A few words about Dexter Romweber.

February 17, 2024. Day .

A few words about Dexter Romweber:

I had the very good fortune to open two shows for D.R., once at the Hi-Ho in New Orleans and once way back in the 90s at Arnold's in Knoxville. (On that one, the Flat Duo Jets were among the loudest bands I've ever heard in person, up there with Dinosaur jr.) But for all that, I exchanged very few words with him, and it seemed like those were offered reluctantly. I don't take it personally, at least I hope I wasn't meant to take it personally. It seemed like he didn't want to talk to anybody on either occasion. I was still excited to see him play. He was uncompromising as a musician and very clearly himself, I can't imagine him changing anything for anybody. And nobody else could do what he did, they way he did it. When I started my two-piece band (in the wake of the White Stripes and the Black Keys) I was more worried about how we would compare to the Flat Duo Jets. Not that comparisons would make any sense. I just thought, if people think we're trying to copy somebody (which we were not), I hope they think it's Flat Duo Jets and not the others.

If you go listen today, please note how a lot of it is garage/rock/rockabilly, but a lot of it isn't. He was always pulling stuff out of the Great American Songbook, his sound ranged a lot wider than just three-chord rock. Eric Friedl wrote, correctly, that Dex could put twenty chords in a song and it would still rock.

He was one of those people that is just made out of music. He was alone on his path. I doubt there will be another anything like him.