Hell City Remembers Jason Lockwood

November 15th, 2012 was one of the hardest days of my life, I woke up to the news that a long time friend and mentor was gone. News like this is hard to take for a million reasons, but mostly because you really wish you could just talk to your friend and tell them how much they meant to you. Jason Lockwood may be gone, but who he was and what he did will never go away.

When I close my eyes I can see him sitting at a merch booth at a hall show peddling wares for a band, a cause, or a record company. I can see him loading and unloading a million bands out the sides of bars and venues and bitching every time someone was in his way. I can hear his voice crack when he got excited about a cause that was close to his heart, he always knew how to rally the troops and get people to care. I can picture him larping in his pirate costume at a friends house party the first time he explained to me what Theatre Bizarre was and convinced me I had to go.

He was a very eccentric person whose best trait was his passion. He was the kind of guy who would let any touring band in town stay on his floor, give his last dollar away to someone that was hungry, and would stay up to sunrise to talk if you needed an ear. He was one of a kind. He was part of the music scene during a time when the people who went to shows were more like family than friends and wearing a pair of Chuck Taylor's in public meant that you would be fast friends. He took a million of us under his wing and made us feel special, like we were part of something big. From Unity Records, to Idle Kids, to Hell City Records he gave music his all and believed in it. Music will never be the same without him.

Join us this week to celebrate his life in the only way that I know how, by getting together at a bar and listening to some good bands. We can do a few shots of Jameson, tell a few stories, and celebrate someone who we all love and miss. The A-Gang, Voice Of Addiction, Dick Hickey, S.U.B., and Dad 1000 will be playing at Small's on November 15th at 8 p.m. It's $8 to get in and I will be bringing the rest of the United By Lockwood pins that we had made last year to give out to anyone that wants them. Small's is located at 10339 Conant Drive in Hamtramck.

~S