Black Swans Violinist Sayre Dies

Much-loved string virtuoso also performed with symphonies.

By Fred Mills

On Thursday, July 3, Noel Sayre, violinist for the groundbreaking Columbus band the Black Swans, passed away. Sayre, 37, had been at the Southern Ohio Medical Center on life support and in critical condition since almost drowning in a nearby community pool on Tuesday. In a report published by The Columbus Dispatch a sheriff’s department spokesman was quoted as saying the cause of death “appeared to be a massive heart attack.”

Sayre, originally from West Virginia, had a degree in music from Ohio University, had performed with several symphonies and also gave violin lessons. In the early ‘90s he played with Columbus’ Pretty Mighty Mighty, then on New Year’s Eve of 1995 he got together with singer-songwriter Jerry DiCicca to form the Black Swans, and the band went on to release two albums (a third was in the works) and tour the U.S. to huge critical acclaim.

In addition to the Swans, Sayre recently played on an album by 1970’s country-funk songwriter Larry Jon Wilson. Released last week on Sony in the UK, Larry Jon Wilson is slated for a domestic release his fall on Hacktone and is already notching both critical praise and kudos from the likes of Rick Rubin and Will Oldham.

A memorial service is being planned in Huntington, WV on Saturday July 12. Donations are being accepted to pay for the expenses. You can contact the Black Swans at theblackswansband@gmail.com for details on the service and how to make donations.

Yesterday evening, DiCicca sent out an email to fans and friends of the band to provide a more personal account of his friend and bandmate Sayre. It’s a very insightful, moving portrait of Sayre, and parts of it are worth reprinting here:

Noel and I began playing music together on New Years Eve of 1995, opening a show for the Yips and the Bassholes at Bernie’s Bagels in Columbus, Ohio. We split $100 for that gig, and so began a partnership that quickly became a strong and lasting friendship that the Black Swans based themselves upon.

We were always more Heckle & Jeckel and Penn & Teller than Simon & Garfunkel, as we shared an idea about music as art, posing as entertainment, that we explored over hundreds of gigs and several recordings. Musically, I always stood in Noel's shadow and Noel always felt he was my shadow. We spoke in code, a short-hand, that sometimes alienated others and sometimes amused them. We were kindred spirits in many ways and couldn't be more different in others. He was quiet and articulate, rowdy and beyond shy, hyper intelligent and incredibly
dense. I think I knew him better than anyone and it is safe to say there was a lot I never saw. It is shocking to think he will no longer be a part of my physical life. We both imagined that we'd be standing on stage together when we were 80, an appropriate age for our favorite tempo.

Too, I'm happy to say he already recorded his parts for the next Black Swans album and, as always, played with intelligence, humor, and a transcendent pallet of emotions.

Noel taught me a lot about myself. As we played witness to one another, we stuck to our guns, charting each others growth as a person and a musician. We went through a lot together, good and bad, always expressing ourselves in different ways, but never an unkind word was exchanged, always caring and supportive. I can't imagine my life or music without him.

BLURT would like to extend our deepest condolences to Sayre’s family (we are told he only had a cousin surviving him) and to DiCicca.