image courtesy of Daytrotter

Sunday night as I was getting ready to head down to the radio station, I saw a Facebook message with the news that former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett had passed away. A quick search of Google, industry message board The Velvet Rope, and a few of my other usual online haunts turned up nothing, so I posted a quick Twitter message of inquiry, and headed out the door.

Later that evening, I watched a combination of fans on Twitter and the Wilco fan message board Via Chicago try to piece together the bits of news as we all waited collectively to find out if the horrible rumors were true. And unfortunately, we learned late in the evening via a post on the website for Bennett’s management that Bennett had passed away in his sleep early Sunday morning at the age of 45. The Twitter community of Wilco fans reacted with expected sadness, with post after post ranging from shock to posts sharing their favorite musical memories of Bennett.

That has continued into today with posts from noted Chicago rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis (who also host the popular radio program Sound Opinions together, while working for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times respectively.) Kot also shares a look at some of the best moments in Bennett’s musical career.

I imagine it’s very possible that Kot and DeRogatis will do a special episode of Sound Opinions sharing additional memories, so keep your ears tuned for that one, which would be a great show, without a doubt.

Here’s one great moment in Bennett/Wilco history courtesy of Twitter pal @JackieInChgo:

Bennett’s time with Wilco began when he answered an ad placed by Tweedy, who was looking for a guitar player. Bennett, at the time working in a VCR repair shop, was the only one that answered, according to Tweedy. The pairing brought magical results that produced some of Wilco’s most celebrated musical output until Bennett’s departure in 2001. Though Tweedy and Bennett’s working relationship in Wilco ended with complications, I’d like to think that they might have eventually one day worked together again.

The fans over at Via Chicago are remembering Bennett’s many musical contributions by listening to some of their favorite Wilco shows, and my pal Dave Lifton has his own post and musical tribute online right here.

UPDATED:

Here’s an additional post with some more tribute links and more stuff for you to listen to from Gregor at captain’s dead.

I’d like to share my own favorite Wilco musical moment, with a bit of explanation to set it up. My ride with the band began in 1996 with the release of Being There. My good radio comrade Matt, who has shared so many great musical gifts with me over the years, handed me a promo copy of the album and told me that I needed to listen to it. Even though I was already being exposed to so much music on a constant basis at the radio station, this was still a time when I would get an album and listen to a particularly good one for a month or two straight.

Such was the case with Being There, an album that was locked in my CD player nearly daily going to and from the radio station. Late in 1996, I got what is still one of the coolest radio promotional items I’ve ever received, a promotional cassette from Reprise Records containing a copy of the band’s show recorded that same year in November at The Troubadour in Hollywood.

The cassette of the show disappeared many years ago from my collection, and I was excited to find a digital copy of the show online this past week via a fan that’s been posting some great 96/97 shows at Dimeadozen. Hearing the show tonight for the first time in nearly 13 years, I thought that you would all enjoy hearing it as well. The show download itself is sourced from the great Wilco Archive maintained by Owl and Bear, and if you haven’t visited this incredible Wilco resource yet, I highly recommend checking it out for hours and hours of great Wilco listening!

This Troubadour show is not only one of my favorite Wilco shows ever, but it’s also one of the best sounding shows that you will hear from the time period. Enjoy….

Wilco
The Troubadour
1996-11-12
Los Angeles, CA

Promo Cassette > HHB CDR 800 > Audio Cleaning Lab 2004 (for levels and track marking) >
CDR
(broadcast over KSCA FM, this source is pre-FM)

UPDATE: This concert is being officially released as part of an expanded reissue of Being There on 12/01/17. You can order your own copy!

Download full-resolution files of this show at the Wilco Archive

Download a scan of the original cassette label

Disc 1:

01. Sunken Treasure
02. Red-Eyed & Blue >
03. I Got You
04. Someone Else’s Song
05. Someday Soon
06. Forget the Flowers
07. New Madrid
08. I Must Be High
09. Passenger Side (Punk Version) >
10. Passenger Side (Regular Version)
11. Hotel Arizona
12. Monday

Disc 2:

01. Say You Miss Me
02. Outtasite (Outtamind)
03. The Long Cut
04. Kingpin (with band introductions)
05. Misunderstood
06. Far, Far Away
07. Give Back the Key to My Heart
08. Gun
———————————————————————————————-
wilco is / was:
Jeff Tweedy
Bob Egan
John Stirrat
Ken Coomer
Jay Bennett

Relevant Links:

Check out a great Daytrotter Session with Jay Bennett here.

Jay Bennett official Myspace page

Download Bennett’s latest album Whatever Happened I Apologize for free here.