretty sure it is Spring 93 but it could be 92....all time YEM.
Well yeah dude, 5-5-93. And obvs, it's amazing. I think they are on the Tiptina 91 release too.
Just haven't really heard much of his own music.
I need to check that out.
They are, looks like set 2 from 91 show is the filler on that release, thanks for pointing that out, totally forgot about that filler.
I can't recommend highly enough the ARU show from Burlington VT in April (4th, maybe?) of 1994. There's a good-quality recording out there--pretty sure it's on etree or LMA.
Leftover Salmon opened, and by the end of the ARU set most of LS, all of Phish, Mike Ray, a whole bunch of Burlington music scene regulars, were all on stage for a raucous funk jam.
Twas nuts.
26 years ago today my mind was melted by Col. Bruce and Phish.
So TAB covered Basically Frightened last night.
https://www.facebook.com/treyanastasio/videos/10153868168227168/
Quote
PHISH, SATURDAY 04/23/1994
THE FOX THEATRE
Atlanta , GA
SET 1: Funky Bitch, Rift, Fee[1], Peaches en Regalia, Poor Heart > Stash, Esther > Down with Disease > Caravan[2], High-Heel Sneakers[3]
SET 2: Wilson > Run Like an Antelope[4], Mound > Sample in a Jar, Sparkle > Harry Hood, Ginseng Sullivan[5], You Enjoy Myself[6], Who By Fire[7], Golgi Apparatus
ENCORE: Free Bird
[1] Trey sang verses through megaphone.
[2] Merl Saunders on keyboards.
[3] Phish debut; Merl Saunders on keyboards.
[4] Simpsons and Oom Pa Pa signals.
[5] Acoustic, without microphones. Fish on washboard.
[6] Colonel Bruce Hampton on piano.
[7] Phish debut; Colonel Bruce Hampton on vocals.
Listened to this show last night and this am. RIP.
QuoteBRUCE HAMPTON
He made everybody comfortable in their own skin, and as a result it always brought out the best in all of them. That's why he was always surrounded by so much excellence. Not just in music, but in humanity. In intent.
Bruce's intent was love. Period. I never heard him put that word to it, but he was all about intent. His mantra was "Intent, Release and Recovery", but everything always started with intent.
Over the 27 years I've known him, in basically every encounter I had with him or interaction I witnessed him in, the love in his intent was consistently among the purest and most powerful I have ever known. It was like a sun. Seriously. It had gravity. It created orbits. And for those of us who experienced it one way or the other, if perhaps even only from afar, it had more of an impact than we could have ever realized at the time. But whether we knew it or not, since the first time we encountered it, it altered us, changed us, touched us, affected us...and from that point forward it permeated our beings and has come through the music we play, the gigs we book, the articles we write, the concerts we promote, the audience members we are, the food we cook....the grace with which we handle the challenges of life.
He didn't take most things too seriously (and that obviously rubbed off quite a bit on more than a few of us!), but for what he did, the degree of intention to his intent also meant that he was really not fuckin' around. And at the pinnacle of his musical life, in front of a sold out crowd at arguably the most beautiful theater in the country, with a stage full of the most talented collective I've ever been a part of, ranging in age from our early teens to our mid 70's, supported by equally talented promoters, managers, caterers etc,....ALL of whom were there because they LOVED the man for how good he made each and every one of them feel about whatever they brought to the table....he sang out one last time "let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" with all the love in his heart, and he meant every word just as he always did, but this time the intent overwhelmed the vessel.
As we were walking away from the venue in the shock and confusion of the moments after his collapse, a fellow musician posed the question,"Did he really just take it THERE?" Yep. Yes he did. He just took it there.
That was the Release. A lifetime's worth of everything that a life as full as Bruce's could contain.
Besides the consistency with which Bruce valued Intent and adhered to the Now he had an equally deep appreciation for good showmanship, and an extraordinary eye for talent. He being Exhibit A of the former, and absolutely all the members of the various bands he lead being examples of the latter. He also had a tremendous sense of humor which allowed him to embrace the ludicrousness of virtually everything with good nature and a deep laugh. I once asked him how the hell he put together band after band of the baddest mother*#%~!'s I'd ever seen on whatever instruments and his response was, "Fish, every band only needs one wrecking ball. They put it up and I tear it down!!"
Being that as it is, I find it virtually impossible to view the manner in which he departed as anything other than the ultimate theatrical accomplishment / practical joke / paradoxical, expressionistic heeeyyeeaarrrr whaaaaahhho ah! haa ha ha hhhaaaaaa....intended to elicit the entire range of human emotion and response in one fell swoop; to seamlessly transition from shine-ee to shine-er in one love intent filled moment leaving us all laughing, crying and astonished at the same time.
I just can't help feeling that being in the moment, as always, he saw the opportunity to make it as real as it gets, comparable to nothing, and took it. And I believe he took it for our benefit, certainly not at our expense, because that could never be his intent. But still, to intend it is one thing... to actually pull it off?!?!
Viewed from this angle It's certainly the greatest act of showmanship I expect to ever witness in my lifetime short of spontaneous combustion...which I hope to accomplish someday in his honor!
And therein, for me, lies the trick, the humor, the mystery, the essence of who Bruce was. This time, with all the love he could muster and what surely could have only been the best intent, he went "out" once again, but this time he didn't come back. This time he left the Recovery to us, but not before turning the light he sang for around and giving us all a quick glimpse of the richness of our own humanity in its glow, and a lasting mental picture of what a roomful of good intent looks like.
I realize that not everyone will view the moment of his departure through the same celebratory and even humorous lens as I, but it is my intent that my words ring true in regards to who Bruce was/is, and that the love and appreciation I have tried to express for him and what he has brought to my life speaks to some degree to anyone else who knew him in whatever capacity, be it for a minute or a lifetime, and that it brings some measure of assistance to the healing process.
But if my words still leave any doubt as to whether the manner in which Bruce left was right in line with who he really was, and something to celebrate rather than lament, Bruce's own words from a 1970 interview on the question, "What is Grease?" say it better than any of us ever could anyway: "See, our main ambition in life aside from growing a bosom on top of our heads is to die on stage and when we die on stage that will be when we ultimately reach Grease."
Bruce, I hope that in whatever greasy reaches of the Omniverse your travels take you, your love light shines as brightly as it did here on earth. We will all miss you and we all thank you, sir, for your service.
Love, Fish
Thanks MBW for sharing!
That's a beautiful epitaph.
So, Fish has a local radio show in Belfast, ME and he's doing a tribute show right meow:
http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/ (http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/)
that was awesome
QuoteBruce Hampton: Modern Patriarch
One of the most significant things he said to me was, "Jeeeeoorrrrggghhhhhhhhhhxxxxxxxeeyohhhhhhh," which I'm still living by. Bruce was ever the mascot of music. Taking us around, 'scussin' it, laughin' it. We had heard the stories before we even met him in '89 - the band of drummers from an institution mixed with Ellington horns, the keyboard player that got tied up and hoisted and waved at - for playing from his library of licks, driving fake golfballs on the stage very slowly into Mark Ribot's dosed forehead. Bruce and his disciples only liked musicians who told the truth. Ones who vomited. Bobby Bland. B.B. King. And not the liers, who needed one way or another to be broken. We watched some get broken in '89. Somehow Bruce and I both thought of a mock instructional video at the same time, and it grew into a story movie - Outside Out. And it included everything - the vomit, the broken, and the jeeeeoorrrrggghhhhhhhhhhxxxxxxeeyohhhhhhh. Minus a bunch of other stuff. The remarkable thing was that he seemed not to do anything - it was said the he let it all happen around him - including gatherings and conglomeratings of the best musicians anywhere, with Bruce in the middle doing nothing except blowing real smoke rings not having smoked. Yet there was something - a huge soul that grabbed the mic and tore your ass off with raw authenticity - and then strums from the chazoid. The electric chazoid. But back to the business of kindness - taking anyone out for a tour of Atlanta - musicians and friends and friends of musicians' friends, complete with stories about Sun Ra wearing all yellow and complaining in the car, or Q258 going to Main Street in Nashville for the gig instead of Asheville, setting up in the woman's living room, or arriving to the gig with 72 shovels. The shovels never stopped. They continued. Somewhere in the ether you must be continuing out there. Schools knows it. But on Earth here we already really miss ya.
-Mike Gordon
Quote from: sunrisevt on May 03, 2017, 09:42:00 PM
So, Fish has a local radio show in Belfast, ME and he's doing a tribute show right meow:
http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/ (http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/)
recording of said show available here:
http://belfastcommunityradio.org/show/the-errant-path/ (http://belfastcommunityradio.org/show/the-errant-path/)
Quote from: PIE-GUY on May 17, 2017, 05:51:26 PM
Quote from: sunrisevt on May 03, 2017, 09:42:00 PM
So, Fish has a local radio show in Belfast, ME and he's doing a tribute show right meow:
http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/ (http://belfastcommunityradio.org/listen/wbfy-stream/)
recording of said show available here:
http://belfastcommunityradio.org/show/the-errant-path/ (http://belfastcommunityradio.org/show/the-errant-path/)
This radio station kicks all kinds of ass. Thank y'all!
These were made and given as gifts to Derek Trucks and Oliver Wood just last week. Beautiful.
Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/7GLQ5 (http://imgur.com/a/7GLQ5)
(http://i.imgur.com/iuiv5Pz.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/f5ZfITR.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/PqpDgAS.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/faNrmwy.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/nYVMwq1.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ell2t2C.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/zPZWIZ1.jpg)
Derek had that up on stage with him the last few nights
Gonna listen to this pronto...
https://colbrucehampton.bandcamp.com/album/live-the-vista-room (https://colbrucehampton.bandcamp.com/album/live-the-vista-room)
QuoteGive a listen to "Live @ the Vista Room," the final album from Col. Bruce Hampton and his band the Madrid Express, out now on Bandcamp with the full blessing of Bruce's family.