
Much loved Athens
singer-songwriter passes away following an overdose of muscle relaxants; had
been in a coma since early yesterday.
By Fred Mills
Vic Chesnutt, 45, passed away this afternoon, following a suicide
attempt Wednesday evening that left him in a coma. Initially, friends and
family were notified and word gradually got out via his friend and fellow musician Kristin Hersh, who Twittered
the news (see below), which rapidly spread across the internet. Chesnutt’s
family confirmed that he was indeed in a coma, as did his record label, Constellation
(see below). Late last night a close friend of Chesnutt’s, Maureen McLaughlin,
posting to an Athens, Georgia, music-related message
board, added this update:
“Here is an update on Vic: he
took 100 pulls of an anti-spasm medication. The pills were in his system at
least 9.5 hours before Tina found him unresponsive. He stopped breathing for a
period of time, which may have caused brain damage. if he lives through the
night, further testing will be done in the morning. S…end your prayers and
good wishes to Vic, [wife] Tina, and his family: Lis, Lorenda & Pete and
their children Ethan and Emma.”
This morning news outlets began reporting that Chesnutt did not make it
through the evening, but with no confirmation coming from the family or label,
several of them, including Billboard,
deleted the information from their websites. Starting a couple of hours ago,
however, confirmation finally came and it was reported at both the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
Wrote EW: Vic Chesnutt died today
at age 45, the head of his label tells
[us]… Some reports have said Chesnutt attempted suicide before the coma,
but the cause of death has not been announced. A statement on Constellation Records’ official site reads in full: ‘Surrounded by family and friends, Vic Chesnutt died in Athens Georgia
this afternoon, Friday 25 December at 14:59. In the few short years that we
knew him personally, Vic transformed our sense of what true character, grace
and determination are all about. Our grief is inexpressible and Vic’s absence
unfathomable. We will make more information available according to the wishes
of Vic’s family and friends.'”
Added the NYT: “[Chesnutt] died on Friday in a hospital in Athens, Ga.,
a spokesman for his family said. He was 45 and lived in Athens. He
had been in a coma after taking an overdose of muscle relaxants earlier
this week, said the family spokesman, Jem Cohen.”
Chesnutt’s musical career has been long and not without incident, including
struggles with substance abuse and previous suicide attempts. However, his musicality and resilience left him loved
and respected across the board by the musical community, from R.E.M. and Michael
Stipe, who produced his early albums; to the Cowboy Junkies, who enlisted his
help a couple of years ago when they remade their classic album The Trinity Sessions; to Elf Power, who
collaborated with him on the 2008 album Dark
Developments. There was also a 1996 tribute album, Sweet Relief II, featuring R.E.M. Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins,
Indigo Girls and others.
2009 saw the release of two album, At
the Cut and Skitter on Take-Off,
and just this month he was profiled on NPR by Terry Gross of “Fresh Air.” The
fact that he seemed on the verge of an accelerated career arc makes his death
all the more tragic, and a waste. His acerbic wit and dark humor, not to
mention his haunting yet to-the-point tunesmithery, will be greatly missed. Anyone who ever saw him in concert, scrunched up in his wheelchair and playing his guitar like his life depended on it – and perhaps, in one sense, it did – while alternately crooning and bawling into the microphone, will tell you this much: he was a real as they came, a genuine product of the pre-alternative era when “alternative” actually meant an alternative to everything else out there.
***
Below is our initial reporting from
Thursday:
Word has just been getting out that Vic Chesnutt is in a coma – according to the New York Times, the 45-year old
singer-songwriter’s family “has confirmed” the news but “did not
say what caused the coma.”
As of this writing, the NYT blog posting is the only hard news
source, but that posting indicates that ex-Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin
Hersh, Chesnutt’s friend, began spreading the news yesterday via Twitter. Three tweets in
particular, posted, respectively, 7 hours ago, 4 hours ago and 3 hours ago,
make it sound like a suicide attempt was involved, although we can only hope
it’s some kind of cruel hoax:
no calls in the night-well, only to talk about how much we love vic-and
no news is good news…if we lose him i’ll have lost my equilibrium
yeah, i can tell you what i know, but no one knows much: another suicide
attempt, looks bad, coma–if he survives, there may be brain damage
this time, it’s real scary: *this* time, he left a note, *this* time, he
asked them to call me
BLURT’s prayers will be with Hersh, Chesnutt and Chesnutt’s family and friends.
UPDATE: No Depression is reporting that Vic took an overdose of
muscle relaxants, but there’s no indication yea or nay whether it was
intentional yet, so the suicide angle remains speculation.
UPDATE: Constellation Records (Vic’s label) issues brief statement this
afternoon (via Access Atlanta): “Vic is in the middle of a
serious medical condition. He is in a coma, but we have no statement about the
specifics of the situation. His family and friends are with him. His doctors
are continuing to assess his condition.”