ACCOZZAGLIA

oh dear god. i knew it was going to happen soon, but not this soon. he died yesterday at age 56 from a deadly and incurable form of lung cancer, mostly from years of chain smoking.

i met Warren Zevon ever so briefly at a concert on January 30th, 1992, at Rockerfeller’s in Houston. he was a quiet man with a peaceful disposition. this was after he cleaned up from all the heavy heroin and coke addictions, and he radiated this silent resolve of being a survivor to all that hell, laughing at the face of death and walking way intact. his face was pockmarked and looked like hell, but he was having a good night that evening, playing two encores in the end before i shook his hand backstage while seriously bonding with the guys in the Canadian pop group Odds.

there will never be another person who could ever possibly replace Warren’s unique character. hearing that he’s gone is a heartbreaker in my book. on the cheerful side, though, he was totally self-effacing about mortality and constantly referenced death in a gallows (or black) humour kind of way that too many others are simply too wigged to pursue themselves.

i’m gonna miss him, his voice and his cynical lyrical grace.