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Widespread Panic's Guitarist Dies
After months of rumors about his ill health, Houser announced in July that he was skipping the band's summer tour because he was battling terminal cancer. "I want to assure all of you that all that can be done has been done, and I want to thank all of you who have contributed information, medicine and so on," he said in a brief message on the band's Website. "I have hopes of playing again soon, although I can't say for sure when or where, and I hope to see you all there."
According to widespreadpanic.com, Houser died Saturday in his native Georgia. "In this very sad time," his bandmates write, "we encourage you to gather with your Panic families in your hometown and celebrate Michael Houser's life on Monday.
"Our hearts are with you as we know that your thoughts and prayers are with us."
Arising from the fertile Athens, Georgia, scene (stomping ground of R.E.M., the B-52s and Indigo Girls, among others), Panic took the rootsy Southern rock of the Allman Brothers and filtered it through the latter-day jam-band sensibility of Phish and Blues Traveler.
Houser and vocalist John Bell first hooked up in 1982, when both were attending the University of Georgia. Joined by bassist Dave Schools, Panic released its first single, "Coconut Image," in 1986. The final lineup--Houser, Bell, Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo Ortiz and keyboardist John "JoJo" Herman--came together shortly thereafter, and the band released its debut disc, Space Wrangler, on the indie label Landslide in 1988.
Despite a rabid local following, Panic didn't receive major national exposure until the early 1990s, after moving to the bigger Capricorn Records and playing on the inaugural H.O.R.D.E. fests in '92 and '93. The band released seven albums in the '90s, among them 1994's Ain't Life Grand, which included two of Panic's biggest radio hits, "Airplane" and "Can't Get High." Other key releases included Everyday (1993), Light Fuse, Get Away (1998) and 'Til the Medicine Takes (1999). Billing themselves as Brute, the band, joined in the studio by Vic Chesnutt, recorded and released Nine High a Pallet in 1995.
Their most recent releases were 2000's Another Joyous Occasion and 2001's Don't Tell the Band. In June, the prolific Panic released the concert album Live in the Classic City, featuring some of the band's best known tunes like "Chilly Water" and "Walkin'." Other notable Panic tracks include "All Time Low," "Makes Sense to Me" and "Ain't Life Grand"
At Houser's urging, Widespread Panic embarked on its summer tour in June without him, but there's no immediate word on how Houser's death will impact the band's future. Panic is slated to play two shows this weekend in Denver.
Houser is survived by his wife, Barbette, and son, Waker. The family has asked that fans make contributions to the Michael Houser Music Fund at Athens Academy.
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