A Wild and Crazy Farewell

If you are a fan of Rockabilly music, then at some point you may have heard the name of Hasil Adkins. The Haze, or the Wildman of Boone County as he was called was a dynamo in every sense of the word. He could get drunk with the best of 'em, and completely tear down a joint with some of the most outrageous music this side of Punk Rock.
There are any number of crazy stories floating around the universe about Hasil.
Unfortunately a few weeks ago the world lost a true ecclectic genius, as Hasil died of an apparent heart attack.
I'm not certain of the details of his personal finances, but for one reason or another tonight there was a benefit concert show dedicated to him. It was held at the Empty Glass, and when I tell you that it was as unorganized as anything could possibly get that's offering a true glimpse into the world that was Hasil.
The event started off with me not knowing any details in terms of the time that the Carpenter Ants were scheduled to play, then finding out that we were to play at 10:50 pm (we were there at 8 pm). First problem for us is that Michael wasn't in town ( He's in Phoenix Arizona, playing with our good friend Joe Rathbone), then our backup guitarist was a no show even for his own part of the show.
Prior to the event a woman walked up to me and asked if I were in the Carpenter Ants? When I informed her that I was indeed, she told me that we were playing her wedding. Well right now we are in the midst of a serious schedule problem. We have a fairly important gig on the day that I thought was her wedding, so I tell her that I was trying to locate her to see if something else can't be done. All of this only to find I was talking to the wrong woman...whew!!! Scared the daylights out of both of us. Poor Joanna almost went into convulsions.
Back to the show...there was one crazy thing after another then we went on with a guitar player named Jamie Adkins who had never played with us before but did a great job on short notice.
Jennifer Lilly, the young lady who was thrust into putting this event together normally is very organized, but this was a bit much even for her, but as I thought about it I thought, wait a minute, Hasil was the most unorthodox, unorganized person I'd ever met... this was perfect !!! The mix of people there was as ecclectic as he was, and I was really taken by just how much people were affected by his passing.
People show their respects in some crazy ways but this tribute to me spoke volumes of how much Hasil was really liked and how much in his own way he gave us all something.
Haze, wherever you are I truly hope that you are resting in peace. This was a wild and crazy farewell and we will miss you...goodnight brother.