Memories of Raccoon and Keeping His Music Alive

Was very surprised and sad to hear that Raccoon died last Saturday 9-23-06. You may have run into him and his guitar at a gathering. He was originally from Linden, VA and also lived in Cincinnati. The best tribute to Raccoon would be to keep his music alive. Maybe learn a Raccoon song and play it for all your friends. His cd's are available as well as some audio links at http://www.raccoonsongs.com/.

My Memories of Raccoon

Was he the Rainbow Family's best singer songwriter. I don't know. But I would have to argue that his songs captured the spirit and best intentions of the Rainbow Family as well as anyone. Even if his song "Rainbow Mountain" was written about his family's land near Linden Virginia it could have just as easily been about our forays into the national forest. And his song "Nature's Cathedrals" captures the essence of not just Rainbow but all communion with wild places as well as anything. Especially when he sings "To the mountains, to the valleys to rivers and streams, with a pocketful of spare change and a head full of dreams"


Its hard for me to really write an account of Raccoon's life because I only have a few bits and fragments that I managed to capture first in the late 1980's when I was a college student and Raccoon was a fixture on the local jam band circuit playing with Dead inspired bands in the DC area such as the Jello Boys. Then by chance I happened to reconnect with him in Washington in January 2006 where he had returned after spending many years in Cincinnati. But maybe those brief glimpses are all I really need. After all Raccoon was a traveler, a street musician, and hobo in the best sense of the word. His songs are as real as you can get and his guitar went everywhere.


In a way I guess you could say music was how Raccoon communicated with the world.
In the 80's all I had was a treasured demo tape called "Roadkill" that he gave me and autographed. It started with his signature "Harvest Day" which starts "How do you do my name's Raccoon, I came to sing you a song. I hope you got luck and listen close cuz tomorrow I may be gone". I finally got a cd from him 15 years later. But Raccoon played for the joy not for money. In "Angels Cry" he says "I wish my life was just a song. So I could give this song away". And he did give away plenty of music. He would sometimes call me from Washington's DuPont circle where he would be playing to anyone who cared to listen.


Raccoon's music was completely original. So its really hard to come up with a neat description. He played on some stages but I think he was most happy playing around a campfire. He seemed to love to tell a story about playing for a large crowd of "dharma bums" at a Rainbow Gathering in Oregon. "I was selling some cd's and this kid comes up to me and says, 'why are you selling Raccoon’s cd's?'. 'I am Raccoon', I said. 'No way Raccoon’s dead‘. Somehow I convinced him that I was Raccoon, and he went to find all of his friends. Pretty soon I had hundreds of people listening to me play." He also liked to talk about how people in Cincinnati would stop him on the street and start singing his song lyrics such as his signature song "Sandwiches".


The CD which he gave me in 2006 has songs that span many years. Some were on the demo tape he gave me in 1990. Others such as "Sparks" reflect a more modern feel, although they all stand up well. Only one is backed by a full band: "Yahweh Sunshine" recorded with the band Jello with whom Raccoon occasionally performed live.


Although I never got to know Raccoon as well as I would have liked. His music speaks volumes for anyone who cares to listen. And perhaps the best get to know him was simply to sit and listen to his songs and perhaps sing along to the Sandwich song or Yahweh Sunshine. And even though Raccoon was not a household name in the music world he touched and moved those of us who were blessed by his small intimate performances.

 

Hi Brad, saw your post on AGR too....

Raccoon is going to be very missed. He & JuJu go way back. we remember him showing up in Kansas City just in time to replace the opening act for the '97 Be-In reunion in Kansas City.

Anyone remember the rumor that Raccoon had a short video of 'Dumpster Diver' that was supposedly on HBO?

 

He played a lot of music for us last New Years eve around a fire in D.C. What a treat to have a personal concert. And of course we were dancing and singing along!! I hear he was also at WV gathering in 2005. I'm sure he played a lot of songs there too.

 

i never knew raccoon..

but my heart goes out to you for the loss of your friend.

 

Well if you want to know him, its not too late. All you have to do is get his CD. :}

 

Sorry to hear of Raccoon's passing. It sounds like he lived a joy-filled life, we should all be so lucky.

 

"God Bless America and the IGA! (International Garbologist Association)"

You'll be missed.