Dexter Romweber, the musician who based the pioneering guitar-and-drums duo Flat Duo Jets, later inspiring the likes of The White Stripes and numerous different lo-fi acts, has died. He was 57 years outdated.
Romweber’s demise was introduced by way of a press release posted by his household on Fb, which revealed that had died at residence on Friday, February sixteenth, and although “a medical examination is pending,” it’s “believed he died of pure causes.”
Born on June 18th, 1966, in Indiana, Romweber obtained concerned in music at an early age, forming his first band when he was 10. By the point he was attending highschool in Chapel Hill, North Carolina within the ‘70s, he started performing with drummer Chris “Crow” Smith. In 1983, the 2 shaped Flat Duo Jets, a rip-roaring psychobilly duo that harnessed the electrifying interaction of Romweber’s guitar enjoying and stage prowess with Smith’s thunderous drumming.
By way of the ‘80s, the band turned underground favorites, releasing tapes, performing exhibits, and showing in media like MTV’s The Slicing Edge and the 1986 documentary Athens, GA: Inside/Out. Within the ‘90s, they shared their first full-length, Flat Duo Jets, adopted by Go Go Harlem Child in 1992. In 2011, Jack White’s Third Man Data reissued Go Go Harlem Child, writing on the time that it was “genuinely vital within the pantheon of American music.”
Flat Duo Jets continued to file and carry out by means of the ‘90s, even increasing their lineup and sound, however finally folded on the finish of the last decade. After that, Romweber started a solo profession that spurred many extra releases, exploring quite a lot of sounds, from his rockabilly residence base to Chopin-inspired piano compositions and extra.
He was additionally concerned in numerous extra initiatives, together with the Dex Romweber Duo together with his sister, Sara, on drums. Sara handed in 2019 — as did two of Romweber’s different siblings — however he continued to file and launch albums, most just lately 2023’s Good Factor Goin’, which was devoted to his sister.
By way of his a long time of output, Romweber’s artistry impacted many, from White to Cat Energy, Neko Case, and extra. Posting about his demise on Instagram, White wrote that Romweber “wasn’t a Rock N’ Roll musician, he WAS Rock N’ Roll in and out, with out even having to strive.”
Persevering with, White known as Romweber “one in all my favourite folks I’ve ever identified” and one in all his “most cherished” influences. “He as soon as completed the final chord of a tune throughout a live performance, threw his guitar down, jumped off the stage at St. Andrews Corridor in Detroit, and ran straight as much as me in a theater of ten folks behind the room and instantly began speaking to me,” White wrote. “I had by no means met him earlier than that. I used to be 18. Over time he handed on secrets and techniques I’ll by no means inform, and introduced tears to my eyes when he advised me how happy with me he was. However I used to be happy with him first, and all the time shall be. He was an uncle that I’d journey my bike throughout city to see.”
Learn White’s full assertion under, in addition to the assertion posted by Romweber’s household.
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