Monday, December 28, 2009
Music news Vic Chesnutt (1964-2009)
Posted by Chad Radford @ChadRad on Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 3:20 PM
News of Vic Chesnutt's death on Christmas Day brought much sadness to everyone who knew him, either in person or through his music. The 45-year-old singer/songwriter, born James Victor Chesnutt on Nov. 12, 1964, in Jacksonville, Fla., was raised in Zebulon, Ga., but called Athens his home since 1985.
After a 1983 car accident left him a quadriplegic, the wheelchair-bound Chesnutt, who had been writing songs since the age of 5, began honing his talents as a songwriter. Upon moving to Athens he began working with the band the La-Di-Da's. But soon he struck out on his own, working as a solo performer. He became a regular fixture at the 40 Watt Club, where he was discovered by Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Stipe produced his first two records, Little, in 1990, and West of Rome, a year later, both on Texas Hotel Records.
Chesnutt released 15 records over the years, most recently At The Cut (Constellation Records) and Skitter on Take Off (Ada/Vapor) in 2009.
Chesnutt slipped into a coma on Dec. 24 after overdosing on muscle relaxants. He died the following day at approximately 3 p.m. in an Athens, Ga., hospital.
I had the honor of interviewing Chesnutt twice over the years. The first time was in February of 2004. I was writing a piece commemorating the five-year anniversary of Benjamin from Smoke's death, for Athens' weekly The Flagpole. The story was titled The Art Of Self-Destruction: Five Years After His Death, Benjamin’s Presence Lingers.
The second time was a Q&A for this blog on Oct. 30, when I spoke with both Vic and Guy Picciotto (Fugazi). We talked about the making of At The Cut.
The first time I saw him perform was in the fall of 1992, or maybe it was '93. He was mostly playing songs from the album Little and West of Rome in the upstairs art gallery at The Antiquarium in Omaha, Neb.
Seeing a man with such a crumpled frame singing such intensely personal songs about death, wrapped in stark tones and inspired by some heavy duty literary references, was really captivating. But to see him laughing and telling jokes after the show gave the impression of someone truly enlightened. It was as though he had the universe figured out.
As Michael Stipe stated on R.E.M. HQ this weekend, "We have lost one of our great ones."
Vic Chesnutt is survived by his wife, Tina Whatley Chesnutt; his sister, Lorinda Crane; and nine nieces and nephews.
As a result of his death Chesnutt's family is left with a sizable medical debt. Vic's longtime friend and musical collaborator Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) is collecting donations to help cover the bills. Donations can be made at CASH Music: Kristin Hersh.
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He was quadriplegic. From his interview with NPR in Nov.: "CHESTNUTT: Well, I'm a quadriplegic from my neck down. I'm, you know, I'm an incomplete spinal cord injury. That means that I have feeling all over my body and I can move my legs a little bit and, so it's a very strange, very strange injury. It's not like your typical spinal cord injury. It's very different."
Does it really matter whether he was quad or paraplegic, the man overcame incredible odds to create original, honest and intense music. That is hard to come by these days. In a world filled with the mundane and predictable, Vic Chestnutt was neither. I for one will miss him and contribution to the music world.
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