Many of you have heard by now that we will be playing a few live shows soon and we’re here to corroborate the rumor! In early October we’re doing 4 performances to honor the memory of our dearly departed brother, Gregory Scott Slay.
October 7 – Dante’s / Portland, OR
October 8 – The Crocodile Cafe / Seattle, WA
October 11 – Cafe Du Nord / San Francisco, CA
October 12 – Spaceland / Los Angeles, CA
Sitting in the control, going through Gregory’s old sessions. Cinjun and Darrel (Thorp, longtime friend and engineer) are supposed to arrive tonight. Tomorrow we start 3 days of recording which will hopefully yield beautiful music. Feeling excited, nervous, melancholy, afraid. This will be the first time we’ve all made music together since Gregory passed. I’m looking forward to it but it’s heavy. And of course Cinjun is caught in an apocalyptic storm / flood in Tennessee. I’d like to consider it a good omen - Remy Zero sessions are never born easily! Gregory is probably getting a kick out of it. I’m missing him terribly right now. Always, but especially right now.
We filmed this performance for All Access Live at SXSW last year, but for whatever reason never got to see it. As far as I know it’s the last proper footage of Gregory playing. Thanks to Michael Patterson for stumbling upon it… (S)
Hard times bring people together, right? So it seems. Cinjun came to town so he, Jeffrey and I could spend some time together and reconnect after the events with Gregory. Now we’re beginning the work of putting together some music to honor Gregory’s memory. Some of it will be songs we all wrote together a couple of years ago, when we were considering reforming Remy Zero. Some of it will be songs incorporating musical pieces Gregory left behind. (He was very prolific, so there’s a wealth of material to explore…) I imagine some things will end up being called Remy Zero, some used on O+S and Dead Snares records, and some will come out in other unusual ways. How and when we’ll share it with people is an unknown because who knows what exactly will come of all this. But it feels like mended fences and magnificent ideas right now, so let’s see what we can do. (S)
The MTV News article on Gregory’s passing is one of the nicest we’re likely to see. It made me happy to read it. The memories are coming in a flood now…
Laura Burhenn is the immensely talented singer / songwriter / musician behind The Mynabirds, and was a member of the O+S touring band. Her experience of Gregory was limited to that time, but she eloquently expresses how even those of us who knew him for much longer are feeling.
“During a soundcheck in Portland, Oregon last March I felt compelled to capture a moment as many times as I could: a heart of light shining above Gregory and his drums. I’d only met him the week before, but already I knew — here was someone special, someone who knew something — that secret about how life should be lived — without fear or hesitation, and with open arms, ears, and eyes, and a heart so full with love it is catching. When he talked of past troubles, he beamed with Zen wisdom: life is learning and every lesson is worth the pain of a misstep to come out better on the other side. And when he spoke of his loved ones (especially his most beautiful Honeymoon), he shined with love so fully he glowed from the inside out. He radiated. There is no other way to say it. Not many people get to that point. Not many are honest enough to really speak, humble enough to really listen, and bold enough to really live. But Gregory was. He taught us that every moment, every connection should be cherished, savored, and appreciated, because every moment happens only once. And then it’s gone. But absence is no reason to mourn. Instead it is reason to celebrate the singularity, give thanks that we could share in the miracles of moments, things — and people — that cannot be recreated and are more special because of it. As I sit here missing Gregory, wishing he’d had more time with us to keep sharing his light and his wisdom, I am trying to focus on the joy of his life and everything he gave. I wonder if he didn’t leave us on New Year’s Day to remind us that we need a resolution: to live life fully, to savor every moment, to love so completely it shines beyond ourselves and catches everything and everyone around us. I can think of no better way to honor Gregory than to make that my resolution — for this year and every year that follows. I think he’d smile at that.”
