Short life but lived so fully

~Shared by Jordi Herold~

This hit like a ton of bricks. So young and so much good work.

Like many I went back to the 80’s with Chip when he was still at Good Music. I was buying from him from the moment he started at Monterey. And  we connected immediately over photography– his and others. I own one of his prints that I like to think I did him the honor of buying from his gallery. Chip had used the image I bought (Pines in Fog) for a gallery  invite  and sent me 100 blank note cards and envelopes of the same in recognition. In  a spooky turn I used them for every condolence card I sent for 20 years. He sourced an Edward Weston print for me from the Weston Gallery which also represented him and sent back the first one they offered him because it was not up to his technical standards. When you are Chip you get to do that.

He talked to me at length when vetting Phish before signing them  and signed Strangefolk at a Somerville show of mine. But for all the Jam bands, for all the  Melissa Etheridge/Bonnie Raitt/Lyle whatever , the standout was our bonding over (Dan Wilson’s pre Semisonic) Trip Shakespeare. He wanted me to take a chance on them –and on him I suppose– in 1990ish. They did multiple shows at the Iron Horse and then I flew to Minneapolis where Chip and the band hosted us at the Caboose. That more than anything led to 15 years of a good relationship in which he treated me to Four Seasons at SXSW and I took him  to TJ Buckley’s in Brattleboro. I remember that night because I had 102º fever but amped myself up for Dinner with Chip.

I hadn’t talked to him in years… he called me out of the blue about 5 years ago when his son Max was looking at schools and he was coming to MA/CT looking for cool upscale boutique hotels… I sent him to the Wheatleigh in Lenox (in the process spending  the better part of an hour on hold while he feathered in other calls.) It actually made me chuckle that talking ‘personally’ still got the same phone juggle as booking! By then I was years out of the Music Business… And that was the last. Funny how you just never really know what those last moments will be.

Short life but lived so fully.