Eulogy to those we lost: It was a rough year for the Austin music scene
It was a rough year for the service industry and the Austin music scene. We lost plenty of global legends, but also some of the folks who make this city special — the ones who make Austin… Austin. On the bigger stage, we lost Joe Ely and Garth Hudson, Roberta Flack, Sly Stone, and the eternally cool Ozzy Osbourne. We also lost Kiss member, Ace Frehley and Brian Wilson. The Mavericks singer Raul Malo passed on to the next plane, which hit hard.
But locally, down in the trenches of keeping Austin a vibrant cultural hub, we lost a few real ones — folks whose electricity was part of the city’s central DNA. Dick Chalmers, the heart and soul of Empire Control Room, will forever be missed. He was one of the great ambassadors of the Red River ecosystem. His loss cannot be overstated. Everyone who’s ever worked on a show review or shot photos against the barrier probably has a Chalmers story. Everyone who frequented the local scene eventually crossed into that beautiful weirdo’s orbit. The SIMS Foundation recently established a fund dedicated to Chalmers and his lasting impact on the Austin music scene. In a bitter twist, Chalmers helped SIMS staff develop the program that now bears his name.
Speedy Sparks was a longtime Austin bassist best known for his work with the Grammy-winning Texas Tornados. Over the course of his career, Sparks played with numerous bands across Texas and beyond, earning a reputation as a versatile, dependable musician whose groove and professionalism made him a fixture of the regional music scene.
Austin de Lone, often credited as Austin “Audie” de Lone, was a keyboardist and songwriter whose career bridged American roots music and British rock. A founding member of Eggs Over Easy, de Lone played a key role in launching London’s pub rock movement and later worked extensively with artists including Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, and Commander Cody.
Denny DeGorio was a bassist best known for his work with Austin rock band the True Believers. Part of the city’s late-’80s and early-’90s alternative rock surge, DeGorio contributed to a sound that helped define a formative era in Austin’s independent music scene. DeGorio’s True Believers former bandleader is one of SIMS Foundation’s founders, Alejandro Escovedo.
None of these guys were household names, but as Austin fights to hold onto its spiritual core, these are the losses I felt not only directly, but also through the absence of their presence — the quiet realization that they’re no longer out there, living in the moment.
We’ll miss all of them.
If you’re reading this, Austin music industry worker and you’re struggling — financially, emotionally, or creatively — please reach out to the SIMS Foundation. Their recently established Dick Chalmers Memorial Fund specifically supports all Austin’s music venue workers and their dependent family members mental health and recovery.
Featured photo of Dick Chalmers courtesy of Delaney Gibson Moon
You must be logged in to post a comment.