dirty-mall-bum writes: Dave Grant, bassist for The Guano Boys and The Freewill Savages (amongst many other bands) died in a tragic accident on Tuesday, March 5, 2002. I’m stricken beyond words, and the thoughts and wishes of the Cville music community go out to his family. Music lost a jewel on Tuesday.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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Reed Williams has a story about Dave in today’s Daily Progress.
Here it is. This is such a sad story.
By the way, Waldo, do you have a problem with people posting entire stories like this, like for bandwidth reasons or something? It seems like the best available way to let people read Progress stories, short of assasinating whomever at Media General refuses to pay for a real web site.
By REED WILLIAMS
Daily Progress staff writer
Guano Boys bass player and local radio host David Grant was remembered Wednesday as a gifted and versatile musician, a kind and gregarious lover of life.
“He was definitely a musician,” said Charlie Pastorfield, a long-time friend of Grant’s who plays guitar for Alligator and Big Circle and bass for Skip Castro Band. “That extended all the way into his personality. He sort of had a pirate quality in him. He really liked being alive.”
Grant, 46, died Tuesday while working on a construction site in Buckingham County. He was testing soil in a six-foot-deep hole, probably crouching and recording information, when a bulldozer driver who thought the hole was empty began filling it, State Police said.
“He was literally buried alive,” Trooper Danny Williams said. “By the time they got to him, he had already suffocated.”
When the bulldozer operator, who police said worked for Palmyra-based Scott’s Backhoe Service, noticed a rod sticking out of the dirt, he began suspecting something was wrong and ran to consult someone on the soil-testing team, Williams said. By the time they returned, 15 minutes had passed.
The workers tried digging. Then someone ran for a shovel. Next, they dug a trench and, after another 15 or 20 minutes, removed Grant’s body, Williams said.
Officials from Scott’s Backhoe could not be reached Wednesday.
Friends said Grant loved everything about nature, from trees to soil. He liked all types of music and has played with several local bands and, occasionally, with musicians from other countries.
Pastorfield called him a “have gun will travel stand-up bassist” whose “name had gotten around, [someone who was] able to play almost anything. He listened to everything, so he could play everything.”
“He’s just a guy who was wide awake and very much alive,” Pastorfield added.
Ryan Hughes, a part-time member of Guano Boys, said: “He was, in my opinion, the best bass player in town. He was probably the most humble, but the best.”
It was unclear Wednesday how Grant’s death would affect the future of Guano Boys, which plays Caribbean and reggae music. The band’s lead singer, Chris Leva, could not be reached for comment.
Grant also was co-host of a world music show called “Radio Tropicale” on the University of Virginia’s station, WTJU-91.1 FM.
The station’s general manager, Chuck Taylor described Grant as a “very laid back person, very friendly.”
Grant is survived by his wife Darlene Crawford and son, 11-year-old Ryan Grant.
By the way, Waldo, do you have a problem with people posting entire stories like this, like for bandwidth reasons or something? It seems like the best available way to let people read Progress stories, short of assasinating whomever at Media General refuses to pay for a real web site.
I do only in that it’s a violation of Media General’s copyright. Because I have no control over what people post, I bear no legal responsibility for that copyright violation, but I must still discourage it, as helpful as it is when those articles are posted. Perhaps I should ask Media General for blanket permission to reproduce their articles, but I have a strong feeling that won’t go over so well.
You’ll be lucky if they even reply. Or unlucky, as it were.