For the second weekend in a row, my wife and I were in Dallas -- this time, attending Daron Beck's life celebration at the Texas Theatre. I didn't know Daron until he started playing with Jon Teague after Yeti broke up, and a lot of what I know about Daron I learned while interviewing him for a piece I wrote for the Dallas Observer about Pinkish Black around the time their first record came out. But talking to friends and hearing/reading their testimonials since his passing, I've learned that he was beloved by many for helping them through tough times, and his partner Lisa Bush (DJ Wild In the Streets) did an exemplary job under trying circumstances of putting together a fitting memorial, including a website that will serve as a repository for his videos and music. She spoke with grace and aplomb at the end of the presentation about their life together and the plans they had. It seems to me that he had found his perfect life mate, and I had imagined him aging into a cool old man. Just ran out of time too soon.
Several friends paid musical tribute. Sarah Ruth Alexander, accompanied by Will Kapinos on guitar, sang a version of "I Put A Spell On You" that was more nuanced than the one that Daron famously sang during his American Idol audition and (accompanied by Will in a stomping rendition) at the Tommy Atkins memorial at the Kessler Theater before it reopened; a soaring "Over the Rainbow;" an electronically warped version of "In Heaven" from Eraserhead; and most fittingly, Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy," with its closing line "The greatest thing you'll ever learn / Is just to love and be loved in return." A trio of Stefan Gonzalez on vibraphone, Aaron Gonzalez on bass, and Joshua Miller on tenor sax and drums played a medley of themes from Vanishing Light in the Tunnel of Dreams, the collaboration between the Gonzalezes and their late father Dennis (together aka Yells at Eels) and Pinkish Black. And Sean and Nan Kirkpatrick sang to a home-recorded backing track (featuring guitar solos by Daron's frequent collaborator Steve Moore of Zombi) on a version of Air Supply's "Sweet Dreams" that had more than a little of Pinkish Black in it.
Jon Teague was unable to make it back for the event from Albuquerque, where he's lived since 2020, but video from Pinkish Black's 2012 performance at NYC's St. Vitus (RIP) was a powerful reminder of their live impact. After dinner at Gonzalez Restaurant down the street from the theater, we stopped by the Kessler to say hey to Jeff Liles and pick up Kat's photos from a recent exhibit devoted to local venues. So we did have a JT sighting yesterday.
After timely pause, we made our way to The Cedars, where Sawtooth Dolls were playing live soundtracks to silent films at Full City Rooster, which has become a favorite place to hear music in Big D. Paul Quigg unearthed some cinematic gems including silent films by Slavko Vorkapic (The Furies and The Life and Death of 9314: A Hollywood Extra), George Melies (The Infernal Cakewalk), and Germaine Dulac (The Seashell and the Clergyman), as well as declassified Defense Department films of 1957 nuclear tests in Nevada (where soldiers were exposed to the effects of nuclear radiation). Quigg and his collaborator Gregg Prickett improvised the scores -- Paul playing ever-shifting chords on guitar along with eBow and multiple effects, Gregg switching between standup bass, nylon-string and electric guitars, and wooden flute -- responding to both the action on screen and each other's sonic counterpoint. Gregg told me later, "We rehearsed with the films, but we had the lights on then, and once we started, I realized I couldn't see Paul." No matter; they were able to provide soundscapes that complimented the surreal images, restoring my shaky faith in the ability of the electric guitar to travel to unexplored territories. This is the last event of the year for Full City; looking forward to seeing what they have in store for 2025. And hoping Gregg will make it back to the Grackle in Fort Worth soon.
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