James Blaast....R.I.P..

[eotunun]

Mental note to self and others:
If you mean to call someone, do it.
I've been meaning to give this terrible aulde pharte a call, but hesitated since the last chat didn't go down to well.

Now I'm sad I didn't.

Jam~es is a one to remember, glad I met him.


Lots of stength to Molly, yes.

Edit: Who remmebers Lier, 2007?

[xfloorshowx]

Very sad news.. Only met him once but I will never forget it (in a positive way). Used to trade/share recordings with Killing Joke, Ministry and The God Machine with him. Rest in peace!

[Ahráyeph]

Mental note to self and others:
If you mean to call someone, do it.
I've been meaning to give this terrible aulde pharte a call, but hesitated since the last chat didn't go down to well.

Now I'm sad I didn't.

Jam~es is a one to remember, glad I met him.


Lots of stength to Molly, yes.

Edit: Who remmebers Lier, 2007?

While that photo was taken during the weekend FGG played in Lier, known as the MacHeartland Glasgow-Antwerp Express weekend, it was taken on the final night in Leuven, at Café Revue, right after Blaast had had, what he said, was the best burger ever from a nearby snack place. It's one of my dearest moment with him, as you can see in the pic...

[Pista]

& here he is on his 50th with the YCBTO gold disc we gave him


Here's the disc in the frame


Much baconium was had that night & much fun too.

[mh]

Ah, I thought I had one from that night too. Blast plus birthday haul, including giant bottle of Duvel:

[Bartek]

Devastating news.
I'm shocked.
A man of contradiction. But i love his style: when he loathed, disliked he said that; when he liked or loved he showed this.
Not that we were good friends, but we e-talked to each other outside HL, few e-mails, quick chat on FB (until he 'unfriended' me for no reason). Exchange CDs.
In honour of him i had/have William Wallace picture as profile picture/avatar here.
He loved her Mum. My thought are with her.
Get pished and destroy!

[Ahráyeph]

One of his friends on the blog The Afterword, Douglas, posted that he has been in touch with Molly and she's doing as well as can be expected. She's very appreciative of all the outpouring of support and the tributes to James, although I imagine that this is related to The Afterword only, and she's currently unaware of what goes on here at Heartland or on Facebook.

He also said she told him his funeral is likely to be next Monday morning in King's Park and that she's fine with this info pasing onto others, which is why I'm posting it here.

As soon as I have confirmation about the funeral being actually on Monday - I don't seem to have Molly's home phone number any more, it might have changed and Blaast and I only communicated over Skype and Facetime for the past eight or so years, making landlines unnecessary - I'm booking my flight and will probably be in Glasgow Friday early evening and returning home early morning Tuesday. If anyone would like to meet up during the weekend, or if we could go to the funeral in group, I'll make myself available, so we can give James the send off he deserves. You can PM me, or the people who know me on Facebook can contact me through there. I'll also post this on the Heartland FB page, and will keep you posted.

[million voices]

I did not know him.

Through his writings on Heartland he seemed to be a man determined to live his life on his own terms. In this day and age that deserves admiration.

RIP Mr Blast.

[Purple Light]

RIP Blast. Very sad news.

[Andrew S]

One of his friends on the blog The Afterword, Douglas, posted that he has been in touch with Molly and she's doing as well as can be expected. She's very appreciative of all the outpouring of support and the tributes to James, although I imagine that this is related to The Afterword only, and she's currently unaware of what goes on here at Heartland or on Facebook.

He also said she told him his funeral is likely to be next Monday morning in King's Park and that she's fine with this info pasing onto others, which is why I'm posting it here.

As soon as I have confirmation about the funeral being actually on Monday - I don't seem to have Molly's home phone number any more, it might have changed and Blaast and I only communicated over Skype and Facetime for the past eight or so years, making landlines unnecessary - I'm booking my flight and will probably be in Glasgow Friday early evening and returning home early morning Tuesday. If anyone would like to meet up during the weekend, or if we could go to the funeral in group, I'll make myself available, so we can give James the send off he deserves. You can PM me, or the people who know me on Facebook can contact me through there. I'll also post this on the Heartland FB page, and will keep you posted.

Thanks Raf. I think a MacHeartland gathering of sorts would meet Jam-es' approval. It was largely down to him that we all got to know each other.

[Ahráyeph]

One of his friends on the blog The Afterword, Douglas, posted that he has been in touch with Molly and she's doing as well as can be expected. She's very appreciative of all the outpouring of support and the tributes to James, although I imagine that this is related to The Afterword only, and she's currently unaware of what goes on here at Heartland or on Facebook.

He also said she told him his funeral is likely to be next Monday morning in King's Park and that she's fine with this info pasing onto others, which is why I'm posting it here.

As soon as I have confirmation about the funeral being actually on Monday - I don't seem to have Molly's home phone number any more, it might have changed and Blaast and I only communicated over Skype and Facetime for the past eight or so years, making landlines unnecessary - I'm booking my flight and will probably be in Glasgow Friday early evening and returning home early morning Tuesday. If anyone would like to meet up during the weekend, or if we could go to the funeral in group, I'll make myself available, so we can give James the send off he deserves. You can PM me, or the people who know me on Facebook can contact me through there. I'll also post this on the Heartland FB page, and will keep you posted.

Thanks Raf. I think a MacHeartland gathering of sorts would meet Jam-es' approval. It was largely down to him that we all got to know each other.

Indeed it was. A MacHeartland meet would definitely get his seal of approval. I've read a few posts here about how he would scoff at it, but knowing James the way I do, and how he was for at least the past two years, happy and content with his life, in spite of all the physical ailments and all too frequent trips to hospital, that trademark 'GET BENT' would not be hurled at any of us choosing to get together to honour his memory, which I think is the right thing to do. And when I say 'his memory', I mean warts and all, because James was, after all, James. If we would posthumously saint him, then I'd think he would - rightfully so - tell us to get bent, and then some.

[boudicca]

Well I kept meaning to log in here again and say hello, but I certainly didn’t want it to be under these circumstances.

Others have already spoken brilliantly of the lovable old bastard I knew as “Unkle Ja-mes�. As a fellow Glaswegian and rather young and daft, he looked out for me from the start and did not hesitate to regularly deliver his full and frank opinion of my youthful daftness! He was a “curmudgeon� all right, and he did really overstep the mark at times with his bluntness. However, in my own experience there was never anything beyond that, just a very genuine, up-front and warm-hearted person. Cliche but important to remember. He often surprised me with the time and effort he took to do things for his friends, for no gain other than cementing those friendships.

I was particularly shocked to hear about his passing because I had just mentioned him twice in conversation over the previous couple of hours – first in relation to his regular exhortations to “Get a Mac!� (you will recall), and second to his heckling skills (during a technical malfunction at a Brendan Perry gig in 2010, he helpfully suggested “Can ye dance?� They could not). This was not especially weird –his little canon of catchphrases and pet themes passed into the lexicon of his friends and ended up peppering conversations even when he wasn’t present. And I’ve no doubt they still will.

With the exception of a brief chat last year, I’d not seen him since 2012. I’ve been so busy with university since that I fell out of touch with him, but kept thinking we’d catch up at some point soon. He was just on Facebook the other day, sounding in fine fettle and in a real feelin’ the love mood by the sounds of things, thanking his friends on his birthday. This means I can do all the soppy eulogizing I want, and if he’d tell me to Get Bent then all I can say is it could be worse, I could have typed all this in Comic Sans! I think Raf's right though... his manner was just that.

Goodnight Austin Texas, wherever you are. I hope some of you will be around to see him off in a style he would have appreciated, and to offer condolences to Molly.

[timsinister]

I'll definitely be coming up to Glasgow. Been meaning to for a long while, and now it's a little late, so...

Well, I'll see some of you there and we'll have a wee tipple for the fella.

[Andrew S]

I'm wondering if McPhabbs would be a possible place for drinks? It has lost some of its character following a recent renovation/ruination (which Jam-es would have shared my contempt of) but there's always the beer garden and a possible room hire if enough people wanted to come. Alternatively, maybe one of his southside haunts, though I don't know those so well.

Any thoughts?

[markfiend]

I'm on holiday next week, out of the country. I'm gutted I won't be able to come up to pay my respects.

[Andrew S]

Forgot to say, I have floorspace for around 4 people if anyone is coming up this weekend and needs somewhere to stay. I've had a look at McPhabbs website and what used to be the downstairs room for free hire is now 'Easy Tiger' (eurgh!) with a selection of menus (and I suspect inadequate portions per person).
http://www.mcphabbsglasgow.com/

I'm not sure James would approve of such wankery but I can enquire if enough people want to come. Otherwise, we could always just drink in the pub instead (and maybe go for a curry at Mr Singh's next door). Again, just suggestions - any other ideas are welcome.

I think a Saturday might be best but could be busy. Sunday also possible but the funeral might then be a somewhat hung over affair.

[mh]

I'm on holiday next week, out of the country. I'm gutted I won't be able to come up to pay my respects.

Likewise but I'll be certain to raise a cold beer in his honour.

[emilystrange]

i can't get there either but if there's anything to donate to, i will.
it's v expensive and/or complicated

[Ahráyeph]

To be absolutely clear, for those who can/want to : any MacBlaastland meet would be held over the weekend, most likely on Saturday. Monday, with the funeral in the morning and me flying home in the late afternoon on the same day, is not the best of days to do this. I'm ok with McPhabbs, even if it isn't the pub I knew any more, but it doesn't have to be there. If at all possible, I'll reach out to James' friends at The Afterword and invite them. I'm currently still waiting to get my account there approved.

[Silver_Owl]

Would somebody be so kind as to send me a PM with the Mum's address?
Just wanted to send a card at least.

[Pista]

Would somebody be so kind as to send me a PM with the Mum's address?
Just wanted to send a card at least.

Incoming!

[Ahráyeph]

Just had Molly on the phone (thanks for the help, Andrew). She sounded as strong and sweet as ever. She told me the funeral's at St. Mark's church on Monday morning and invited me to touch base (a very Blaast thing to say) as soon as I arrive in Glasgow. I can't help but feel she's somehow handling this better than I am. They really broke the mold after her...

[Andrew S]

Just had Molly on the phone (thanks for the help, Andrew). She sounded as strong and sweet as ever. She told me the funeral's at St. Mark's church on Monday morning and invited me to touch base (a very Blaast thing to say) as soon as I arrive in Glasgow. I can't help but feel she's somehow handling this better than I am. They really broke the mold after her...

Good to hear Molly seems to be coping. I'll maybe try calling her myself later on. The first time I ever met her was when we visited Jam-es in hospital. She said to me then that she was worried about his health but she had been unable to get through to him about it. I suppose she's been well aware that she might end up outliving him.

As for the funeral, there are a couple of St Mark's churches in Glasgow. I'm guessing it's the one on Fernhill Rd, Rutherglen, Glasgow G73 4DA.

[hellboy69]

Rest In Peace Herr Blast. My thoughts are with his nearest & dearest. I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but shall be forever grateful for the custom graphix and the ciggie-scented Hawkwind CDs. A true measure of the man that he went out of his way to source recordings he didn't even like/hadn't heard, just so me & Mrs Hellboy could have a listen! Be at peace, James… actually sod that, may you forever burger, beerily and noisily, at the Hall of the Mountain Grill x

[bismarck]

R.I.P. Mr. Blast.

His posts always made me chuckle.