Newspaper Page Text
Editor’s note: Last week, we published a col
lection of remembrances of Craig Lieske, the
beloved local guitarist and Drive-By Truckers
crew member who passed away unexpectedly
on Jan. 18. Below is a tribute from DBT front
man Patterson Hood.
1 can't really remember when I met Craig.
He was the grey-haired door guy at the
40 Watt, and he always seemed cool.
I remember really getting to know him when
I started working there, as a monitor guy,
in '98 or '99. He managed the cleanup crew,
and the door crew and I would pick up extra
money helping to clean up after big shows. We
bonded heavily during that time, which cor
responded with a particularly bad time in my
life. I quickly learned that he was one of the
smartest, most weLl-read and well-rounded—
and one of the kindest—peopLe I had ever
met.
Our friendship grew long after I quit work
ing at the Watt. We all Loved Craig, and saw
him suffering while his wife Janet was bat
tling cancer, a severaL-year ordeaL of ups and
downs that ended sadly, when she passed
away at too young an age. It was soon after
that when we hired him and took him on the
road. He was initially hired to selL t-shirts and
records, but he took his role way beyond that.
He would always say, "I'm not a merch guy for
a band; I work for Drive-By Truckers."
He wasn't our merch guy as much as he
was our ambassador. Our band has a very loyaL
folLowing that often folLows us from town to
town, and Craig knew everyone's name. It was
unbelievable. I've had countless fans come up
to me telling me how Craig had touched their
lives.
A fan from the Midwest came up to me
Saturday. She said that she had met Craig
twice, a couple of years apart, and when she
saw him the second time, he asked her about
her daughter Alex. She couldn't beLieve it:
"How could he remember from two years ear
lier that my daughter was named ALex?" I've
literally heard dozens of those types of stories
in the the last few days.
I've always been the most nocturnal one in
the band, and Craig was the night owL of the
crew, so very often we would be the last two
up on the bus as we traveled into the night.
Many a night we would be sitting in the back,
listening to something Loud and just hanging
out, sometimes not saying a word, and some
times having the most amazing conversations.
If you never had a conversation with Craig,
it was an art form unto itself. He was so unbe-
LievabLy knowledgeabLe, yet totally incLusive,
truly one of the most astoundingly interesting
people I ever had the pleasure of talking to.
We had hundreds of hours of deep talks about
everything from art, music, food and books to
movies, people and stories. My life is so much
richer for the hours I spent talking to Craig,
and I haven't even begun to process that
aspect of our loss.
Our band and crew are like one big, sprawl
ing, dysfunctional family. We can fight, but
are very close. We all ride together on one
bus, 11 of us crammed together. Sometimes
folks can get on each other's nerves, but I
can't remember Craig ever getting on anyone's
nerves, or acknowledging anyone ever getting
on his. He was aLways a joy.
In a bus full of reaLLy smart people, Craig
was probabLy the smartest. An avid reader
and, LateLy, an employee at Avid Bookshop,
which was perfect. At night, you might see
Craig holding court with a guitar, his crazy
grey hair flying. (We caLLed him Greythoven, a
name he seemed to reaLLy embrace.) But the
next day you might see him working at Avid,
his hair tamed (sort of), Looking positively
professorial, glasses down by the tip of his
nose, looking over the lenses and heLping you
find what you were looking for or recommend
ing something great.
He was often my sounding board when I
was writing. He was one of my most trusted
sets of ears, and he could be a tough taskmas
ter, which I really Loved and appreciated. We're
about to start a new DBT aLbum, and I wiLL
really miss having him to bounce ideas off of.
I really wanted to write something that
would be worthy of his memory, preferably
something that would eLicit that chuckLe we
alL loved so much. Alas, that may have to
be something I write later, as today I'm still
too choked up and sad to really do him much
justice.
I can say we aLL loved him and will miss
him forever. We are all reeling from the Loss
of our dear friend, and we alL hurt so for his
beLoved MeLinda, who truly brought him a
LeveL of happiness, in his Last coupLe years,
that we had never seen. We can take comfort
in knowing that he left us from a great pLace.
He was infinitely creative to the end. He was
very much in love, working on a book, writing
songs and playing at a peak of greatness. His
last night on Earth, he played an amazing set,
opening for DBT as part of our crew's band,
Thundercrack. He was at his beloved 40 Watt,
surrounded by close friends and doing what he
loved best. He rocked hard and loud and was
walking around on top of the world.
R.I.P., Craig!
Patterson Hood
Where ihe <elehrdtion fce^in*!
BOULEVARD BREWING I
UNFILTERED WHEAT I
GREEN FLASH
PALATE WRECKER
INKER’S -
JL'mark .
i -9-
ll<i WH
TERRAPIN 1
H0PSECUTI0NER
■OSCSfiCS
COUUECjIION SERIES
* Maker'll
Vim *
BACARDI
IBULLEIT
bourbon!
PLACE TO BUY BEER
eofflieeG
Mote
SAME GREAT OWNERS! YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP! THE BEST PRICES AT BOTH LOCATIONS!
ELagpole.comli
■n " u VTv i -
Prince Ave.
Navy
School
*
Satula Ave.
Normaltown, Athens
mmm
Atlanta Hwy. ^
30
Hobby
Lobby
DJ MAHOGANY
CUTTERS PUB
UPSTAIRS 10PM
SAT FEB 2 2013
JANUARY 30, 2013 • FLAGP0LE.COM 17