01/10/2024
https://www.nuvo.net/music/goodbye-gene-deer-gone-but-not-forgotten/article_22fe335e-af4e-11ee-85d3-77de7823db25.html
The mushroom tea man showed up right before The Spirtles were getting ready to start another night at Zanies II. Fannon was there, Ricky Freeman was there, even Charley Kerher was there, and he told us all to take all the pot smoking to the parking lot, which, of course, we all ignored. The mushroom tea made the rounds in the back room and went out the door to be consumed by the rest of the bar. I was wedged between Gene Deer and Spirtles drummer Keith Yount, and as the joints continued to be passed around, Keith, Gene, and I discussed the finer points of various processed meat and meat by-products. They went on to play a typically hippified set, and the tea kicked in about 45 minutes into the set.
The first set ends with more pot, more tea, and more alcohol getting consumed before the second set began. The entire crowd was feeling the effects of the night, and the second blast of Psilocybin started coursing through the room. Gene steps up to the mike, looks at the can of potted meat product I'd bought at the CVS earlier, chuckles, and then says, "Looks like we ain't going anywhere!" and launches into a 90-minute Grateful Dead song that sent the room into a hippy paradise. I was there with my peoples inside the greatest live music venues the Eastside has ever known, listening to two heroes, Ricky and Gene. It was one of the last perfect nights I remember from Zanies II.
Gene Deer was many things—guitarist, songwriter, fisherman, dad, biker, world traveler, and friend. I became friends with Gene in the early '90s; we shared many Elvis Presley-filled road trips and hundreds of thousands of joints. We watched the roughest, toughest hillbilly biker crowds succumb to the power of the blues. We ate many late-night pizzas and greasy diner meals together. We watched as his kids and those of our friends grew up. Gene was my friend and a good friend to many people. We all feel a profound loss, sadness, and confusion that the Eastside's music man was abruptly taken from us.
Lately, Gene had been excited by his song, "Midnight Healing," getting millions of listens on Spotify. He was talking about recording new music and figuring out ways to capitalize on this surge of popularity. His albums, Soul Tender, Livin With The Blues, and Trippin' Delta, stand as some of the best blues this city has ever seen. Hopefully, songs like "Everybody Knows (The Blues Got Soul)," "Too Far Gone," and "Nature Of The Beast" will help Gene live on forever.
Visitation will be held this Friday, January 12, at Flanner Buchanan Washington Park East (Community Life Center), 10612 E. Washington Street, from 11 AM - 3 PM, with the funeral following.
Two celebrations of Life will be happening.
The Slippery Noodle will hold a tribute jam on Wednesday, January 24, at 7, while the Rathskeller will have a memorial on Sunday, January 28, from 5 PM to 8 PM.
Saturday, January 13, Matthew Socey's Blues House Party will air a tribute to Gene at 7 PM on WFYI 90.1
-Jeff NapierThe
Visitation will be held this Friday, January 12, at Flanner Buchanan Washington Park East (Community Life Center), 10612 E. Washington Street, from 11 AM - 3 PM, with the funeral
