The Beacon, RIP

[Swamp]

John Robertson was a frynd of mine and a member of this board.
The day before yesterday he left us after a long battle with fucking cancer.
I tend to avoid my wifes many many fb freinds* but during the 2012 HC I met the Robertsons at
Nucis Space and they were a light in that dark crowd. So his sceen name on here was perfect. He
had just joined this board 2 days before we met. He was more of a Skynyrd fan than I was but like
me, no Skynyrd and we don' t know who the fuck DBT is. During our conversation I invited him to
take "Swamp's Leonard Skinner Reality Tour"** if they were ever in this area. Not only did he take
me up on my offer but they stayed in the swamp. It was my birthday that week and we had a party
where John gave me a bottle of 11 year old EDRADOUR straight from the cask Highland single malt
Scotch Whisky, with conditions. Not to be opened until Betsy Alice graduates from highschool(12 yrs from now)
or when DBT plays SRO, so hopefully I'll get to crack it open with some of yall where we can all hold
a glass high for John.

[beantownbubba]

Very very sad news. Thanks for the lovely tribute swamp.

[uncle rickey]

Thanks for posting, Swamp. John was at the first DBT show CG and I attended back in 2006, though we didn't know each other then. I learned about that--and how he'd stealthily taped that show--years later when we were calculating how many shows we'd attended together. I think the number at that point was somewhere north of 40, which was funny considering we lived more than 3,000 miles apart.

He was a warm and friendly man, and I loved talking with him, even if I sometimes needed his beloved Lorna as a translator.

I remember the two of them materializing behind me on a particularly sweaty night at Georgia Theater, and Lorna's look, somewhere between terror and glee, as we pogoed during People Who Died. I remember talking music, and records, and shows, and being in awe of his knowledge and experiences (John to me, at the IGTBA shows: "oh, that's Ralph Carney! I saw him with Tom Waits in the 90s" etc.). And of course I'll always remember the dinners, and drinks, and fellowship: in California, and Chicago, and the UK, and Athens so many times over.

He and Lorna are the embodiment of the friendly and generous spirit of this community and we will miss him tremendously.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Oh fuck, this is awful news, so sad to hear this. I only met John and Lorna once and was really looking forward to seeing them in Scotland. Sincere condolences to Lorna and RIP John, you will be greatly missed

[Tequila Cowboy]

The thing I'll always remember about John is that smile. He quite literally lit up a room. One of my favorite moments of HC week was always that moment when we would walk into Flicker and there would be John and Lorna smiling from ear to ear and ready with a hearty Scottish hug. I mentioned to Beth last night that while I sometimes had a hard time understanding exactly what John was saying in that wonderful accent, but you didn't have to know every word because I always got the gist and the smile and the laugh were the best parts of whatever story he was telling. I agree with UR in that John and Lorna have always been the embodiment of the best parts of this community. RIP, John. You are sorely missed.

[LBRod]

He was a warm and friendly man, and I loved talking with him.
He and Lorna are the embodiment of the friendly and generous spirit of this community and we will miss him tremendously.

RIP my friend

[CooleyGirl]

I will miss John dearly, he was a wonderful friend.

We went to a show in NYC with he and Lorna and a few other folks at the Beacon Theatre. I joked with John before the show that I had to get a picture of the Beacon at the Beacon. Of course, he laughed and complied, quite willingly. He then told me the story of how he picked his username for 3DD. I'll do my best to tell it here. He said that back in his younger days, he had a big afro, which he was sure I would never believe given the bald man I was looking at now. He said his hair was also bright red. He was at a show with a friend, and they were separated for a moment. His friend was looking through the crowd trying to find John, and all of a sudden, he sees the bright red afro. His friend says to John, you were like a bloody beacon in the crowd! Hence, the username. We had a great laugh over that. I'm still looking for that picture, I'll be sure to post it when I find it.

[Clams]

Nice post, Swamp. RIP John.

[Mr. B]

A really good dude. RIP.

[chuckrh]

RIP.