John Wood

[Grateful Rox]

From the talk on his Facebook page, people are wanting to see if they can set up a banjo scholarship with Planet Bluegrass, for the academy.

I will certainly keep passing ideas along.

~Rox

[wyeknot108]

I first met John on a sidewalk in Rochester, NY in the early 90s waiting for tickets at an outlet.  A group of us were always there and we all became friends.  Saw lots of music with him over the years (Grateful Dead, JGB, Phish, Max Creek, !Bob Dylan!, and tons of bluegrass); we both moved to Boston within weeks of each other in 1995; he moved to Colorado in 2003(?) and I continued to see him at Rockygrass and Telluride as I was already a traveler to each.

I recall seeing a Vassar Clements show at the Warehouse in Rochester, NY (93?) attended by maybe 15 people.  John was there and belted out the closing Will The Circle Be Unbroken sing-along to show Vassar some love from the sparse crowd.  No surprise there.

I picked tunes with him at Rockygrass just months after he started playing banjo.  One year later at the same campsite he was completely competent - a nearly impossible feat for any adult picking up banjo that fast.

The TBF that just ended so tragically found me talking often with John and attending the Del 75th Saturday night show with John and my camp crew.  As we left the show, John was a little agitated about something (a rare occurrence).  In an effort to calm him a bit, I put my arm around him and asked "But John, how did you like the show?"  He replied with a smile: "loved it".  It was the last exchange we had.

I know his unbounded Festival Spirit will live on in so many of the people that had the pleasure of enjoying his company.  And it will rightly endure and multiply.

Right now I'm pretty sad, but John's legacy will bring a smile soon - I'm sure of that.

Matt

[J-Ryry]

I'm so sorry Al! My condolences to his friends and family. Reading all of your posts I can see John was a festivarian to the core and will be remembered with a smile by many.

Perhaps he was looking in on the picking party I was just turning away from, but I really think he was having fun roaming Town Park with the 'Ana-whackers' in the wee hours of Sunday morning when he happened to fall right next to me. His first concern was his banjo, which I held onto for him; his second concern was that he had dropped his picks. I think he wanted to be ready for the next picking party once all the fuss being made over him was done 

I only knew him for those few minutes that we were waiting for help to arrive, but the idea of a banjo scholarship sounds like an excellent way to remember him and honor his passion for music.

R.I.P. John Wood

- Jennifer

[jsrud]

I had a number of very fine moments with John at the festival this year.  He was so knowledgeable about music, kind and energetic.  I was lucky enough to sit right behind him at Del's Night Grass show and be able to listen to him scream at the top of his lungs "Del!!!!" after every single song.  My last sighting of John was watchin him happily scurry off into the woods of Town Park after the Del show  for one more night of picking....

One of the great things about Telluride for me is getting to know some really interesting and genuinely nice people who share my deep passion for music.  In most of my daily grind circles at home, they're not so easy to find.  John was one of the most memorable such folks and I'll miss him a great deal.

 Listening to: Keller Williams with The Travelin' McCoury's

[nfire]

This really puts a damper on an otherwise incredible weekend.  Although I didn't know the man well, just like anyone who has any amount of experience picking tunes in Colorado, I picked with him a number of times at different jams.  He was one of the first at the OB Lyons jam who welcomed me to a smaller more "advanced" circle when I was feeling hesitant to do so because of reservations of my own abilities.  He led some jams and recognized me for a number of breaks and made me feel welcome to experiment in those circles.  I saw him running around Town Park this weekend and assumed I'd pick with him eventually.  When I heard this I couldn't believe it.  RIP good and friendly Colorado Picker. My thoughts and prayers with his friends and family.

[BluegrassDustin]

Truly one of the most dedicated Festivarians to ever grace us with his presence.

While I didn't know John extremely well, he and I had shaken hands and conversed numerous times over the years.

His gruff and boisterous singing voice will be what I miss most...well, that and the passionate conversations about glowsticks, marshmallows, etc...

I ran into John on Wednesday before the festival, and I find some solace in the final brief conversation we had in passing...

Me: "Hey John! Welcome home, how's it going?"
John: "Hey Dustin! Just livin' the dream!"

R.I.P. John. Your presence will be missed for many years to come...

[AlohaGirl]

Being my first Telluride I was lucky enough to meet John pickin and playing around TownPark.
He is now an angel in heaven pickin and playing with the grandest band and choir ever assembled.

[Banjo Todd]

I wanted to share a little info with you all, as I was lucky enough to pick John's last tune with him. Bearfoot Kenny was singing "See the Mornin' Sun", an Andy Thorn tune. Vince Herman busted in and Anawhacked our jam right as the song was concluding. I was standing next to John, Vince and others, and John was belting out the Anawhack chorus with Vince - about as happy as a man could be, as you could imagine. We all decided to walk up to the cascadia tent and Anawhack them, and this is when John fell down, and into a tent, presumably due to a burst blood vessel in his head/brain.

I know in my heart that you couldn't write a better exit for someone like John. Doing what he loved, at his favorite place, during his favorite festival, with his favorite people, and singing with one of his heroes.

I will miss him immensely, as we all will, and hope that this anecdote will ease some of our pain knowing that John was happy as a clam as he exited this plane.

 Listening to: See The Mornin' Sun - Andy Thorn

[ruffnrocky]

Thanks Todd, I hope you don't mind me posting this on John's facebook page so more of his friends and family can read your nice words.

[Hot Sugar]

I always looked forward to his festival recap. His five favorite set write ups were always well thought  out and written and I usually agreed with 3 out of the 5, if not more.

[Zoeonelove]

I wanted to share a little info with you all, as I was lucky enough to pick John's last tune with him. Bearfoot Kenny was singing "See the Mornin' Sun", an Andy Thorn tune. Vince Herman busted in and Anawhacked our jam right as the song was concluding. I was standing next to John, Vince and others, and John was belting out the Anawhack chorus with Vince - about as happy as a man could be, as you could imagine. We all decided to walk up to the cascadia tent and Anawhack them, and this is when John fell down, and into a tent, presumably due to a burst blood vessel in his head/brain.

I know in my heart that you couldn't write a better exit for someone like John. Doing what he loved, at his favorite place, during his favorite festival, with his favorite people, and singing with one of his heroes.

I will miss him immensely, as we all will, and hope that this anecdote will ease some of our pain knowing that John was happy as a clam as he exited this plane.

I personally have been too upset to comment, but thank you for this statement. It makes it easier to grasp and accept. John was the most genuine, caring, and kind man. I, along with Chris and BFK, feel so lucky to have had John picking at Camp Howdy nearly every night of Telluride this year. And Maple Al, it can still be everyone's best Telluride, including John's, and we can all take solace in that fact. I will miss his fast and aggressive banjo in the picks (as I tend to like a little slamgrass in my life), I will miss him running across any room to give Chris and I hugs whenever he saw us, and I will miss his friendship and great laughs. But we can always hear them again, as he will be with us in Town Park every year. I will let Vince know about your comment, Banjo Todd, as he will also take solace in the fact that he helped make John's last moments some of his best.

I love you all, Festi Family, and we must always remind each other of this love and spread it often.  As we never know the future and what could happen to any of us, at any time, any where.

 
Zoe

[Maple Al]

Thanks for all the love and support this past week. The Tuesday night jam at Oscar Blues was quite amazing. I'm not sure that I have ever seen music played with that much emotion or feeling by so many musicians. That was really helpful in the healing process. I first met John nine years ago at his first Rockygrass while walking into the festival. Upon recognizing his name from the old Festivarian email list I took him over to meet about half of its members who were in our camp that year. We soon became friends and I looked forward to seeing him at most of the Colorado music events that I went to thereafter. A few years ago John joined our camping group and that was even better, although hard on the camp furniture. John was a big man who touched a lot of people, and probably gave you a big bear hug as well. This year at Telluride we had a small camp group with just Hope, Steve and John joining Jeri and myself. So we got to spend a lot of time together. The prefest was a lot of fun then comes the music and Telluride delivers as always. But somehow this year seemed to be even better. For the Leftover Salmon nightgrass show John was first in line so we had the best seats in the house for an amazing show. I'm really glad that I got to spend his last week with my buddy catphish John. Looking forward to celebrating John's life at Colimbine campground on July 19th what would have been his 50th birthday, as well as the next day seeing the Hard Working Americans and Horseshoes & Hand Gernades. And I'm sure we will do so the next week at Rockygrass and next year at Telluride as well. Also his banjo was OK and finger picks found and I returned both. So while my buddy may not have "Seen the Morning Sun" he did go doing what he wanted and his spirit shines on brightly. Jeri and I thank everyone for their support.

 Listening to: John Cowan Sixty