Tonight’s the night… a wake for my dearest buddy, the beloved Fred Smith. I couldn’t post anything at the time of his passing, I was just flattened with the grief that came when the man I considered my wiser, kinder, and funnier older brother had left after 50 years of friendship.
We met at the CBGB bar watching each other’s bands (and usually the same women). We ended up as running buddies and rhythm section partners for years, playing, along with other artists, on all of Tom Verlaine’s solo projects and with
@jimmyrip , his tours. There would be two rental cars- one with Jimmy & Tom, and one with me, Fred and the tour manager, dubbed The Enjoyment Club because we were known for things like trying to find a blender that we could plug into the cigarette lighter so we could have frozen margaritas on those drives instead of ones with mere ice. Somehow, everyone survived, and kinda grew up a bit.
When we were able to say goodbye to each other, our last words were ‘I love you’. Because if it isn’t about love, you’re not doing it right.
Stop by, have a glass of something and toast one of the best humans ever.
Check the links for two of Fred’s obituaries.
@television_band @television__band @bassistsofinstagram @blondieofficial @willie_nile 
