Basically Frightened - R.I.P. Colonel Bruce Hampton

[Blooby]

You may not have heard of Colonel Bruce Hampton, but I thought you'd be intrigued by this trailer.  If nothing else, you'll recognize some of the musicians in the interviews.

Blooby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn6AXQF2IX8

[launched]

Incredibly cool vid - I'm going to find out more about this guy.

[Greeny]

Very interesting, and a clever little film. It makes you want to find out a lot more.

[Oldrottenhead]

he has something of the don van vliet about him, in looks and his stage performance too.

[Blooby]

He played the band leader in the movie Slingblade.  Mainly, he has been on the fringes of the Atlanta and jamband music scenes.  He has this knack for finding very high caliber musicians and has had a slew of bands. His most famous was the Aquarium Rescue Unit who were billed on the H.O.R.D.E. tours.  Hard to describe them. Unbelievable musicianship, quirky sense of humor, teasing a jazz standard one second, going into a bluegrass tune, maybe detuning and making noise until most of the patrons leave.  They were something else.

The Colonel was also a bit of a sage and espoused the notion of "Zambi," an egoless Zen-like state where your true personality comes through.

The movie should be interesting.

Blooby

[Tony W]

I knew that I recognized him, Slingblade uhhhhh huh. He was crazier than a shithouse rat.

[Bluesberry]

I love this guy...thanks for sharing this Blooby-man.

[Blooby]

I found this video of a second incarnation of The Aquarium Rescue Unit (different singer, no more Colonel, and more funky direction) with the great Shawn Lane on guitar. If you are a fan of guitar, watch Shawn's solo (the big dude). It is so unbelievably over the top that I am finding it difficult to type from laughing.  He just keeps ratcheting up a notch or three. His solo starts about 3:15ish. By 4:40 or so, I think he is going to explode.

Lot of notes in this video. Oh, good gosh golly.  That was funny.

Blooby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnJOruhaZSw

[Blooby]

It is with heartfelt sadness to report that Colonel Bruce Hampton died last night at the culmination of his own 70th birthday tribute concert at the Fox Theater in Atlanta (where Skynyrd's famous live album was recorded). They were on the last song (Ironically, "Turn on Your Lovelight"...Let it shine on me...). Bruce was directing traffic on stage with members of The Allman Brothers, Phish, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic, Tedeschi/Trucks, and many more when he sank to one knee and then slumped to the ground (there is video but I don't particularly wish to see it).

There's some Internet flack about the musicians not rushing to help him, but I assume most thought it was part of the act. The Colonel is a hard person to encapsulate to the uninitiated.

Blooby

[Farrell Jackson]

R.I.P. Colonel Bruce....the master of jam bands.........

Farrell