Kristin Hersh issues tribute to Vic Chesnutt; Creates fund to cover his debts
By Rick GriffinDec 26, 2009 01:55 AM
Former Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh published a heartfelt appreciation of her longtime friend Vic Chesnutt on Friday (12/25).
Chesnutt died on Christmas Day after being in a coma following an overdose of muscle relaxants, and Hersh had tweeted earlier that the overdose appeared to be a suicide attempt.
In October, Chesnutt told Spinner that he was being sued by the hospital over a $35,000 outstanding bill. He also told Spinner that he’d recently reached out to the Sweet Relief organization for assistance, and was told his debt load was beyond the kind of help they could provide.
Chesnutt had recently told interviewers that his hospital debts had been mounting, and the Los Angeles Times reported a figure as high as $70,000.
He’d also been critical of the evolution of health reform efforts in the U.S. House and Senate, recently telling Spinner, “We need to target health care costs, not just insurance for everyone.”
While Hersh’s tribute doesn’t speak in depth to Chesnutt’s financial hardships, a donation button is prominent on the site.
Some of Hersh’s comments are included below:
What this man was capable of was superhuman. Vic was brilliant, hilarious and necessary; his songs messages from the ether, uncensored. He developed a guitar style that allowed him to play bass, rhythm and lead in the same song — this with the movement of only two fingers. His fluid timing was inimitable, his poetry untainted by influences. He was my best friend.
I never saw the wheelchair—it was invisible to me—but he did. When our dressing room was up a flight of stairs, he’d casually tell me that he’d meet me in the bar. When we both contracted the same illness, I told him it was the worst pain I’d ever felt. “I don’t feel pain,” he said. Of course. I’d forgotten. When I asked him to take a walk down the rain spattered sidewalk with me, he said his hands would get wet. Sitting on stage with him, I would request a song and he’d flip me off, which meant, “This finger won’t work today.” I saw him as unassailable—huge and wonderful, but I think Vic saw Vic as small, broken. And sad.
Hersh’s full tribute and donation form are available at http://kristinhersh.cashmusic.org/vic/