MOGWAI

This is one of Chris’ favourite Mogwai tracks, New paths to Helicon pt. 1.

The musicians are: Marc Rimmer, Scott Monroe, (guitars) Matt Flegel on bass, our dad Tim Reimer on drums, and Myke Atkinson.

New paths to Helicon pt. 1

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I am sad to hear of Calgary guitarist Chris Reimer’s passing. We just shared a stage on the 8th of February this year where he saved my opening set that night lending me a missing power supply and cable, reassuring me that he was, “happy to help”. He performed solo electric guitar which shined with beauty; I remember feeling like I was in church or in a spiritual ritual hearing bells of cosmic light that filled my soul. Reimer will probably be best remembered as guitarist for the Calgary band Women but I think this set in particular deserves some introspection and meditation – it shines with beauty.

Recorded by Brad Hawkins, February 8th, 2012 at Weeds Cafe, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Listen to mp3.

Thanks, guys.

-N.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

-Robert Frost, 1923

From S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders 

Johnny: It’s like the mist is what’s pretty, ya know? All gold and silver.

Ponyboy: Hmm

Johnny: Too bad it can’t stay like that all the time.

Ponyboy: Nothing gold can stay.

 —-

Johnny’s last lines to Ponyboy: Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.

Logan Kroeber

WE LOVE YOU CHRIS

]]> http://ampoda.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/show-review-noise-pop-20th-anniversary-show-the-dodos-at-the-great-american-music-hall/ Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:22:24 +0000 Annelise http://ampoda.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/show-review-noise-pop-20th-anniversary-show-the-dodos-at-the-great-american-music-hall/ http://cjjrblog.com/2012/03/06/benjamin-middleton/ Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:03:00 +0000 Nikki Reimer http://cjjrblog.com/2012/03/06/benjamin-middleton/ Hi Nikki,

I knew Chris in a very general sort of way, mostly acquainted through mutual friends and from going to shows etc. We spoke only a handful of times; I always had a “bro crush” on Chris and wanted to pick his brain about pedals or talk about deerhoof records…

I was lucky enough to see him perform very intimately, quite literally in my kitchen for what must have been a very early “Women” gig and one of the last shows “Azeda Booth” shows as a sextet…. quintet if memory serves Marc wasn’t present.

Even though I wasn’t close with him, Chris had this “sunshine prince” quality that made you feel like you had been pals your whole life when you were around him….everyone already has said so many wonderful truths about him, much better than I ever could.

My wife Carole Mathys was great enough to find some pictures from when Chris played our house the last time in…2008? 2009? They aren’t the best quality so she also made a small drawing of Chris… here is a picture of it.

Sending so much love and really missing “Palgary”

-Ben Middleton and Carole Mathys

Chris attracted the best people, and this last week in Calgary has been amazing.  Thank you Nikki, and your whole family.  Chris loved his family in a way that is uncommon, and you guys meant so much to him.

Lots of love,
RS

C Reims Small

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TheWipers

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Robert DiNinno
I don’t really know what to say about Chris that hasn’t already been said. He was an amazing musician and an even better friend. I met Chris 5 years ago and in that short time he managed to make a pretty big impression on my life. He was among the most humble of men, never too concerned about himself and always ready to lend a hand and help out with anything. He was always in a good mood and always had something ready to add to any conversation. Chris was, is, and always will be an inspiration to me in both music and life and he will be missed.

Thomas DiNinno
I really looked up to Chris. He was an amazing person, an amazing musician, and an amazing friend. It is rare that you meet such a genuine person and I will forever love and miss him. He has inspired and encouraged me to execute some of the proudest accomplishments in my life. Having the privilege to make music with him was mind-blowing, to say the least… a truly inspirational person, a personal hero of mine, and a great friend… never a dull moment. I really can’t explain how much I will miss chris. Chris you make me strive to be a better musician and a better person…love you man.

Fast Forward Weekly writers pay tribute to deceased Women guitarist
Published March 1, 2012  by Fast Forward Weekly writers in Music Features

My name is (william) James (J.J.) Mathison — people tend to decide what name I go by…  Chris called me Jimmy.  I like that.

I have been punishing my soft little brain for days to find the right words to express my sorrow to you and your family, to all friends of Chris, to myself.  Mostly I have been drinking;  trying to make some sense of it all.  We did a lot of that together, Chris and I.

We didn’t rely on finding the right words too much when we were together.  No doubt Chris had them there, somewhere in that sad-brilliant mind of his.

We drove around.  We were fucking hilarious.  Everybody knows Chris was fucking hilarious.

We hugged a lot.

Smart people tend to be intuitively unhapppy.  Chris was un-happy a great deal when I knew him best.  This made sense to me.

Stupid-happy people are boring.  Sad-smart people are interesting.  Chris was really goddamn interesting.  I think we bonded.

(in case you’re wondering:  sad-stupid people need to just cheer the fuck up already.)

I should say “back in the day,” or “when I lived in Calgary,” or “before he was famous” to place my time with your brother in perspective for those who might not know…

I met Chris back in the day when I lived in Calgary, before he was famous — well, I guess he was Veritas famous.  Those guys were amazing.  I was banging on drums in a two-piece called The Means and we got put on a bill together.  The rest is mektoub.

It is a point of grief for me that I left Calgary when I did; that I didn’t get to spend more time with Chris…  hindsight can be a real dick.  I last saw him two christmases ago at James & Becca’s.  It was getting on in the evening.  I had had, oh, one or two drinks as I recall…  the room was starting to spin and then suddenly there were Chris and Rena, making an appearance.  I hugged him.  For a long time.  I fucking love this guy.

Chris was and continues to be one of those musicians that makes me feel like I can’t play for shit.  In a good way, I think.  The man was a musigician.  We all know that.  Every once in a while he would take a break from his genius, come over to my apartment and play on my level.  I had an 8-track recorder.  It’s gone now, but some things remain.

When I heard the news of Chris’ passing I didn’t know what to do.  I listened to everything I had that he had anything to do with.  Mix tapes made me cry.

I recorded a “song” that Chris and I wrote in one night in 2005 (or 2006?) after driving around laughing being smart drinking and hugging.  It was written in a snap, you know, for something to do together.  That’s Chris playing the rhodes at the beginning.

I wanted to share just one more thing marked by Chris’ talent that you haven’t heard.  I hear there is a lot of it out there.

Thanks for listening.

-Jimmy

a song chris and i wrote in 2005

OK, so last Tuesday Christopher Reimer from the band Women and a whole host of other bands (see post below) died in his sleep. Usually when musicians die, the reaction ranges from over-exaggerated eulogising to tasteless humour, and I have been a part of both those camps myself. However, when someone you truly admired and respected dies you get that feeling of genuine remorse and sadness for a dude you never even met, you just listened to his music and yet the feeling is still there, thats how much of an affect Women’s music and Chris’ other work had on me. Usually we hit you up with all manner of free downloads and underground links, this time I’m posting up only opportunities for paid purchase of material. Paradoxically, the only time a guy catches a break from his intellectual property rights being raped and pillaged is when he is no longer around to benefit from it. If you can, seriously buy Public Strain, it was one of the best albums of the last two years and remains one of the best records I have ever heard.

Jagjaguwar Artist Page: Women

Remembrance Page

Best article I have read about all this: National Post

photo cred | Flemish Eye

[Reimer - second from right]

I was devastated when I heard that 26-year old Christopher Reimer, a guitarist for one of my favorite bands The Dodos and Women, passed away yesterday. Reimer was a fantastic guitar player and his work with the band over the last year will never be forgotten. As reported by the Calgary Herald, Reimer passed away in his sleep.

In memory of Christopher Reimer, today’s Song of the Day is one of my favorites –  ”When Will You Go ” by The Dodos.

[Source]

Handout

By Mike Bell

The immediate outpouring of grief for Calgary musician Christopher Reimer upon news of his sudden death Tuesday was as overwhelming as it was telling.

From social media sites to music blogs to personal conversations, family, friends and fans from all of the world began to share their memories and pay their respects to the 26-year-old, who affected their lives, either personally or with the incredibly rich musical legacy he left behind with his work in such acts as Women and Azeda Booth.

“It’s incredible to see,” says a still shaken Ian Russell, friend of the late guitarist as well as the man behind Calgary-based Flemish Eye record label, which released Women’s two critically acclaimed noise pop albums in Canada.

[np-related]

“I knew that Chris had touched a great deal of people but it definitely made it clear.”

Reimer passed away in his sleep Tuesday, the cause of his death unknown, but, according to Russell, the musician suffered from heart arrhythmia, which was diagnosed last year, as well as sleep apnea.

Memorial services have yet to be finalized, but an impromptu one was set to be held Wednesday night at Broken City, where members of the Calgary music community were to gather, mourn, remember and, possibly, make some music. Russell also says a more organized musical celebration of Reimer’s life will also take place in the near future.

As for a lasting memorial to the artist, his family is planning on setting up a music bursary and his sister, Nikki, has started a blog (christopherjohnjosephreimer.com), where others are encouraged to post photos, and share their memories and thoughts about the man and his infinite talents.

Of those, Russell has many, having known Reimer for almost a decade, when he performed in Red Deer on a bill with the band Veritas, a high school precursor to Women — the four members had met in Grade 6 and had been playing music with each other ever since.

“That was the first I’d ever seen or heard of them and I was totally blown away. They also showed up with a trunk completely filled with beer,” Russell says with a laugh, “I thought, ‘I like these guys.’”

Over the years, he got to know and like Reimer even more, on a professional level, having released Women’s 2008 self-titled debut and 2010’s Public Strain, which earned them global acclaim, thanks to distribution through the American label Jagjaguwar, and incessant touring before the band went on indefinite hiatus a year and a half ago. And more importantly, privately, hanging around and jamming together. “It took a long time,” Russell admits. “He was a hard nut in a lot of ways.”

Now, though, he remembers his friend as “a generous spirit” with an incredible sense of humour, especially when with the three other members of the band — brothers Patrick and Matt Flegel and Michael Wallace.

“He was really generous and accepting of other people,” Russell says. “And totally without pretence — he had no pretension at all. That was such a key thing about him.”

The acceptance of others, though, wasn’t something he apparently extended to himself and his own art, as Russell says Reimer was notoriously judgmental of his own work, despite his stunning skills, which recently, were harnessed by San Francisco band the Dodos and Neko Case for touring purposes, as well as for his own solo work.

“He was always so harshly critical about himself,” he says, noting that Reimer had amassed a wealth of experimental compositions and recordings, which he deemed unworthy of putting out to the world. “And we all kind of pushed him to send it to other labels and release it. He never did during his lifetime but I think a lot of that is going to have a lifetime afterwards. There are at least a couple of albums of his drone material that will see the light of day.”

Chad Van Gaalen, for one, is hoping it does. The Calgary musician produced both Women albums and toured with the band on numerous occasions, and not only considered Reimer a friend but also an influence on his own work.

“He definitely pushed me as an artist,” says Van Gaalen, who also was still stunned by the tragedy. “He inspired me. . . . We definitely fed off of each other as far finding sounds — he was definitely hungry for the same things. But he managed to translate them a lot better than I ever could. And that was always something that I admired about him, that he always managed to find beautiful things with not very much stuff. That’s true of any real artist is that they can break something down into a really simple form and find the beauty in it.”

He remembers Reimer casually sharing with him a 45-minute-long drone symphony that blew Van Gaalen away and, while discussing their similar approaches and thoughts on music, just being able to “geek out with on stupid ways to find stupid sounds.”

But, with the news so fresh, he also recalls, like Russell, someone who had been a big part of his life over the past decade, someone who had been to his house on countless occasions, someone who had been around for the birth of Van Gaalen’s two children, someone who was caring and giving and, again, someone with an incredibly quick wit.

“He was the ultimate jacka—, just like full joker,” Van Gaalen says, noting he’d last seen Reimer a month ago when they’d gone out for dinner. “He was also one of the easiest people to hang out with, super smart, whatever you wanted to talk about.”

And Van Gaalen hopes those things are as celebrated as Reimer’s talents, and that those things don’t get entirely lost in the outpouring of grief that his sudden passing has deservedly brought.

“It’s hard to have a sense of humour about it, but I just feel like if he was here right now, he’d be like, ‘Dude (lighten up).’ He’d definitely appreciate the sadness but I’m just trying to feel not too crazy about it. . . . He was totally like the (Andy) Kaufman of the bunch, you know what I mean? So he wouldn’t want me to be taking it this seriously in this kind of way.”

Van Gallen pauses. “But it’s hard not to.”

Postmedia News

Women released two albums: Women in 2008 and Public Strain in 2010. In late 2010, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. In 2011, Reimer performed as a touring member of the Dodos.

The cause of Reimer’s passing as well as funeral arrangements have not been announced yet.

Read more and see video of Women performing with Reimer at CH.

Right here.

This is a huge loss. Women’s music was (and still is) truly phenomenal. Just listening to their music..it’s obvious that they had something over most bands around. Of course, they’re another fantastic band from Canada.

You never know what to say when something like this happens. You feel stupid because you’re upset over the passing over someone you’ve never met. But, you still feel the loss..and you just don’t know what to say. I have no idea what to say at all. It won’t bring him back, it won’t change a thing.

All I can say is, Rest In Peace Christopher. You’re going to be so fucking missed.

“ …they won’t grow again. Led to final peace and this diluted stream. They don’t break for them.”       

yvynyl:

Wow, this is terrible news.  RIP Christopher Reimer of Women.

poptarts:

Rest in Peace dude! Thanks for rocking my ass off!

Handout

The Calgary music scene was in mourning Tuesday with news that Christopher Reimer, guitarist for local noise-pop band Women, passed away in his sleep. He was 26.

Women, who had released two albums to great acclaim, had been on indefinite hiatus for more than a year since the release of their last album, Public Strain.

The group had toured the world and performed with acts ranging from Mogwai to Wire.

The cause of Reimer’s passing as well as funeral arrangements have not been announced yet. A memorial website to the singer has been created by his sister, Nikki Reimer.