| Location of Service: |
Sierra Madre, California |
| Date of Birth: |
08/22/1957 |
| Place of Birth: |
Astoria, Oregon |
| Date of Death: |
04/01/2009 |
| Cause of Death: |
Cancer |
| Achievements: |
Great Tone! |
| Career: |
Guitar Player |
| Belief: |
Good will to all men |
Please make donations to: Pray For Tomorrow Fund
2554 Lincoln Blvd., #1010
Venice, CA 90291
|
Songs that came to mind when I heard the news:
What Light, Wilco
If I needed you, Townes Van Zandt
Pray for Tommorrow, Duane Jarvis
Street Lights, Bonnie Raitt
Someone in Love, Chet Baker
Old Friends, Chuck Prophet
Sad Blue Year, Duane Jarvis
Till you lay down your heavy load, Eilen Jewell
Strange Things Happen Every Day, Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Goodbye Don't Come Easy, Warner Mack
In the Pines, Smog
Still I Long for Your Kiss, Lucinda Williams
..........................................
Duane Jarvis dies at 51; L.A. roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist
He played with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, John Prine and others.
By Randy Lewis
April 1, 2009 | 10:45 p.m.
Duane Jarvis, a stalwart of the Los Angeles roots music scene whose lead guitar work landed him stints playing with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Michelle Shocked and others when he wasn't recording and touring as a respected singer-songwriter in his own right, died Wednesday after a long bout with colon cancer. He was 51.
Jarvis died at his home in Marina del Rey, where he was receiving hospice care after stopping treatment that in recent months had included two major surgeries and three rounds of chemotherapy, according to Kevin Jarvis, a drummer who performed frequently with his older brother.
"Duane passed away this morning at 1:30 a.m. with a smile on his face," Kevin Jarvis wrote in an e-mail sent Wednesday to family members and friends. "We knew time was short by the way things were going that day, although Duane surprised us a little by leaving us quite so soon."
Jarvis' guitar work was prized by some of the most esteemed practitioners of Americana music for its emotive power, musical economy and sonic atmospherics. As a songwriter with a handful of solo albums to his credit, he often sought out the light in even the darkest life scenarios, which he sang in a laconic, reedy voice that fell between the Southern rock drawl of Tom Petty and the bluesy scowl of Mick Jagger.
"The thing I'll always carry with me about Duane is that there was something pure in his happiness about music. I always felt he was just a smile away. . . . He'd give me that sideways look like we were getting away with something, that we'd been let loose in the magic sandbox," Yoakam said Wednesday.
"It's country rock by way of the British invasion," Jarvis told the Portland Oregonian in 1994. "Those guys--the Who, the Kinks, the Stones--were listening to American music anyway. I always felt there was a common thread through all that."
Similarly attuned musicians in Los Angeles drew Jarvis from Oregon, where he'd become a popular club attraction, playing in bands including the Odds, 2 Minutes 50 and Map of France.
"A lot of my favorite music was coming out of there: Rank and File, the Blasters, Lone Justice," he said. Upon arriving in the midst of L.A.'s early-'80s roots-music explosion, he connected with Lone Justice bassist and songwriter Marvin Etzioni, who tapped Jarvis for a band he was starting.
Lucinda Williams and Dwight Yoakam were habitues of the same scene, and when Yoakam's partner and lead guitarist Pete Anderson had to bow out of a tour to Australia, Anderson recommended Jarvis to take his place.
He also won the admiration of Williams, and co-wrote "Still I Long For Your Kiss" that appeared on her Grammy-winning album "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road," which also features Jarvis' guitar work.
Duane Jarvis was born Aug. 22, 1957, in Astoria, Ore. His family moved around the country often, stopping in the Bay Area, Seattle, Huntington Beach and Florida before settling in Portland.
Jarvis appeared to inherit the family's wanderlust, putting in time in Los Angeles, Nashville and Austin before returning to Southern California for the last several years. During the '80s, he also played as a member of the punk-tinged Divinyls, and in recent years had fronted another band, Los Flacos, while he and Kevin also backed L.A.'s Ben Vaughan.
He led a life common to musicians who ply the indie music scene without finding big commercial success, playing clubs around the country and on occasion in Europe. But Jarvis persevered. "You have to keep painting your paintings," he said in a 2001 interview, "because eventually you'll find a gallery somewhere."
In addition to his brother, Jarvis, who was married and divorced twice and had no children, is survived by his mother, Barbara Jarvis, of Portland and a brother, Brian.
Services are pending.
randy.lewis@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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How lucky I was to have known Duane. The songs we
wrote, the shows we played and the laughter. His guitars
felt good to play. I will miss you so much. But I will never
forget you, my dear sweet special friend...... joy
- joy
4/3/2009
Duane was genuinely friendly with a great smile and unique
sense of humor. His memory will live on through his music
and through all the people whose lives he touched along the
way. He was a 'glass-is-half-full' kind of guy. Duane is the
only person I have ever witnessed eat his morning cereal
with orange juice in it instead of milk. :o)
I am honored to call him my friend. I will miss him, his
friendship, and the music not yet written.
"He did more than exist, he lived.
He did more than listen, he understood."
Rest Peacefully, dear Duane.
- Melissa
4/2/2009
Hey DJ, Thank you my friend. -dc
- dave coleman
4/2/2009
Peace and love.
- Brydget
4/2/2009
May your lovely soul
rest in Peace...
- wren
4/2/2009
Rest in Peace sweet
Duane. You will be
missed on this
earth. ~Wendy
Erikson
- Wendy
4/1/2009
Our circles happily bisected for 20 years here and in LA. DJ
was always a fun mix of gentle friendliness and enviable
talent. I will miss Duane dearly. God bless him.
Pat Gallagher
- Patrick
4/1/2009
Duane, we will miss you. Long ago we worked on a song
together in Nashville called "Its A Short List." I will be
listening to it and thinking of you and that tasty little trem
guitar you played through my Vibro-Champ. Peace and love
to you, your friends and family.
John Sieger
- John
4/1/2009
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, MY BROTHER.
g
- Gary Poole
4/1/2009
Duane was one of my very favorite people out of all the
singer-songwriters I met while I lived in Nashville. He and I
wrote a song together called "Im A Liar" that we had the most
fun on! He was such a sweet soul and the kind of musician
that just got it on a level that many people dont. I remember
sitting with him at the Sherlock Holmes pub one night and
"something" by the beatles came on and he had the widest
grin on his face while watching me describe how george
harrisons guitar solo was probably the best one ever played
on record. Bless you, DJ.
- Allison
4/1/2009
We spent a lot of time together when he first moved to
Nashville and I will always be thankful for those many laughs
we shared.....and the Velvet Elvis b-day card he gave me,
which I still have. He was a good soul and will be missed.
Peace~ lisa york
- Lisa
4/1/2009
Duane was such a
sweet soul. I have
so many fond
memories including
him playing every
song I requested on
my 30th birthday at
the Idlehour . And
having him for a
roomie for a few
months was pure joy.
He will be missed
greatly by so many.
- LeAnn Bennett
- LeAnn
4/1/2009
I will always
remember Duane's
boldly striped
jacket and how he
made tea every
morning when he was
staying with us.
The song I remember
him by is "I Want A
Girl That's Hip (But
Not That Hip)" He
will be greatly
missed.
Linda Allen
- Steve Allen
4/1/2009
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