Jrock, aka Justin James Roettger, I love you forever, brother. You leave this world with a massive and unfillable canyon where you once stood. I am stuck in a limbo between realities trying to process this tragic loss. You were sweet, you were passionate, you were brave, you were a champion. Rest easy in The Great Beyond, my dear friend. The walls of The Crofoot will never feel the same without you.
ilysm ❤️🙏
His name was Chuck. He was a homeless man in Southwest Detroit who husked on the corner of Vernor and Cavalry, where El Rancho and E & L Supermercdo are. He would play his barely-in-tune guitar, usually the same three chords, and you could barely hear it driving by. But he put in the work. The only time you’d ever see him not hustling for help with his guitar would be when he was resting in his usual spot, at the CVS on Campbell next to the Salvation Army. He had a little truck, an old ass Ford Ranger I think, and he’d sit in it, staying warm, staying dry, listening to classic rock radio, with the engine running. Always the engine running.
The news this morning, Sunday February 23, 2025, that he was found dead in his truck, with his dogs, from apparent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, really hit the heart.
He was an animal lover, a music lover, a hustler, clever, and peaceful. He was a staple of the Southwest Detroit / West Vernor community, as familiar a visual icon as the sign of El Rancho.
Chuck will be missed. Whatever and however his life’s situation brought him upon rough times, and however tragic the way he passed, he and his pupsters are somewhere better in The Great Beyond, still together, playing Free Bird with the actual spirits of Lynyrd Skynyrd….
… and his guitar is still out of tune.
Rest In Power, Chuck. Vaya con Dios.
Wow I’ve had this cassette since March 22, 1994 when it dropped at a local Mexicantown record shop … exactly 30 years ago today. Still not convinced I didn’t buy a masterfully copied hood market bootleg, tho…
Feliz cumpleaños to this banger album 🔥 📻
#anythingforselenas
