It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear friend and beloved musician, James Carr. We are bereft, but can take some comfort in knowing that he is free of the pain and illness that plagued him in his later years.
James was born in New York, but his musical travels took him all over the country. Some of his most cherished times were spent playing with other musicians in the Ocala Forest in Florida, down in “the Slabs” in SoCal, in Mendocino County, and ultimately here in Eureka.
He found his community here at the (now closed) Has Beans Coffee Shop on Second St. He and a wide group of friends would meet there almost every day at 5:00pm, sometimes earlier, for conversation about everything under the sun, and lots and lots of laughter. It was an eclectic group of musicians, artists, poets, known for Bob Huck’s “bonehead dissertations”, the “permanent floating cribbage game”, and for James’ incredible store of knowledge and mad sense of humor. The group would spill over outside for impromptu musical jam sessions seated in the brick planters by the coffee shop, or across the street to the “Sunnyside” of Bob’s porch. Saturday night was OpenMic at the Bean, with James and his group opening the show with a medley of Bluegrass, Gospel, and Old Time music. The place would be packed to overflowing with players and listeners.
James and his friends, and whoever else wandered by, would play on the street, by the bay, at the new OpenMic at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates, for special celebrations and local events. His life was music. And poetry. Painting. A gifted writer, his essays and poetry were biting, not flowery, but full of hard truths and raw beauty. They were also free-flowing, spilling from his mind onto paper in completed form.
He was a good man, if not an easy one. He wasn’t impressed by the rich and powerful, but he cared deeply about life, about his friends, about the lost and forgotten.
There will be a celebration of life for James on Saturday, June 21, from 3:00 to 6:00, at the Eureka Woman’s Club, 1531 J St., in Eureka. Y’all please come!! Bring your stories, your musical instruments, and voices, or just your listening ears. We will have turkey and the trimmings to eat. If you can contribute a salad or dessert, it would be appreciated.
For more information, please call
707-834-8213.
This article appears in Wide Open.