For some reason, I don’t usually put music with an obituary or a remembrance for someone who’s passed away. In this case, that’s extra ridiculous. So much of what you ever knew about Jason — and it was only Jason; his last name was Limpantsis, but you never saw it printed on their records, promo materials or anything else, and if you asked, they’d give you the runaround; he was just Jason — was his voice. When I read last night that he’d died, this song immediately started to play in my head:

A tear, listening to the arrival of that culmination. That scream, gutted out and no put-on from the throat. His whole body is in it. “From Below” closes Solace’s 2010 third album, A.D. (review here), and is both the most elaborate/grandiose and the most heartwrenchingly raw vocal arrangement I ever heard Jason record. There are six or more layers blasting at you full intensity and it still carries even more weight in the emotional expression than in the impact of the song itself — this was a person with an exceedingly rare gift, a sweet heart and a deep shadow.

I don’t remember when I met Jason for the first time — Brighton Bar? some show? — but the last time I saw him socially (I would see him on stage again) was at Solace guitarist Tommy Southard’s wedding in Oct. 2011. Dave Sherman (R.I.P. 2022) was there too. Solace played as I recall and we were all as drunken gods. The revelry. It was Asbury Lanes, so also, bowling. Anyhow, I’d been writing about the band at that point for the better part of a decade and had done shows opening for them in the band I was in, and at one point in the evening, a markedly intoxicated Jason came up to wherever I was sitting, kind of cornered me, and let me have it.

Dude went on. Mostly about the writing. How much he appreciated what I’d said about him, especially about A.D., for which I retain the softest of soft spots, and that he’d been affected by the work I’d done related to Solace. It was a humbling experience. I won’t go too much into it, but in the social pecking order, nobody’s holding up music journo-types as paragons. Nobody remembers who wrote the review that inspired them to hear an album. They remember the album, and reasonably so. Same with me. So you get somewhat used to people talking smack about lazy reviewers or people getting things wrong, being on a low rung of the social pecking order, whatever. This was the opposite of that, and though liquid courage was an element in making it happen in the first place — because even semi-sober Jason would’ve been far too reserved for that kind of thing — he wasn’t any sloppier than all of us at the time, and it was his quiet sincerity that hit me hardest.

Somehow the same is true of “From Below.”

But with no reason to beyond the fact that he could, Jason took time to be kind. He was famously inconsistent, and I’d imagine at times infuriating to be in a band with. Stories abound of his unreliability, and by all accounts much of the reason Solace took eight years to make A.D. after their debut, 1999’s Further (discussed here), and their 2002 follow-up, 13 (discussed here), was attributable to his taking so long to finish the vocals. I’m not saying this to air dirty laundry at all; it was part of who he was. But when he got on stage and opened his mouth, you stopped and you listened. He had the look, charisma, the voice — of all the frontmen I shared a stage with, I envied his voice most — and the depth of soul behind it.

I know he struggled. As forceful as he could be singing, he was wounded, somehow. Like he felt smaller in himself than he was. We hadn’t spoken since that night when Tommy married Jenn, and he wasn’t the type to keep in touch after his time with the band was done. The last words he said to me were kind. I think he was often alone, I’m sad he’s gone, and I’ll treasure his work all the more for the rest of my days for having known him for the time I did. Rest in peace.

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Thank you for reading. This is going to be it to close out the week, i.e. no Friday Full-Length. Follow one of the links above and listen to Solace instead. That’s always why I put them there, but more so in this case. Either way, have a great and safe weekend. Tell someone you love them.

Stalwart Californian heavy psychedelic rockers Nebula are mourning the passing of bassist Ranch Sironi, age 32. The band have canceled the European tour they were due to start today, which would have featured appearances at Hellfest, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, Stoomfest, Rock in Bourlon and more, and this month are set to release a split with Black Rainbows titled In Search of the Cosmic Tale: Crossing the Galactic Portal to follow-up on the Livewired in Europe live outing from earlier this Spring. There has been no cause of death listed, but the loss is a tragedy for the band still likely reeling from the death of prior bassist Tom Davies, who passed away from cancer less than a year ago. They posted the following on social media:

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend and bassist, Ranch, this morning. Due to this tragic loss, the Nebula Tour has been canceled. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and everyone who knew him. We appreciate your understanding and support during this difficult time.

The canceled tour dates are as follows:

TH. 06.06.24 IT PRATO – OFF TUNE FESTIVAL
FR. 07.06.24 IT BERGAMO – ROCK IN RIOT
SA. 08.06.24 CH MARTIGNY – HPS FEST CH
MO. 10.06.24 IT ZERO BRANCO – ALTROQUANDO
TU. 11.06.24 SL LJUBLJANA – GALA HALA
WE. 12.06.24 HR ZAGREB – THE VINTAGE INDUSTRIAL
TH. 13.06.24 DE RAVENSBURG – IRISH PUB SLAINTE
SA. 15.06.24 DE MUNSTER – RARE GUITAR
MO. 17.06.24 FR SEIGNOSSE – THE BLACK FLAG
TU. 18.06.24 ES SAN SEBASTIAN – DABADABA
WE. 19.06.24 ES MADRID – WURLIZER
TH. 20.06.24 ES BARCELONA – SALA UPLOAD
FR. 21.06.24 FR BORDEAUX – LA FETE DE LA MUSIQUE
SU. 23.06.24 FR BOURLON – ROCK IN BOURLON
FR. 28.06.24 FR CLISSON – HELLFEST
SA. 29.06.24 FR MANIGOD – NAMASS PAMOUSS FESTIVAL
SU. 30.06.24 FR CHAMBERY – BRIN DE ZINC
MO. 01.07.24 FR PARIS – SUPERSONIC
TH. 04.07.24 UK SHEFFIELD – YELLOW ARCH STUDIO
FR. 05.07.24 UK LONDON – STOOMFEST
SA. 06.07.24 UK NOTTINGHAM – ROUGH TRADE

Obviously it’s too soon for the band to have makeup plans in the works let alone made public. Founding guitarist/vocalist Eddie Glass brought the band back with live shows and the 2019 album Holy Shit with Mike Amster on drums and Davies on bass, and Sironi stepped in to take up the low end role as Davies’ heath declined. Sironi did not play on 2022’s Transmission From Mothership Earth and was making his studio debut with the band on the three songs of the coming split with Black Rainbows.

The loss of a player so young is especially hard to take; somebody just beginning what hopefully would have been a long and fruitful tenure with Nebula as part of his own career arc. On behalf of myself and this site, I offer condolences to Ranch Sironi’s family, friends and bandmates. I don’t have any other info at this time and honestly doubt more will be forthcoming publicly, but there’s no angle from which his death is anything but deeply sad. Hug your friends. Hug everybody.

Nebula, Live in France, Oct. 11, 2023

If they’re really done — that is, if the hiatus that Atavismo have newly announced will stick permanently — then I’m singularly sorry not to have seen the band. The Algeciras-based heavy psych and progressive outfit made their debut with the 2014 album Desintegración (discussed here; review here), and their most recent offering was the single, “Psicopatías del 2021” (premiered here), a reinterpretation of a track by the associated project Mind! that appeared on the Spinda Records 7″ compilation Grados. Minutos. Segundos., sprawling and limited as that was. Their most recent standalone release was 2018’s Valdeinfierno EP (review here), which followed their second LP, 2017’s Inerte (review here).

So you can see maybe it’s been a while, but I have no hesitation in telling you Atavismo was a special band, even never having seen them play. The Algeciras-based four-piece contributed significantly to the progressive course of Spanish psychedelia in the last decade, and the telltale blend of folk and heavy psych influences can in turn be heard in a slew of regional acts who’ve taken cues at least in part from what Atavismo did on their first two albums. I somehow doubt these people are actually done making music. Guitarist/vocalist Jose “Poti” Moreno has a pedigree that dips back to the seminal rock outfit Viaje a 800, while drummer Sandri Pow and bassist Mat both played with Moreno in Mind!, yes, the same band Atavismo covered on what’s now their swansong single.

I don’t know the circumstances behind the disbanding, but given the creative track of the members of Atavismo, the fact that Viaje a 800 were flirting with doing shows again, on and on, there will be more music. I’m bummed I didn’t see them play, but I’m awfully glad they played, and I’ll maybe always feel a bit like they called it quits too soon ahead of what would surely have been a joy of a third album. So it goes.

Their announcement, translated from the original Spanish, follows here. It appeared on social media:

It’s often said that a withdrawal time is a win.. And that’s how we all feel about making this decision.

No one knows what the future will hold for us, but since the only thing we live is the present, we went down here… We’ve decided to park Atavismo indefinitely…

We are still family but we need to be accountable to ourselves and our personal well being.

Thank you so much for being a part of our world, and for your support, as we always say, this would not be possible without you.

A big hug to all.

Stepping back from his duties as longtime bassist for heavy psych rock pioneers Nebula this past Spring, Tom Davies let it be known that he was battling leukemia. Today word has come from Davies’ family that he has unfortunately passed away. The following was posted tonight, Sept. 6, on Davies’ social media:

Dear Friends,

We want to let you know that it’s with great sadness Tom died peacefully last night surrounded by his Mum, Sister and Partner Camille. The past 9 months living with high risk Leukemia were the most challenging of his life and he faced every hurdle with great strength, courage, determination and of course humor.

We want to thank everyone for their love and support during this time, he felt the love which bolstered him in his darkest moments.

Our world will never be the same again but we feel blessed to have had him in our lives.

Love
Grethe, Camille, Sarah and Will x

Tom Davies 1975 – 2023

Tom Davies joined Nebula in Sept. 2004 and went on to serve nearly 20 sometimes-tumultuous years in the band as the trio founded by guitarist/vocalist Eddie Glass released two albums — 2006’s Apollo and 2009’s wildly undervalued Heavy Psych — before a hiatus that lasted the better part of a decade. But when Nebula came back, Davies came back with them, and the trio of Davies, Glass and drummer Mike Amster took to stages around the world successfully, reissued the band’s entire catalog as well as a collection of demos and off-album whatnots through Heavy Psych Sounds — a label whose founder readily acknowledges Nebula’s influence on his own band Black Rainbows — took part as a flagship act in the ‘Live in the Mojave Desert’ stream and live album series, and, most crucially, put out two studio LPs in 2019’s so-correctly-named Holy Shit and last year’s Transmission From Mothership Earth.

As runs go, even accounting for a global pandemic, that’s nothing short of incredible. I won’t at all claim to know the details of Davies’ life, but even just to look at the outpouring of support after his diagnosis came out in April. The fundraiser that pulled in $16,000-plus to go toward medical expenses. The compilation Ripple Music put together this Spring. Countless notes of support from bands, friends, fans, tour mates, labelmates, whoever. By all accounts, the world seems to have lost a decent human being as well as an obviously talented and charismatic player.

I was fortunate enough to interview Davies on a couple of occasions, and he was always a nice guy. A combination of West Coast ultra-caszh with a British politeness underneath. He thought before he spoke, at least in all my dealings with him. On behalf of myself and this site, I’d like to express sincere condolences to Davies’ family, his friends, his bandmates past and present and all who knew him. That he will be missed is no doubt an understatement.

Sad news today from the camp of mostly-German instrumentalist meditative psych innovators My Sleeping Karma, who have announced the passing of drummer Steffen Weigand. The four-piece, of which Weigand was a founding member, put word out on social media as follows:

Dear MSK Family,

We are devastated to inform you that our brother Steffen has passed away this morning surrounded by his loved ones.

Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family.

We are heartbroken and have no more words right now.

Weigand’s death comes after a battle with a rare kind of cancer that consumed the final three-plus years of his life. In Dec. 2022, a GoFundMe was launched that exceeded its 50,000 Euro goal with the aim of supporting Weigand and his family as well as helping to pay for medical and other costs. His passing leaves an uncertain future for My Sleeping Karma, who have limited their live activity in the last year-plus as he struggled against the disease.

As a member of My Sleeping Karma alongside guitarist Seppi, soundboardist Norman Mehren and bassist Matte Vandeven, Weigand was an essential component in one of the last generation of heavy psychedelia’s most crucial and influential progressions. The shape of the genre would not be what it is today without their, and his, contributions to it, and his progressive style of drumming remained part of what allowed the band to remain consistently exploratory the time of their 2006 self-titled debut through their 2022 album, Atma.

Working with Elektrohasch Schallplatten, the Munich-based label run by Colour Haze guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, My Sleeping Karma’s first three albums — the self-titled, 2008’s Satya and 2010’s Tri — found the band discovering the smoothness of sound and the spiritual themes that would guide them thereafter, honing an individualism of style and production that allowed for a heavy impact and a distinct, thoughtful resonance in melody complemented as always by rhythmic flow. As the drummer, Weigand was often the ground over which their guitar and keyboard, even bass, melodies floated, but his creativity in that was more than complement to the music. It was the heart, beating.

In 2012, My Sleeping Karma left Elektrohasch to release their fourth album, Soma, through Napalm Records via an imprint called Spinning Goblin Productions. That album would become a defining effort from the band as they toured and became regulars at festivals like Desertfest and Stoned From the Underground, Freak Valley and so on, and their influence spread accordingly to a new generation beginning to embrace both heavy psych rock and an instrumental approach for which My Sleeping Karma (not alone, but prominently) provided a ready guidepost. By the time Moksha arrived in 2015, My Sleeping Karma was signed to Napalm proper, and considered among Europe’s finest in the style. Their maturity was manifest throughout the album in a serene sound so much like water in its movement, and again, Weigand provided the undercurrent that carried the listener through.

The band’s only live album, Mela Ananda (Live), was issued in 2017, and for those like myself who were never fortunate enough to see My Sleeping Karma play, it reaffirmed just how much we were missing. The dynamic and chemistry between the band — who, remember, were more than a decade removed from their debut at the time — was on ready display, and new and old material was presented with vitality and palpable, infectious joy. The ‘show’ ended and one could only smile. By the time Atma arrived, Weigand’s illness was public, and the spirit of the music had grown melancholy and perhaps challenged by the pandemic, but still they harnessed the special musical conversation that has typified all their work and found a way to see light where many could find none. It was a beautiful album, and as Weigand’s last, it will remain a bittersweet landmark in their catalog.

On behalf of myself and this site, I offer sincere condolences to the remaining members of My Sleeping Karma, as well as Weigand’s family, friends and others who were touched by his work. I count myself in that number, and I am that much sadder for never having watched him play on stage. It is known that My Sleeping Karma began every set with a hug shared at centerstage by all four members of the band. To think of that embrace missing one of the four hurts in a way that tells you the magnitude of the loss. My Sleeping Karma were, are, a family, and they very much presented themselves in that light. That family has lost a loved one.

Rest in peace, Steffen Weigand, and thank you for the work you did. It is a thing to be all the more treasured, and a reminder to share your love with the world around you, as Weigand so clearly did.

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Frank Kozik was a pioneer of heavy rock without needing to pick up a guitar. Born in 1962, he became a poster artist, graphic designer, toy designer, and as the head of Man’s Ruin Records between 1994-2002, he spearheaded the heavy rock revival of the post-Kyuss 1990s, releasing pivotal works from bands like Acid King, Goatsnake, (Los) Natas, Brant Bjork, The Hellacopters, Alabama Thunderpussy, the Melvins, Fu Manchu, Dozer, Unida, Nebula, Solarized, Fatso Jetson, High on Fire, Sons of Otis, Suplecs, Tummler, Begotten, Altamont, on and on.

His contributions to underground music’s visual aesthetic have been an influence the work of artists and musicians alike, and they will continue to be. It is arguable the revival of vinyl would not be what it is without his breaking that stylistic ground 25 years ago, and inarguable that Man’s Ruin helped shape modern heavy rock in the US, overseeing a generational shift that brought ‘stoner rock’ closer to the mainstream than it has ever been since.

Kozik’s page on Facebook posted an update, saying:

We are devastated to inform you that Frank Kozik passed away unexpectedly this past Saturday.

Frank was a man larger than himself, an icon in each of the genres he worked in. He dramatically changed every industry he was a part of. He was a creative force of nature. We are so beyond lucky and honored to have been part of his journey, and he will be missed beyond what words could ever express.

He loved his wife, his cats, classic muscle cars, mentoring others, and Disneyland. His forceful presence will be missed by all who knew him. His legacy, like all great masters, will live on through his art and our memories of him.

More info on a memorial service will come soon.

For now, we ask you to please respect our privacy during this trying time.

With love,
Sharon and the Cats

On behalf of myself and this site, heartfelt condolences to Kozik’s family and friends, and deep appreciation for what Kozik did for pop art in general but for underground heavy especially. I didn’t know him personally — hit him up once to do an interview about the label, wish he had said yes — but I count myself fortunate to own records he put out and posters he drew or designed and his work has enriched my life. I don’t think I’m alone in that. He’s someone whose loss will be powerfully felt. He was 61 years old.

Frank Kozik on Facebook

Frank Kozik on Instagram

Frank Kozik website

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Heavy underground promoter, publicist and all around wonderful human being Leanne Ridgeway has the cancer.

With the clusterfuck that is the US healthcare system in mind, that should be all you need to know. While she has insurance to cover the major medical costs, there are still the endless co-pays, impossible life bills, and mounting debt from loss of income due to exhausting her PTO to be paid.

Leanne is staring down the barrel of these all-too-real concerns while also embarking on a schedule of chemo and radiation. She needs our help. If you believe in communities of any kind, this is what they’re for.

Will your hard-earned cash make the cancer disappear? No. But in addition to providing necessary and appreciated fiscal support, your donation will show someone who has spent years helping others just how much she is genuinely loved.

If you’re reading this as a part of a heavy rock scene anywhere on this planet, I guarantee your life has been made better by Leanne’s work. Know that your help matters. You can be a crucial part of getting her through this harrowing journey, and large or small, no amount is unwelcome. Thanks to and for all, and get well soon, Leanne.

DONATE NOW (YES, AGAIN)

After truly living doom as much anyone ever has, Dave Sherman, bassist of Spirit Caravan and King Valley and frontman of Earthride, Wretched, Weed is Weed, and Galactic Cross, among others, has died. Word spread through social media that Sherman had passed; though the rumor was a cardiac event, the cause is yet unconfirmed. Born Oct. 16, 1966, Sherman was 55 years old.

Sherman was an inimitable stage presence and a creative soul. He always had a touch of mischief, but also always wanted everyone in on the joke. He was bigger than every stage he played on, and he played on every size stage. I had the good fortune to be in touch with him over the years about music, several interviews, and so on. Sometimes he was one of the smart kids playing dumb. When he walked into a room, you knew it, not the least by his voice.

And at least in my own experience, he was a humble, sweet guy. Shy in a way. I’ll miss thinking there might be another Earthride record coming or a chance of another Spirit Caravan reunion, or another Galactic Cross record, though the Earthride catalog remains particularly pristine for something that delighted in sounding so totally dirty.

He should have been mayor of Frederick, Maryland, but he was royalty in that scene and his loss will be felt for years. Doom on the East Coast and beyond grieves.

As bassist for Shine and Spirit Caravan, Sherman provided a perfect counterpoint to the guitar of Scott “Wino” Weinrich, and the two remain linked indelibly through the work they did on Spirit Caravan’s two full-lengths, EP, and other releases. Stirring the pot at front of the stage for Earthride, he was a man in his element. I can see him on stage at Cafe 611, Maryland doom incarnate at Maryland Doom Fest, soaking it in like the life force it was. And that is how I prefer to remember him. In his band, in that spot.

Dave Sherman will be missed.

On behalf of myself — still somewhat reeling, so pardon me — and this site, I send condolences to everyone who knew Sherm, and that was a great many people. His bandmates and family alone is a long list, especially for a man who made so many feel like family. To his friends in Frederick and worldwide, love.

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