NC Musician Rodney Lanier R.I.P.

Much-loved artist's bands included Jolene and Sea of Cortez.

By Fred Mills/Photo by Daniel Coston

Since three of the main BLURT staffers (and several contributors) live in North Carolina, it always hits us hard when we learn we've lost a fellow Tarheel. On December 9, Charlotte musician Rodney Lanier, 44, passed away following a battle with cancer.

Lanier played with a number of bands over the years, including the acclaimed Jolene, while more recently he'd been fronting instrumental rock powerhouse Sea of Cortez. (You can hear a SoC track below.) The outpouring of grief and love at the news of his death was profound, and contributor John Schacht, also the editor of Charlotte-based Shuffle magazine, penned a moving remembrance of Lanier well-worth reading.

Schacht wrote, in part, "Whenever I did get out to [Charlotte venue] Evening Muse when Rodney worked the door, one of the highlights - sometimes the only highlight - was shooting the shit with him. About the bands we were respectively geeking out on, about Sea of Cortez's latest goings-on, about the insane asylum known as the music business, about books and movies, about women past and present. And those bull sessions would always be punctuated by his infectious laugh, a blend of a big man's guffaw and a smoker's cackle, always accompanied by his mischievous cockeyed grin. He liked to good-naturedly stir shit up, too, and I heard plenty about the practical jokes he got up to. More than once I found myself in tears on the street in front of the Muse because I was laughing so hard. I find myself again in tears now, but for all the wrong reasons...."

Amen. Lanier will be deeply missed.

Paquito by Sea of Cortez