BON VOYAGE, CHAS SMITH
Rev. Ivan Stang
This morning, Oct. 16, our friend Chas Smith peacefully vacated Earth
Plane One for greener pastures.
Chas was hospitalized a month ago with double pneumonia, and had a
severe stroke while in the hospital. He had also been fighting
Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer which he had beaten in his youth
but which killed his brother several years ago, and for which he had
recently started getting radiation treatments. Chas was a really tough
old soldier but nobody could fight this so many illnesses and traumas
forever.
Chas had just turned 50.
As a music professor at Cleveland State University, Chas taught the
most popular course at the whole school, a class in the history of
rock and roll and its roots. Chas put much more into his class than
just the history, however. He was beloved by students as much for his
spontaneous rants on life and society in general, or on space and
science, or whatever had grabbed his interest that week, as for his
musical subject matter.
He also taught regular and very popular workshops in music and
consciousness at Starwood, Winterstar, and Sirius Rising. He taught
basic musical composition to little kids through a program with the
Cleveland Opera. He authored three textbooks on the history of rock
and roots music: "From Woodstock to the Moon: The Cultural Evolution
of Rock Music," "The Soul of Sunrise: Grassroots Music in America,"
and another which was only recently finished.
The focal point of his life, however, was playing music. He was in The
Clocks, a popular Cleveland punk band in the late '70s and early '80s.
During the 1990s and early 2000s he fronted Einstein's Secret
Orchestra or ESO (with Dave DeLuca, Bob Mozick and Michele George (to
whom he was married for several years). Two excellent studio albums
and many good live recordings exist. In recent years ESO became more
of a blues, classic C&W and jam band with many different members.
Chas also toured with Cobra Verde as keyboardist.
Cleveland radio listeners heard Chas's weekly show on WCSB, Swamp
Radio, every Thursday night for over 20 years. This eclectic show
included not only whatever music Chas was into at the time, but live
performances, jams, and also improv comedy and plays -- first with
Brain Rot Theater (radio comedy sketches by Dave DeLuca, Dan Didonato,
and Chas) and later with DeLuca, myself and my wife "Princess Wei."
Chas also took calls from listeners -- and he got some pretty wild
listeners. The bits recorded on Swamp Radio were a mainstay of the
syndicated SubGenius show "Hour of Slack" for almost a decade.
Almost all SubGenius events in the Cleveland and Northern Ohio area
featured ESO (or sometimes just Chas, solo) as the musical headliner
from 1992 to 2002.
Chas was an outdoorsman -- not a hunter, but a hiker and camper. His
seasonal camp at Brushwood Folklore Center in western rural New York
grew into a sort of giant art gallery and performance area where some
of the coolest events at Brushwood took place -- and if you're
familiar with Brushwood, that's saying quite a bit. Variously called
Tranquility Base and Club Tiki Banzai, Chas's parties (including the
annual Rumble in the Jungle) are legendary. When Chas wasn't playing,
he was DJing.
The camp -- and his performance costumes or "rock star duds" -- were
outlets for Chas's considerable graphic arts talents. He had some of
the most psychedelic outfits I've ever seen in rock shows, decorated
by hand in his inimitable style. His home and especially the recording
studio in the basement benefited from his handiwork and seemingly
boundless energy.
Chas will be remembered by thousands -- his almost countless former
students, his many fellow musicians and performers, his camping
buddies and the many communities to which he was such a big
contributor -- Brushwood, A.C.E. in Cleveland, The Church of the
SubGenius, WCSB, Cleveland State, and probably many more of which I
have yet to learn.
Chas wasn't the only reason I left Dallas for Cleveland, but he was
definitely one of the main ones. He is already greatly missed.
A deep and heartfelt thanks to Bob Mozick for being such a rock for
Chas and his family and friends through this whole hard time.
The funeral will be held at Brickman Funeral Home in Willoughby, Ohio;
we'll announce the exact date and place here as soon as possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FROM PRINCESS WEI'S LETTER TO THE CHAMELEON CLUB/ A.C.E.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings, and they don't come much
sadder than this one.
Bob Mozik called me at 7:30 this morning to tell me Chas had left this
mortal plane.
He said Chas had a cadre of visitors over the weekend - we think he
was waiting to see as many friends as he could see before he left (or
hear them as it was more toward the end).
A Beachland Ballroom benefit concert is in the works. His memorial
will most likely take place at Brickman Funeral Home in Willoughby,
OH. I will post any more info as soon as I know it.
Chas was overcome by multiple medical problems. While at the Clinic,
he bravely fought 4 separate infections, double pneumonia, his
Hodgkin's disease, which had come out of remission, and massive stroke
damage. The thing to remember is that to the end, Chas kept a bright
outlook. Always the thumbs up - while he was able.
Also, the doctors at the clinic used all of their knowledge and
expertise to do everything they could for him. I visited him every
other day, and witnessed very compassionate care each time I saw him.
Thanks to Bob Mozik, he had music in his ears the last week or so of
his life. Bob bought a CD player and brought in many mix disks of
Chas' favorite music. One of the nurses said she thought a CD player
should be standard equipment for every hospice room - what could be
better than soothing music to allow you to be far away while still
physically there?
Chas' family had no idea how many friends Chas had. They were bowled
over by the number of cards, gifts, flowers and visitors he received.
I pray that that bowling over can continue when many contributions
toward the Medical Fund his father set up begin coming in.
Again, donations for Chas can be sent directly to:
Donation for Charles V. Smith
U.S. Bank 26410 Lakeshore
Euclid, Ohio 44132
Please make checks payable to Donation of Charles V. Smith
--
Rev. Ivan Stang
http://subgenius.com/bigfist/pics13/CHAS_SMITH/index.html
Hour of Slack #1122 will be a tribute to Chas. (Will air in Cleveland
Sunday Oct. 20 at 9 pm on WCSB - 89.3 FM
or streaming from http://wcsb.org (also to be available on
SubGenius.com for download: http://subgenius.com/ts/hos.html )
Rich Clark, aka Left Rev Egg Plant, ULC, CotSG
> BON VOYAGE, CHAS SMITH
>
I am sad. I barely knew him having only met him briefly on a couple
occasions while at Brushwood these past 5 years. I wish I had known him
better.
The Sicker Vicar
Dammit, now I'm crying in a cubicle. The Church of the SubGenius and
Planet Earth in general are poorer today, to be sure. Professor Chas
was my SubG musical inspiration. My biggest regret is that I just
finished a song, "Dark Highway," about comparing the 2000 election to
being abducted by a UFO (something frightening happens in the middle
of the night, you wake up totally screwed, with no evidence of what
happened, and when you tell people, they laugh at you). I consciously
wrote it in the freewheeling, punkabilly ESO style, and I wanted to
send it to Chas and tell him what an influence he'd had. ("Midnight
Going Pale" is one of my favorite tunes, in or out of SubG Land.) When
I heard he was sick, I hurried, but apparently not fast enough.
I also regret thinking it was lame of him to stop doing Swamp Radio,
which I just loved. Given what he was contending with, it's amazing he
did it as long as he did.
I never got to shake his hand, but I am sorely aggrieved by his
passing. That's how you know a great musician.
Oh, captain, my captain! Save us a seat on the saucers, SubG Doktor
Smith!
BazOtherwise
RevNickie
That was one one of the best compliments I ever received, judging by
who gave it.
-RevNickie
Rev Dr Feit C Taj
news:1192543852.1...@q3g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
> BON VOYAGE, CHAS SMITH
>
"May JHVH-1 grant you Ultimate Slack on The Ropes of Life, and may He
spare you His Stark Fist." ("Bob")
--
Many look, but do not see. And a lot of people
don't even look; they just use their eyes to keep
from bumping into things.
-J. R. "Bob" Dobbs
Rev. Richard Skull
snif!
Zapanaz
>BON VOYAGE, CHAS SMITH
>
>
>This morning, Oct. 16, our friend Chas Smith peacefully vacated Earth
>Plane One for greener pastures.
I didn't know him, but ONE LESS MUTANT!
Come on you boy and girl mutants, get out there and BREED!
--
Zapanaz
International Satanic Conspiracy
Customer Support Specialist
http://joecosby.com/
Is this a frontier town, outpost on the abiding wilderness, or is it
simply just another suburb of a rusting industrial city? Wild bunch, brady
bunch -- the kids are restless either way
- Robert Scott Martin
X-Face: AXw.*iC'22cn|l>bQbG=L8@fxebas;>^R9g^6)*;!xN#EI8GK8ghN{eO)%)]"`Wd7YGYw^Q
85q5vv{]~4E4O.;m>rWXkR2}lz\EIm}CDO=0C\I/uB11n"R<Fo\K#=`BYXMJu_l&^Ee0lx39(*q;ik
~K
Rabbi Jacklyn Hyde
insane enough to show up at X-Day without a tent. He'll also be the
ONLY man with the ability to wear no shirt, leather pants, boots and a
cowboy hat in the middle of the summer. Everyone else is a pretender in
my eyes.
This has been a fucked up couple of weeks. My grandmother died last
Tuesday. The memorial service for her was on Friday. I'm feeling like
I'm in a bad loop. At the same time, the only thing that didn't happen
to Chas was that he wasn't hit by an anvil dropped from an airplane.
I'm glad his suffering is over, but I already miss the hell out of him.
--With much love, the Rabbs
Governor Rocknar
Cash songs playing at T-Base.
One of them I had never heard before, but when I did, I never forgot.
"Drums", from the album "Bitter Tears (Ballads Of The American Indian)
>From the Indian reservation to the governmental school
Well they're goin' to educate me to the white men's Golden Rule
And I'm learning very quickly for I've learned to be ashamed
And I come when they call Billy though I've got an Indian name
And there are drums beyond the mountain Indian drums that you can't
hear
There are drums beyond the mountain and they're getting mighty near
And when they think that they'd changed me cut my hair to meet their
needs
Will they think I'm white or Indian quarter blood or just half breed
Let me tell you Mr teacher when you say you'll make me right
In five hundred years of fighting not one Indian turned white
And there are drums...
Well you thought that I knew nothing when you brought me here to
school
Just another empty Indian just America's first fool
But now I can tell you stories that are burnt and dried and old
But in the shadow of their telling walks the thunder proud and bold
And there are drums...
Long Pine and Sequoia Handsome Lake and Sitting Bull
There's Magnus Colorado with his sleeves so red and full
Crazy Horse the legend those who bit off Custer's soul
They are dead yet they are living with the great Geronimo
And there are drums...
Well you may teach me this land's hist'ry but we taught it to you
first
We broke your hearts and bent your journeys broken treaties left us
cursed
Even now you have to cheat us even though you this us tame
In our losing we found proudness in your winning you found shame
And there are drums...
--
Safe journey, Chas
Rocknar
--
HellPopeHuey
I had two quality interludes with Chas, once ambling around loosely at
Brushwood and once during the ride he graciously gave me when he picked
me up at the Erie Airport and got me to X-Day 3. It was like making a
new OLD friend, which is a pinnacle characteristic to exhibit. We had
playing music in common, so he made some great points in an engaging
manner to which I related readily. Its fun to talk shop, but having even
the brief privilege of doing so with a devotee who does it with HEART is
5-star. Its easy to see why he'd be a popular teacher in any venue...
and why the planet is grinding more than spinning today due to his loss.
--
HellPope Huey
This Halloween, I'm going as a drunken slut.
It worked great last year
and the costume looks exactly like my street clothes.
"We must find another brain."
~ "Frankenstein"
If Dracula can't see his reflection in the mirror,
how come his hair is always so neatly combed?
~ Steven Wright