Ben Kweller's kid died

[Celery Man 20962]

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=775306077291485&set=a.267780358044062

From some other sources, it sounds like it was a car accident.

I don't think I've listened to a Ben Kweller album since his 2006 self-titled, but Sha Sha was in heavy rotation for me in high school as someone who likeds punk and folk and piano rock. I actually revisited that album a month or so ago and it's a bit like rereading Catcher in the Rye or The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but it did put me back in my '94 Sunfire with the paint scratched off of the steering wheel stereo controls. I've seen BK post about his son a bunch of times and he's... married to the same Lizzie he sings about on Sha Sha and  clearly is in love with his family, I'm just heartbroken for him.

Here's one of his songs - can definitely hear his dad in it.

 

[G650 14263]

I saw this on Sadler Vaden's IG. Very sad.

[jimmyjazz 45963]

Yeah, I don't know much about Ben's music, but I knew he lived in the area.  What a sad story.

[dcbc 14487]

That's tragic, no matter who you are. 

[4th&Five 41558]

Awful. I still listen to Sha Sha regularly too. The deluxe reissue actually comes out on the 10th. I had Ben on my SX list to see. 
 

News reports confirmed it was a car accident and that he was a member of the Dripping Springs band as well. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by 4th&Five

[Al_4_ISU 12464]

Man, that really sucks.  For some reason there's some thing extra shitty about a kid just ready to spread their wings, getting cut down.

 

I too wore Sha Sha out in high school.  "Wasted & Ready" blew my doors off.  That whole album fucking slams, really.  "I got a pet hedgehog/drinkin' Jager all day" still cracks me up.  It was like a way more fuzzed out version of Ben Folds for the oldest Millenials.

I kept up with his releases for awhile.  Didn't get into the S/T album much, but On My Way, Changing Horses, and Go Fly A Kite all have some bangers.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Al_4_ISU

[smuggs 9353]

Damn that's terrible.

Saw him at ACL years ago when his nose started bleeding and he jammed a tampon in his nostril that someone from the audience tossed up there. 

[Celery Man 20962]

28 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

"I got a pet hedgehog/drinkin' Jager all day" still cracks me up.  It was like a way more fuzzed out version of Ben Folds for the oldest Millenials.

that's exactly right

the tracks I think of when I remember that album are Wasted and Ready and Commerce, TX, but "Falling" came out one night when i was singing the kiddo to sleep and that is a great song. That's what brought me back to the album where I found myself remembering every lyric to songs like No Reason, In Other Words, and Lizzy.

 

I also remember the nosebleed ACL set. That had to have been like 2006.

[goodiemob 13]

Terrible.

I also haven't kept up with his music but it was on rotation in college

[DougO 5250]

This works better if you don't have spotify. 

 

 

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

Just devastating. 

Ben and Liz have been friends/clients of my wife for a number of years as they have trained at her fitness studio. The boys, especially Dorian, are a great mix of their parents. Just a well spoken, friendly kid that didn't know a stranger. He was good and respectful to EVERYONE. My wife is still not dealing with his death well and trying to understand it. And as said/asked above, it was a single car accident. From what was told to my wife, Dorian was driving on the road to their house and an oncoming vehicle came into his lane. He swerved to miss it and hit a tree that was down from the freeze. 

We attended his memorial service on Friday and it was beautiful. Not sure how many were there but the cars parked on the road stretched for at least a couple of miles (he was buried on their ranch property). You could tell his impact he had on others by how many of his classmates and parents from DSHS were there. 

Dorian was to have his own set at this year's SXSW.

There is also a gofund me page if you should want to contribute to his memorial. gofundme.com/Doriankweller

[Celery Man 20962]

Thanks for sharing that. I didn't do a good job in the first post of expressing the... way that this tragedy feels kinda near - the closest I come to knowing BK is still a couple of degrees of Kevin Bacon, but he's an Austin guy and was an important musical figure to me at an important time and really i think it's that I had sang some of his songs to my daughter and then I saw this and it just hits. We listened to Sha Sha tonight while she ran around in the yard and I just put her down singing Lizzy. I'm glad that there's a lot of community there for them, I'm sending my energy that way tonight.

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

On 3/2/2023 at 8:59 PM, DougO said:

 

 

 

This was played at his funeral service.

It was nice to see Ben and Liz rocking to the beat in their chairs, singing along, & with occasional smiles while it played. 😢

[tbone_ 14127]

This makes we want to throw up

[DalTxHornFan 3102]

Sad story.  This was the obit that ran in the newspaper:

Our son Dorian Zev Kweller died in a freak car accident on Monday, February 27th, 2023. He was 16 years old. He was going the speed limit, phone in its holder, seatbelt on, doing everything right. He was freestyle rapping to his favorite instrumental playlist when an oncoming truck drifted towards him. Dorian swerved into the shoulder to avoid the oncoming truck. While in the shoulder, a downed broken tree branch from the recent freeze came through the window and hit him on the right side of his head. He died instantly. The airbags didn't go off, the car wasn't overly damaged. He would've walked away from this had it not been for that one branch. When Dorian was born, our main wish for him was to have a zest for life. That wish came true times a hundred. Our baby was riding high until his final minute on earth.

https://www.statesman.com/obituaries/paco0441480

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by DalTxHornFan

[4th&Five 41558]

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

13 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Sad story.  This was the obit that ran in the newspaper:

Our son Dorian Zev Kweller died in a freak car accident on Monday, February 27th, 2023. He was 16 years old. He was going the speed limit, phone in its holder, seatbelt on, doing everything right. He was freestyle rapping to his favorite instrumental playlist when an oncoming truck drifted towards him. Dorian swerved into the shoulder to avoid the oncoming truck. While in the shoulder, a downed broken tree branch from the recent freeze came through the window and hit him on the right side of his head. He died instantly. The airbags didn't go off, the car wasn't overly damaged. He would've walked away from this had it not been for that one branch. When Dorian was born, our main wish for him was to have a zest for life. That wish came true times a hundred. Our baby was riding high until his final minute on earth.

https://www.statesman.com/obituaries/paco0441480

 

Was just going to post this... got the email last night, but just now saw it. 

Doesn't make sense in him being gone. 😢

 

[4th&Five 41558]

The deluxe Sha Sha reissue came out today. A lot of cool demos and live tracks are on it. Definitely worth a listen. 

[Celery Man 20962]

this is an awesome tribute