On this first day of September.
My circle of light grows tighter with each passing hour.
The fled and fallen out of sight.. burn on to another plane.
In so much as a instant.. our life moves with the brisk intent of a flicker.
The touch stones I hold in such high regard ..begin to vanish before me like smoke.
This loss I feel is incomparable and vast.
The erasing of a kindred spirit is a hurt that comes from such a lonely arcane place.
I almost cannot explain.. but only feel it’s thistle like presence..far underneath my skin.

Having a limitless love of things strange and musical is quite contagious
and has proved to be a long bewitching path in my life.
The person that opened wide the door to a new way of seeing
was Seamus Mc Nerney

I knew of his tales as early as Jr. High and his talents going forward as we
went to different high schools. I watched as he started his first bands and
became quite an articulate pianist and organist…I went to basement shows
and nationals until our musical tastes eventually stumbled into the same room.
This was not a person walking through life..this was a person on fire and storming
the gates of musical perception and wasting no time..his flame was lit!
The discussions we had are still scratched so far down into my mind that I will never forget.
I listened as he connected the patterns in his mind on music, death, mathematics, the paranormal,
witchcraft, religion and the spirit that dwells in between worlds. I lost myself to intense thought after these discussions .. we would re group and find new perspectives.
I started to realize it was the way his mind worked that was so genuinely intriguing and beautiful. He could take it down to the nth percent and then with a passion so fierce defend his beliefs..convicted, gripping and nearly impossible to doubt. Yet his wit and sense of dark humor tempered even his most furious displays.

His record collection was from an early age astounding..he rabidly devoured it all.
He set a high water mark for everyone in our vicinity and truly enjoyed turning people on to new sounds…I have so much to thank him for…real time research and purchase..no Internet. and a deep, deep love for embracing the obscure with a nod toward,innovation, expression and velocity.

We started an alternative music night at a local club and of course he was master of ceremonies,
and this small corner of the world was privy to some of the best new music from all over the globe.
I still cannot believe how high the quality of music was in such a tiny spot.

College stretched us apart and made us write songs..getting school out of the way was always a priority for him because his brain could not sit idle. Boulder is where it all eventually came together and we were able to start playing rock shows on campus and around Denver.

When I played my first show on Pearl Street he was there in the audience , grooving and shaking his shaggy head..

Going to the B.H. Surfers at Glenn Miller Ballroom and sitting at Espresso Roma talking, knowing we were never going to be the same because our minds had been blown.

Hanging outside The Blue Note talking feminism and punk rock, while he smoked menthol players and unfiltered cloves back to back… for expression.

His uncanny knowledge of micro brews before they existed.

His sense of style beyond compare, pointy boots, tight cords and groovy vests.

The time we got into a brawl at a SoftClock show…The Irish Army never feared the streets or the skinheads.

Sitting in his little house in boulder while he cued up the turntable saying ” you really should pick this one up”

When we got a record deal and my band went to the studio, he was gracious and came in and to play piano and organ on several songs… nailing everything in nearly one take off the top of his head.

Anybody who was able to witness him in live performance mode was pulled in quickly and deftly hooked into the sonics of his vision..so much intensity and flow all the while maintaining a high level of musicianship and a brutal dose of joy.

The years flew by as they always do and we moved on into our various musical configurations
and one day he headed off to places unknown…not one to cool his heels he was on to the next challenge and became a professor at the University of Ashville North Carolina, where you can see he took things to another level from the hundreds of written student responses on his page.

He continued to find a way to inspire… This is a regret I have in life..I had planned to ride my motorcycle to Ashville and sneak into one of his classes and just hear the lecture and see what happened..yet I never did and I have to live with that.

The news of his passing was as he would say ” grim” there are still so many particles in my record collection of his influence and kind understanding of what my taste leaned toward..he taught me how to be a true conversationalist and to listen. When my sister started playing music I ended up surprising her with his first Farfisa which still sees stage action on the west coast today. He was so happy it was going to a good home and to be used for what it was intended, this was one of the last moments I spoke to him.

Seamus ,
I am truly sorry for believing there would be more time, I thought we would cross paths again at some point. It is a mistake we all make.
Like we talked before, I know where you will be and I will watch for you my friend.
I am going to go play some records and think about that next cup of time.

Luv
Kurt Ottaway