Obituaries: Deja Voodoo Garage Rocker Tony Dewald, Canadian Screen Composer Harry Forbes

Tony (Antoni Robert) Dewald, drummer in '80s Montreal garage-rock duo Deja Voodoo and co-owner of the Og Music record label, died on Aug. 29, of cancer. His struggle with cancer was documented in this story. Dewald's age has not been reported.

Dewald and guitarist-vocalist Gerard van Herk formed Deja Voodoo in Montreal in 1981, premiering a style that fused rockabilly, punk and rock ‘n roll and was dubbed ‘sludgeabilly.’ Van Herk's guitar only had the top four strings and Dewald's drum kit had no cymbals, leading to a distinctive low-treble rock sound.

After creating a buzz locally, Deja Voodoo started getting noticed nationally when the pair launching their independent record label, Og Records, in 1982 with a second pressing of their debut single “Monsters in My Garage,” followed by a debut cassette, Gumbo. A second album, 1984’s Cemetery, out on vinyl, boosted their national popularity.

Og soon became an important label, especially via its compilation series, It Came From Canada. Five volumes were released between 1985 and 1989, featuring such notable and like-minded artists as Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, Cowboy Junkies, U.I.C., Chris Houston, Ray Condo, Condition, Shadowy Men From A Shadowy Planet, The Ten Commandments,Terminal Sunglasses, The Gruesomes and many more. Over its seven-year run, Og Music released 29 albums, the last of which was a recording of a Deja Voodoo performance in Finland.

In conjunction with running the label, Dewald and van Herk toured Deja Voodoo extensively across Canada, plus forays into the U.S. and Europe. They also produced popular indoor events each December, called Voodoo BBQ's. The last one of those, held in Toronto in 2008, served as a reunion show.

The band got airplay on college radio and CBC’s Brave New Waves program, but wider commercial success eluded them. Earlier this year, Dewald and van Herk signed a contract for the vinyl reissue of the first five Deja Voodoo albums, to come out on Return to Analog records.

In 1990, the pair decided to fold both Deja Voodoo and Og Records, moving into other careers with distinction. Dewald became a craft brewer on the West Coast, achieving new success in that field. Last year, he was the recipient of the inaugural John Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for Brewing Excellence. van Herk went on to become a university linguistics professor, retiring in 2019.

Dewald was very popular amongst his musical peers, as was reflected in the social media tributes posted as news of his passing spread.

On the Deja Voodoo Facebook page, Gerard van Herk posted this: "Tony died yesterday, peacefully, at home. He was a good drummer and a good friend, and I'll miss him."

On Facebook, Montreal punk veterans Ripcordz posted that "The Canadian Punk Scene has lost a giant.The first local show I ever saw that wasn't in a basement or someone's practice space was the launch of Deja Voodoo's first single, 'Monsters in My Garage' at the club that would soon be renamed Foufounes Electriques.

"It was an eye-opening experience. Gerard was at the front with his four-string guitar and the voice that gave the band their signature 'sludgeabilly' sound. But just as important in the back was Tony Dewald on drums. Just drums. No cymbals. They weren't needed. And while he didn't have a microphone, every once in a while he would scream to punctuate the jungle beat, and we'd hear him every time. Tony added the intensity"

"I left with a signed copy of the single and a new resolve to get Ripcordz out of the basement and into more clubs.It's hard to explain how important Deja Voodoo was to the Montreal Scene in the '80s. They released dozens of garage/punk/underground albums on their label OG Records (including the first Ripcordz LP). And they played so many shows with so many bands, including their annual Deja Voodoo Barbecues which offered up a chance for bands to network and play to a new audience

"More than that, DV always seemed to be on the road, across Canada and beyond. It showed us all that it was possible to tour and find audiences outside the safe confines of Montreal. After DV broke up, Tony found himself in a good place -- instead of just drinking beer, he started making it. He became a successful brewmeister in Toronto and Montreal before settling down in B.C. Thanks so much for all you did for the Scene and for setting Ripcordz up on our Punk Rock journey. You will be missed but you will never be forgotten. R.I.P."

On their Facebook page, Sons Of The Desert posted that "Deja Voodoo were total Rock Stars to us. When we got to play with them, we were over the moon! Being on one of the It came From Canada compilations was an honour. They were smart and funny and dedicated real goddamn pioneers!! The hearse..The using greyhound to tour. True punk rock ethos top to bottom. Tony was one of the greatest drummers ever. Not in that technical perfection way..In the taking an instrument and turning it to something primitive, raw and beautiful and honest. The conviction was the magic. The focus, the aggression, the drooling, all authentic. They both inspired all of us and thousands more all over the world. RIP Tony.Xoxo"

John Kastner, a fellow Montreal rocker and frontman of The Doughboys ad The Asexuals (who released an album on Og) added this on Facebook: "This makes me sad. Deja Voodoo played a big part in my Montreal everything…Tony was a great guy and a very cool and inventive drummer. RIP Brother."

Journalist/Deja Voodoo fan Colin McClelland offers this tribute to Billboard Canada: "Tony played a stripped down drum set of a couple of pieces, pounding away like a maniac on stage with snarls. whoops and crazy eyes to counterpoint Gerard's more deadpan vocal delivery and fuzzy garage rock guitar.

"Theirs was a unique blend of rockabilly and sludge blues filtered through a Cramps-like B-movie horror fixation. They were a must-see on the '80s Montreal circuit, with a hardcore following for their own sets around town and opening for more established visitors at times, like a set I recall early on the bill for L'Etranger and Violent Femmes at a roller rink. In person, Tony was a sweet guy, whose stage-act bluster quickly gave way to a quiet but funny persona."

Montreal musician Patrick Hutchinson noted on Facebook that "Tony's drumming was the perfect foil for Gerard's guitar. Not only did they unleash Sludgeabilly on an unsuspecting world, but they also blazed a DIY trail across Canada and beyond, a blueprint for other young independent bands in the '80s."

Ontario rocker Dave Dysart posted this on Facebook: "Deja Voodoo. Love the band, love the label Og Records and more. Our bands UIC and the Supreme Bagg Team were and are family."

Harry Gordon Forbes, a Canadian screen composer and musician, died on Aug. 22, at age 80.

A death notice on Necrology noted that "From an early age, Harry Forbes' life was centred around music. He never missed the broadcasts of legendary rock, blues and jazz aficionado Bill Coull at Edmonton CKUA who influenced many budding musicians. Forbes attended Berklee College of Contemporary Music in Boston, Mass., graduating in 1965.

"From there he moved to New York City where he studied composition privately and sang in the choir performing the Messiah at Carnegie Hall. He then made his way to Toronto in 1968 and set up a freelance music production studio, Music For Media. It was in Toronto where he attended a groundbreaking electronic music course at York University, which inspired some of his greatest works.

"Forbes commercial success was driven by his original compositions, from catchy advertising jingles, to music for TV shows such as the memorable theme song 'Magic Shadows' for Elwy Yost’s popular weekday TVO program which aired throughout the '70s and '80s. In contrast, he also composed the score based on Margaret Atwood’s book The Edible Woman, and the edgy soundtrack perfectly tuned to futurist Alvin Toffler’s digital revolution documentary The Third Wave.

As reported by IMDB, other Forbes credits as a composer included the 1989 TV series How Do You Do? and 1988's 16-episide series Origins: A History of Canada.

The Retrontario site called Forbes "an amazing musician and synth enthusiast who served as an in-house TVOntario artist on many programs. He recorded the haunting theme song for Elwy Yost's 'Magic Shadows,' and another classic Forbes theme, 'Bits and Bytes,' nods to Kraftwerk. Many of Forbes industrial instrumentals have found acclaim in Europe and several compositions have appeared on recent collections of early library electronica. He also appeared on an early '80s series of TV library music entitled New Technology from Parry Music."

International

Fatman Scoop (born Isaac Freeman III), a New York rapper, hypeman and radio and TV personality, died onstage during an Aug. 30 concert in Connecticut , at age 53. No cause of death was provided.

In its obituary, Billboard reported that "Freeman gained prominence with his 1999 club favorite “Be Faithful,” featuring the Crooklyn Clan. His other musical accomplishments include a feature on Mariah Carey’s 2005 song “It’s Like That,” which reached No. 16 on the Hot 100. Over the years, he would appear on tracks by Skrillex (“Recess”), David Guetta (“Love Is Back”) and Ciara (“Level Up” remix), among many others.

Hip-hop peers paying tribute on social media included Missy Elliott (Scoop featured on her 2005 hit “Lose Control” alongside Ciara), Questlove, Ciara and Ludacris. On Instagram, Questlove posted: " “I want to thank FATMAN SCOOP for being an embodiment of what hip-hop was truly about. To just forget about your troubles and live in the moment and allow joy in. So sad to see you go my brother. You will be missed but you will NEVER be forgotten.”

Steve Silberman, a journalist, best-selling author and renowned authority on The Grateful Dead, died on Aug. 28, at age 66.

He was a writer for Wired magazine and was an editor and contributor there for more than two decades. In 2010, Silberman was awarded the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for Magazine Writing. His featured article, known as "The Placebo Problem," discussed the impact of placebos on the pharmaceutical industry.

Silberman's 2015 book Neurotribes, which discusses the autism rights and neurodiversity movements, was awarded the Samuel Johnson Prize. Additionally, Silberman's Wired article "The Geek Syndrome," which focused on autism in Silicon Valley, has been referenced by many sources and has been described as a culturally significant article for the autism community.

In 2016, he gave the keynote address at the United Nations on World Autism Awareness Day.

Silberman studied psychology at Oberlin, then received a master's degree in English literature from Berkeley. He would later write extensively about the Grateful Dead, after attended his first concert of the band at Watkins Glenn in 1973. He befriended David Crosby, with whom he hosted a podcast. Silberman had a stint as a teaching assistant for Allen Ginsberg, and he often wrote about The Beat Generation.

The JamBase website posted a Facebook tribute that reads in part: "The JamBase Team is shocked and devastated to learn that Steve Silberman has died. We are proud to call Steve a friend and contributor. There was no one else like him, and his joy and pride in everything he did were infectious. ⁠⁠

"He was a renowned author and journalist who co-wrote the book Skeleton Key – A Dictionary for Deadheads, which is an encyclopedia of information related to the Grateful Dead. It was also a bible of sorts for members of our editorial team as they first became fans of the Grateful Dead, Phish and others."