The Brad Houser Tribute at the Kessler Was a Night of Musical Healing

The Dallas music community suffered a major loss in July when bassist/multi-instrumentalist Brad Houser died of a stroke at age 62. A memorial was held last month in Austin, and Dallas' Kessler Theater hosted a tribute show to celebrate Houser's life last Friday night.

Houser, who began playing music in Dallas in the mid-1980s, helped found what was originally an instrumental band, the New Bohemians. Jeff Liles, the Kessler's artistic director and longtime friend of Houser, remembers his friend's dedication to the bass, recalling that he'd practice eight to 10 hours a day in the early days, before moving to Seattle to play even more challenging music.

"There aren't that many musicians that manage to make that kind of personal commitment to consistently, constantly getting better," Liles says. "A lot of people will get to a certain level and rest on the laurels. Brad did not do that, he was amazing."

Actor and singer Max Hartman says Houser had a big impact on the North Texas music scene.

"Brad's like the Yoda of Dallas music in a way: very wise, very thoughtful, very deep dude," Hartman says. "He was kind of a mentor to a ton of musicians." Singer/guitarist Scott Johnson echoes that sentiment.

"He had just this immense reach, almost more than anyone else in the city," Johnson says. "Jazz players to the punk rock players — he had such command of musicality, he was down for anything."

New Bohemians' first gig was opening for Bo Diddley. At this point, they didn't have a vocalist. A few shows in, Liles recalls, Edie Brickell was in the audience, and her friends persuaded her to down a shot and get on stage.

"The courage of one alcoholic beverage got her up on stage," Liles remembers.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Those early Club Dada shows were Deep Ellum's main hang at that time, and Edie and New Bos regularly pulled 750–800 people. A short time later they were signed to a major label, and the world discovered Brad Houser.
The tribute on Friday night started with a casual gathering on the Oak Cliff theater's back lawn. Friends took the mic to share Brad stories. After the event moved indoors, Kenny Withrow, guitarist for the New Bohemians, coordinated the live music and the setlist.

The night started with a heartfelt welcome from Houser's wife, Kirilola, followed by a few original songs performed by Dallas-born legend Craig Wallace.

After that, the New Bohemians started a set filled with guests. It was unclear whether Brickell, who was in London, would make the show, so the musicians rehearsed New Bo songs just in case.  Floramay Holliday kicked off the Bohemians' set with a tender performance. The New Bohemians had backed her on her soon-to-be released album, and she was a natural fit to lead the New Bohemians' set.

Houser took part in many musical projects, and one of them was with Austin singer Patrice Pike. When Pike came on stage on Friday, she sounded so close to Brickell's voice that people in the lobby ran in thinking Brickell was onstage.

As it turned out, Brickell had arrived and was watching from the balcony. She gave a standing ovation to Pike's fantastic performance. As expected, the only way to fill the huge void in the evening's bass playing was to have a bunch of great bassists fill in with the band. Clay Pendergrass, Bubba Hernandez and Mike Daane all took turns as well as Kirilola, who seemed right at home playing the New Bohemians' bass lines.

Brickell finally came down to the stage, where she was simply a joy to watch. She sang two songs, the first from the group's 2018 album Eyes in the Window. The second song was improvised, which was often the way shows went back in the Club Dada days.

After a break, Paul Slavens and Ten Hands ended the night with a true all-star jam.

If you'd like to help Brad Houser's wife, Kirilola, relocate back to her home in Japan, you can donate to GoFundMe.