Dear Mr. Wildcat,
Peter Stafford called this morning
to tell me about Seth’s death.
Your brother was a timeless friend of mine
and also to both of my children.
A very fine guy and by the age of 36
Seth was the creative force
in hundreds of Austin productions as a writer,
vocalist, world class bass player,
generous sound engineer and producer.
But I knew him mostly as a friend and lifetime teacher,
a quiet young man who taught me about musical structure
and courage because he had a lot of that.
Early on — Seth gave away a constant stream
of knowledge along with the rest of the band,
Peter Stafford, then Winston, Landis Armstrong
and finally, Joey Thompson.
The man made me better than I am
while providing guidance in the studio,
the kitchen and live microphones on the road.
He was central to the creation of my artistic character
in the ‘Not so Damn Bad’, ‘Maybe an Anne’,
and the ‘Panorama’.
Then there are so many other memories
like the night he brought a couple bottles
of NightTrain to the wood shop
for the ‘Rain Prayer Demo’.
And of course onstage where the language of sound
involves the meaning of everything —
you look to your right to find Seth playing
memorable bass lines with that great green bass
and his shirt is off and you got those nipple rings too.
Seth was a special friend.
So Mr. Jimmy Wildcat, I’ll miss Seth Gibbs
because I loved him as you do.
With great respect to you and yours,
Roy Ruth …