Tone Forrest just sent this out.Friends: Another tragedy has befallen the Santa Fe musicians community...in the last few years, we have lost Lannis Loyd, Rick Loyd, Regan Wright, Ruben Romero...all to tragic circumstances and all before their time...it is with great sadness that we note the passing of yet another great musician lost to tragic circumstances and before his time...George Honea, an amazing drummer recently transplanted from Nashville to Santa Fe, came here with a long list of professional credits (The Judds, etc.) and his talents were immediately evident and appreciated by all the musicians he touched bases with...I had the personal privilege of playing with him as my #1 drummer at Tone and Company Sundays at Evangelo's...in addition his enormous proficiency on the drums, he was just a lovely guy...on Thursday, July 23rd, George Honea succumbed to a condition of extreme depression and took his own life...it has become a sad but glad tradition at the Canyon Road Blues Jam to commemorate the passing of a fellow musician like George with a blues jam blowout, second-line style...we all share a life in music here and many of us had the pleasure of sharing it with George...let's play him on out in style!...come on down to El Farol this Tuesday, August 4th, for the George Honea Memorial Blues Jam...we'll use proceeds from the tip jar to send our respects to his family in Texas...Stewart and Linda Goswick, his best friends in Santa Fe, will be there to represent the family...please, let's give George a good farewell.
tone
Having the tough job of living in Lufkin Texas by way of my Dad's job I only had a handful of friends and my guitar. George played drums in Lufkin. He and I had many long talks about lots of things and his love of music and the opportunities he hoped would come from playing came to pass. I played with this unique drummer in a band called Apple Sunrise, I think. One of the many names we called the band. Chipper, Keith and a couple others I can't remember. His style was so unique, after years of losing contact, we went to the Houston rodeo and I commented to my wife that the drummer sounded like George Honea some 20 years ago. When the Judds introduced the band, I was amazed. I tried to contact George over the years. I still play music and am really saddened by the news that that dark voice was louder than friends and others who share those places. I have 14 years sober and play music in a praise band which have changed my way of thinking. I wish George happy trails and endless gigs with the greatest ones where he now lives. Very unusual why, today, I would Google George to see where he may be and maybe contact him. I have a 40 year reunion in Lufkin I plan to attend and wanted to see if he may be back in his hometown. I loved George for the young man I knew and admired his success in the industry. RIP George
ReplyDeleteDale Armet
darmet@cebridge.net
Six years on. I was digging through my stack of business cards that I have accumulated over the years, and came across one I hadn't looked at in years. I met George Honea back in the early 1980's when I was playing drums in a dance club in Kansas City's Westport district, and George was with the Airmen of Note. Some folks may not be aware of it, but the Airmen of Note are a premier jazz ensemble, one of the best in the country, if not the world. That band was in town, and in their spare time, George and a few of his partners from that band were out and about. Even though he was on a much higher level than I, he was open and complimentary about my playing. We hung out on breaks, and after my gig was over, we all continued the hang, talking about music and... well... what else? Fast forward about six or seven years. I got myself backstage during the setup of a big country music concert. The headliners were a legendary Nashville band, and the opener was The Judds. I walked onto the stage as the Judds backline was setting up, and George instantly recognized me. We picked up the conversation from years prior, as though no time had gone by, as friends and peers. I never saw him again, to my loss. I'm saddened to see that this is how his life turned out. He was a remarkable talent, and to my view, a kind man. Keep working that practice pad, George, wherever you are.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous in Kansas City
I meet George in Nov of 1995, the first month I was in Nashville. He was kind and funny. As a percussionist, he told me about an audition with Billy Dean who was going to be on the Reba tour in 1996. Through a series of events, I meet the person putting the band together and I got the gig! George was responsible for that. i always enjoyed the drummer's lunch that I think he created. I left Nashville in 2006 and I never saw him again. He was definately a great guy. I am saddened today to find out that he has left us.
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