Widespread Panic guitarist Mike Houser dead at 40
The band had only recently acknowledged the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that fans had known about for months. His last show was July 2, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
I’ve been to a few Panic shows, but the most memorable was the one I worked front-of-house security for in Lexington, when I was about six feet in front of Mike. He passed on the usual rock-star posturing in favor of a raised platform with a chair, no doubt fearing the back problems that would result from years and years of 3 1/2 hour shows. He rarely looked up from the guitar, and let his playing do all the talking.
For the uninitiated, WSP is a lot more of a straight-ahead rock band than most other neo-hippie bands (say, Phish, or String Cheese Incident). Their live disc Light Fuse Get Away is a great introduction.
Dr. J