RIP Carter Albrecht--You will be missed

[Mr. Chow]

I will not editorialize this too much, but Carter was an amazing keyboardist, singer, writer, and producer that inspired everyone who knew him. (On a personal note, Carter was one of the greatest singer, songwriters I have ever had the pleasure to hear, and meet; and a true inspiration to me.) RIP Carter, You will be missed.

Sept. 3, 2007, 10:04PM
Musician Carter Albrecht shot dead by girlfriend's neighbor

By JEFF CARLTON Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

DALLAS — Dallas musician Jeffrey Carter Albrecht, who was a member of the band Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, was shot to death early Monday morning after trying to kick in the door of his girlfriend's neighbor, police said.

The neighbor, who has not been identified, was asleep in bed when he awakened around 4 a.m. to his wife screaming that someone was breaking into the house, according to a police report. The neighbor yelled through the door for Albrecht to leave and then fired his handgun through the door.

Albrecht was struck in the head and died at the scene, police said.

The neighbor believed a burglar was trying to break in, Dallas police spokesman Sgt. Gil Cerda said. The case is under investigation and no arrests have been made.

Danny Balis, Albrecht's roommate and fellow member of the Dallas rock band Sorta, said the shooter lived next door to Albrecht's girlfriend.

"He was at his girlfriend's house last night," Balis said Monday. "He left the house and went next door and — for whatever reason, which we don't know — he knocked on the neighbor's door. And from what I understand, he was persistent. I don't know if there was a verbal exchange, but the person panicked and fired a shot through the door."

Published and broadcast reports quoted police saying that Albrecht beat up his girlfriend and then tried to kick down the neighbor's door in a drunken rage. The couple had no history of domestic violence, but the girlfriend had bruises on her face, police said. She did not suffer serious injury.

Albrecht apparently struck his girlfriend in the face several times and hit her in the back once she fell. She later managed to lock him out of the house, according to the reports.

His death stunned friends and those who knew him in the North Texas music community. The idea of him banging on a door in the middle of the night seems out of character for a man known to be friendly and quiet, friends said.

"He is not a violent person," said Carrie Garcia, Sorta's manager. "He is cool as a cucumber, shy, always wanted to make a joke in a situation that may be a little tense."

Albrecht, who went by his middle name, had been a keyboard player for the New Bohemians since 1999, according to the band's Web site. He also played keyboard and guitar and sang for Sorta, named in 2006 as the best local music act by the Dallas Observer.

Albrecht played several times with Brickell's husband, Paul Simon, Garcia said. He also played with Texas musician Charlie Sexton, a renowned guitarist.

Albrecht was working on a solo album that Balis called "the best thing he has ever done."

"He was the best musician I've ever played with — no question," Balis said. "He could play anything. It's a shame not enough people outside of Dallas heard him."

___

Associated Press Writer Thomas Peipert contributed to this report

[Nyteshade]

This is in A&P why?

[Mr. Chow]

Originally Posted by Nyteshade

This is in A&P why?

because a eulogy didn't seem to fit in useless blabber, oh and to make people AWARE that a Dallas musician has passed away. Where does it belong?

[Nyteshade]

Originally Posted by white lotus

because a eulogy didn't seem to fit in useless blabber, oh and to make people AWARE that a Dallas musician has passed away. Where does it belong?

Being a local musician, I would go with either general discussion or the music discussion boards.

[OHMEGA]

He also played in Sorta. Didnt know the guy that well, just from the door at the club mostly. Just such a shame.

[DREX]

a guy puts a post about a death and you take him to task on the category he chose....really?

[Mr. Chow]

Originally Posted by JohnDenversHead

He also played in Sorta. Didnt know the guy that well, just from the door at the club mostly. Just such a shame.

Yeah, really sad that this happened. I didn't know him super well either, I play with quite a few people who are very close to him, and have heard him play numerous times- he was always an inspiration.

[Mr. Chow]

Originally Posted by DREX

a guy puts a post about a death and you take him to task on the category he chose....really?

Thank you.

[molecule]

sad deal, his family is in my thoughts and prayers.

[matt]

crazy stuff. damn fine musician

[Nyteshade]

Originally Posted by DREX

a guy puts a post about a death and you take him to task on the category he chose....really?

It was more about the fact that it is a post about a musician on a music board. If he wanted people to be aware of it, then the general discussion or producer talk would have reached the most people that may have actually known him rather then the section mostly viewed by cynics and conspiracy theorists.

[DREX]

Originally Posted by Nyteshade

It was more about the fact that it is a post about a musician on a music board. If he wanted people to be aware of it, then the general discussion or producer talk would have reached the most people that may have actually known him rather then the section mostly viewed by cynics and conspiracy theorists.

well its a good thing you were here to correct him



met carter a few times and he seemed like a nice dude....terrible way to go out....wish his friends and family the best

[Arthur]

Very sad news...

I didn't know him but I worked with him when I engineered a couple shows for Sorta. Incredible musician. Here is a some comments from his roommate Danny Bails.

Date: Sep 4, 2007 7:04 AM
Subject: from danny
Body: there is no question; were he here right now, he would think this is totally fucking gay, and i would never hear the end of it.



i found out this morning at 7:00 that my best friend was probably dead. i got the call from his girlfriend as she was being taken to the police station to be interviewed, as she saw the coroner's van and a stretcher with a covered body being loaded into it as the cops drove her from the neighborhood. about an hour and a half later, she confirmed it. my brother, bandmate, roommate, and the closest friend i have ever known had been shot to death earlier at 4:07 a.m.

we've all read the updated story in the dallas morning news, and it seems pretty accurate, according to the play-by-play of events she gave me throughout the night. what we don't know is why he ended up at the next door neighbor's back door, banging and kicking it at 4:06. nor do we know why carter acted out with his girlfriend in a manner that i have never seen in my near-ten years of friendship with him.

this was not the carter albrecht i knew. the police report failed to mention that for the previous week, he and his girlfriend were trying quit smoking with the prescription drug, "chantix". they had both started the program at the same time, and had been on it for a week. monday was supposed to be their quit day. carter had not slept much the night before, and had consumed approximately five cocktails in a two hour period on sunday eve. this was not unusual, as carter had a very good tolerance for the drink. chantix does clearly state on the box that it's drowsy effects could be intensified by alcohol. the two also complained of having crazy, insane, almost horrific dreams that week. they jokingly referred to them as "chantix dreams" when comparing them. i later learned through a close friend that he had firsthand knowledge of two separate couples who had tried to quit smoking using chantix, and in each case, one spouse had tried to kill the other with no previous domestic conflct. one was successful, and many refer to this drug as a psychotic.

was it a combination of sleep deprivation, booze, and the stop-smoking pills that sent him off? it's the only explanation i can even think of. what was described to me sounded like a walking black out. in my years of knowing him, and all the girls he dated, i have never once heard of him getting abusive or physical with them. it was not his character. especially with the woman that i know for a fact he loved dearly. unfortunately, the morning news story paints him as a batterer to the casual reader that did not know him. this, he was undeniably not.

so why banging on the next door neighbor's back door? who knows. same waking black out state? confusion thinking he was knocking on his girlfriend's door? this we will never know. any other explanation just doesn't add up.

what i can tell you about carter is that he was the best musician i have ever played with. it may sound trite, but it was an honor to play music with him, create and record with him, laugh and joke with him, for the better part of the last ten years. he was a unique musician. i don't think enough people got to hear him. not only was he the backbone of sorta, playing keys and innovative guitar, he was my favorite solo artist/bandleader i've seen closely. if you got him, you got him. he was one of a kind. a dylan. an elliott smith. he had "it". that extra something that set him apart from basically everyone else. i often joked with him that no one would really appreciate him until he died. his soulful, yet punk voice...his genius lyrics that were probably above the heads of most. and his playing. wow. today, when dozens of musicians gathered at our house, trying to make sense of this mess, i said more than once that "the thing that's so wasteful about him being gone, is that he was better than all of us." if anyone was going to save music in the dallas scene, it was him.

he had many opportunities to go to new york, LA, and could have played sideman to anyone. but he chose to stay in dallas, where his family lived, his friends played, and his loyalty was rooted. he was a character-driven slave to honesty. and i learned alot about being truthful and up-front from him. you could hear it in his voice, his words, in the general way he carried himself. he was the real deal. most of the rest of us were just poseurs next to him.

he meant the world to me. i will never see him again on this earth, and i am heartbroken from it. i can't think about tomorrow because he is supposed to be there. he is supposed to be playing his piano in the dining room, or watching the rangers while eating some crap from a greenville fast-food place. we are supposed to talk about the goofy stuff that happened on the hardline that day. we are supposed to talk about books (usually a one-sided conversation with me on the short side) and the mavs and girls and music.

but my best friend isn't here anymore. and i honestly don't know what to do.


i guess the only thing left to do, is let everyone in on something you may not have known. carter was a very intelligent guy. smart as hell. borderline genius. so my final dig on my buddy is this...the last movie he watched was "snakes on a plane". well, to his credit, he didn't watch all of it. love you, buddy.

[OHMEGA]

I've taken chantix and it didn't turn me psychotic. It just made me restless. And when I did sleep I had vivid dreams. it really does the job of making you not want to smoke. Another person I spoke to, who has taken it, ending up bleeding from the eyes.

[Mr. Chow]

Originally Posted by JohnDenversHead

I've taken chantix and it didn't turn me psychotic. It just made me restless. And when I did sleep I had vivid dreams. it really does the job of making you not want to smoke. Another person I spoke to, who has taken it, ending up bleeding from the eyes.

I don't think Danny was making any excuses in regards to Carter's actions. I think he just wants to let people know that until the night in question, Carter never exhibited violent behavior to any women ESPECIALLY his girlfriends. As far as Chantix goes, who knows what it's effects will turn out to be, I know that bleeding from the eyes sounds like a pretty serious side effect form a serious drug.