Hasil Adkins RIP
DJ_NevilleC
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April 28, 2005Rockabilly pioneer found deadBy Rusty MarksStaff writerBoone County rockabilly pioneer and cult music icon Hasil Adkins was found dead at his home near Bull Creek on Tuesday. He was 68.Boone County Sheriff???s Deputy J.M. Thompson said friends discovered Adkins??? body.???They had talked to him about 4:30 Monday afternoon, and they told him they???d be by on Tuesday,??? Thompson said. When they knocked on the door, Adkins didn???t answer, so they went inside to check on the performer, who lived alone.- advertisement -Marshall University OnlineThompson said Adkins??? body was sent to the state Medical Examiner???s Office, but that he appeared to have died of natural causes.Adkins cut some minor rockabilly records in the 1960s, but had little artistic success until he was discovered by music cultists in the 1980s. During his lifetime, he recorded thousands of scratchy, low-fidelity records on a primitive reel-to-reel tape recorder in his living room. Many of his tunes, virtually devoid of melody, were accompanied by Adkins??? frenetic guitar wailing and drum-pounding. He sent them to everyone ??? including President Richard Nixon ??? in an attempt to make the big time.???One thing about Hasil???s reel-to-reel tapes: They???ll have Cheese-Whiz and crumbs and dirt on them, so you have to run them through once to transfer ???em, then put the originals away,??? Billy Miller, whose Norton Records released much of Adkins??? music, once said.Adkins was playing by the age of 10. Convinced that Hank Williams played all the instruments on his recordings and sang at the same time, Adkins taught himself to simultaneously play drums, guitar or other instruments while he screeched his high-pitched vocals.Adkins attracted a huge national and international cult following of fans fascinated with his primitive, highly emotional style. He toured the country extensively, and it was not uncommon for fans to travel from Europe just to watch his antics.Adkins was frequently too drunk to perform, but often did anyway. Legend has it the singer was annoyed by a ceiling fan while trying to play at a club in New York. Without missing a beat, he allegedly pulled out a pistol and shot the offending fan to the ground.???He???s a wild man, but he is also a great musician,??? Miller said. ???A lot of people think he???s just bashing away because he goes way out of tune when he plays, but he actually has perfect pitch. He???ll break a string in a show and replace it with a piece of fishing wire lying in the parking lot ??? he might come home and have some fishing line, a banjo string, some wire that was wrapped around a barrel [six wires, none of which are guitar strings] but they???re all tuned perfectly.???To contact staff writer Rusty Marks, use e-mail or call 348-1215. 
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"I didn't try to be primitive," he once said. "I just had bad microphones."