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Slim The Drifter: July 20, 1960 - May 25, 2007
Topics: Scott Slim The Drifter Sturtevant, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, music, local, country, Punk, Rainmakers, blog, arts, death
Posted by matt Mon May 28, 2007 09:35:08 PDT
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0 responses 14 comments Bakersfield loses local music legend...
Slim The Drifter: July 20, 1960 - May 25, 2007

This morning I recieved an e-mail from Bakersfield's Greg Goodsell, a longtime friend of the Slim's. Scott was an architect of the Bakersfield alternative music scene during the '80s, with a variety of local bands, and solo projects. He will be missed..

(Scott "Slim The Drifter" Sturtevant)

Mon 5/28/2007 3:34 AM:

“Slim the Drifter” – aka W. Scott Sturtevant has died. He was one of the few people I have known longer than my own brother, having been best friends with him since Kindergarten. Scott would found Bakersfield’s very first punk band Teen Suicide, before he branched off into a solo career under the nom de plume of Slim the Drifter. Scott cultivated controversy and a reputation for a hard-living lifestyle. A friend put in a call to his wife in Reno, Nevada, and she confirmed that he had died on Friday. The Slim the Drifter MySpace page lists Friday as his date of death. If you knew or know of people who knew Scott, please pass this on. - Greg Goodsell

BIO from the Slim the Drifter MySpace page:

Scott "Slim The Drifter" Sturtevant July 20, 1960 - May 25, 2007

Scott "Slim the Drifter" Sturtevant passed away Friday night.

He died in Reno after being Care flighted out of Fernley. Scott had been suffering from Cirrhosis of the liver for a long time and was diagnosed with the illness in 2000 at stage three on a scale of four. Stage four was already well underway when we left Bakersfield for the Oregon coast where we married and lived for a couple of months before heading to Fernley Nevada. Scott's liver was shutting down and conditions related to end stage cirrhosis began to slow him down before Christmas. His Condition rapidly deteriorated to a point that his body was becoming a prison. He was ready to let go of this life. He was tired of the pain and frustrated by the limitations of his failing health. Scott lived his life on his own terms, and did exactly what he wanted to do. He wouldn't have changed a moment. His only regret was that the end was coming so soon after having found peace in his life.

He loved our little home and our family, us and the cats ("The Boys"). He never expected to live as long as he did and remarked that if he had known "I might have taken a little better care of myself". We joked that he hadn't planned well. Scott passed away surrounded by his brothers and their wives, a very good friend of our family and me. He was surrounded by love and went peaceful to that goodnight that he had come to long for. He died of cardiac arrest brought on by respiratory failure due to conditions related to cirrhosis. His wish was to be cremated and his ashes scattered on the Suislaw River on the Oregon coast.

It was a place where we had stayed on our extended honeymoon and he loved it so much. His family and I have set the date of August 12 to meet and do as he asked. No memorial service has been set as of yet. Please remember Scott for the truly wonderful man that he was. My heart is broken, but I wouldn't give up a moment of the time we had together. Debbie

Slim's original greeting..
Hello, I'm Slim the Drifter. After long years of playing in four-on-the-floor bands, I started to record on my own in late "91". Low-Fi was all I could afford at the time, so that's what I did. I had a blast. The result was "Callin' Cali" (Gang of Hair 002). I toured as a one man show with my trusty boom box and sang to my own tracks without vocals. I'd put at least one mic on the box and play Mr. Microphone with the other one. I threw confetti, gave away (99 cent store) prizes in raffles from Hell... Jeez, sometimes I felt bad for having so much fun! I played a show once in my hometown of Bakersfield, California with none other than Kinky Friedman, who will hopefully be the next Gov. of Texas. He nicknamed me "The Karaoke Cowboy", A name that I still hear once in awhile. There was a small college radio hit on "Cali" about a cross dressing truck driver, it was called "The Ballad Of Bill". After a restful and restless period, I went back out on the road with a six string and I've been doing that ever since. Though there are a couple of lost efforts in between, I have a new record with my three piece band, Slim the Drifter Trio! We also have a My-Space site and as far as I know, we'll be able to sell you a record through My-Space by Christmas. The music is purely American. We will upload samples and gimmies A.S.A.P. Look for "The Guilty Ten" by Slim the Drifter Trio. We hope you like it. Keep the faith, Slim

R.I.P

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Comment From: matt

Sad day for the Bakersfield music scene. The first time I ever saw Slim was when he was a member of The Rainmakers, and they band played a triple bill with The Examples, and Feo. It 1986 inside the BC indoor auditorium....Peace Slim.. Comment From: garybranson

I remember a song Slim wrote called "Family of Men", that we performed at some shows in The Wayne-Seaton Band. It was a great song,& I'll never forget the look on his face the first time he heard us play it. When we got off the stage, he had this big smile on his face, and as I was walking by him I said, "Now that's the way it's supposed to sound Dickhead", and just kept going. The boy was wild, but his heart was in the right place. Slim was very talented, and I was proud to call him a friend. Be at peace cowboy, we'll all miss you......... Comment From: BIgAl

I well remember the first time I saw Scott (Slim DeWayne) as he billed himself for awhile. He was so creative and had the balls to do different stuff and entertain with next to nothing. The boom box and confetti are a memorable part of his early solo thing. I learned from him that you don't really need anything to entertain accept willingness and persistence. Well, talent didn't hurt him. Comment From: soulajarmusic

Very sad day indeed. I know we were a bit too young have been out-and-about during the strong years of his performances, but he was a legend that we heard of, knew of, and respected. Soulajar sends our sincerest condolences and prayers to his family and friends-- Comment From: opstylee

I will never forget you buddy!You told me many things.Till we meet again. Comment From: cesareo

Damn. Comment From: Thesilenceclub

He took me under his wing when I was homeless. I used to stay with him for a while in the tower motel. Great song writer who truely lived whats behind his emotions. I'll miss you slim. Aaron Comment From: ggirl

Slim was always cordial, funny and thoughtful when I spoke to him or hung out with him after listening to him play. My sincerest condolensces to his family and deepest sympathy to OUR B-Town musical family.   Love -Glenda Comment From: Garone

ON MAY 25TH, 2007 WE ALL LOST A FRIEND AND A GENUINE PIONEER OF THE BAKERSFIELD MUSIC SCENE: SCOTT "SLIM THE DRIFTER" STURTEVANT. HE WAS UNCOMPROMISING, HUMBLE, STUBBORN, A REAL SCHOOL PUNK AND ONE OF THE GENUINE GOOD ONES. HE DIDN'T BLAZE A TRAIL, HE LIT THE FUCKING ROAD ON FIRE, LIT A CIGARETTE WITH IT AND WALKED THROUGH IT WITH HIS OLD PAIR OF COWBOY BOOTS AND A CROOKED SQUINT. YOU MADE US SPEECHLESS, FUCKER; UTERRLY IMPOSSIBLE THE OTHER WAY AROUND. YOU ARE MISSED. IF YOU'VE EVER MIXED 80'S, PUNK, WESTERN, OR FOLK ON AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR, GOTTEN OUT THERE AND PLAYED YOUR ASS OFF NOT GIVING A DAMN WHAT ANYONE THOUGHT ABOUT YOU THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW WHY WE'RE AT A LOSS. OUR MUSIC SCENE HAS LOST ONE OF THE REAL ONES. HE WAS AS COMPLEX AS A POEM BUT AS SIMPLE AS A METAPHOR. HE WAS WHAT HE WAS AND NO ONE PICTURE WILL EVER DO JUSTICE TO THE MAN THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED. WE WISH OUR HUMBLEST CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND AFTER THE LOSSES OF OTHER GOOD FRIENDS AND FAMILY WE'VE HAD IN JUST THIS LAST YEAR WE TOAST ALL OF YOUR MEMORIES AND TO THE FIRES YOU ALL LEFT IN OUR HEARTS TO FILL THE VOIDS YOU ALL LEFT BEHIND. Comment From: mentoburu2

His art will live forever. Bakersfield musicians owe a lot to Slim for the paths he created for us to do what we do outside the box. Comment From: twinkie

So many beautiful tributes for a Bakersfield legend here and on the web. You can really tell he touched a lot of lives personally and through his music. Long live his memory. Comment From: brianpaxton

I didn't know Scott very well or for very long, but he was a really sweet guy and you couldn't help but like him. He and his girlfriend--performing as a duo called The Genre Bend--opened a couple of shows for us. Saw him at a couple of local shows, then didn't hear from him again.

You could tell the guy had talent and we all wanted to see him get his shit together and focus his musical energies into something bigger. Guess it wasn't to be...reminds me of another old friend who could've really done great things with music. Seems lots of people with real talent can't help but get in their own way.

Vaya Con Dios, Slim
Comment From: loveday

I had the honor and pleasure to write and perform with Scott a number of times over the years...He was one of the most genuine people I've ever met, passionate about creating and performing his art, and perfecting his public persona. Scott was one of those people who would disappear from your life every four or five years, but would always pick up right where you left off when he drifted back in. I will miss his music, I will miss his writing, I will even miss all those damn calls to try to get me to place another ad in the Blackboard, but most of all, I will miss my friend. - MD Comment From: jomobass

First of all,,,I love you Slim we picked apart each other's songwriting but it was constructive. Stuff like Scott, you need to write some bridges to some of those songs etc. My first memories of Scott were at West High. He was a actor in the Drama Dept. and a damn good one. He had the starring role in "The Claudfather". Scott liked our band and started hanging out with us so we took him under our wing. Sometimes I feel guilty for encouraging him to play music, but then again he loved it. We off and on did songwriting and projects together and it was always fun but also tense at times. We were both strong headed when we thought we had the right lyric or guitar riff or when we thought something sucked. I watched Scott go total punk with Teen Suicide then years later settle in to Slim The Drifter which was his best alter ego. Although Scott's music ability was basic and limited, he put together some great heartfelt songs that are haunting...especially now. Scott's early acting experience served him well to craft the image of Slim The Drifter. I truly thought he was on to something big with the right management and rewriting some of his tunes. I'm so glad Eddie Ruff called me and put together a punk band called Body Bag a couple of years ago to do one gig. Scott was part of the project and I loved the interaction again. I sure wish I would have kept in touch with him more often...you know how it goes....you get so damn busy you forget to just pick up a phone. When we did talk on the phone an hour seemed like 10 minutes, waxing about the past and philosophical ramblings. The best times we had were when we were in high school in my music studio with me and Dave Wulfekuheler, Tony Flores and Scott laughing are asses off making up alternate names for people in the year book. Scott had a great mind and great wit. I am truly bummed but happy that while he was on earth I spent good quality time with him. Here's some of Scott's last lyrics to the song "45RPM" WELL I DON'T NEED NO PREACHER, JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH I DUG MY HOLE NOW HOW BOUT' YOU YOU WON'T NEED NO RELIGION ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY WHAT YOU NEED IS THE LORD TO BE YOUR SAVING GRACE SAY YA GOT A FUNNY FEELING WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE LIKE A LONG BLACK TRAIN THAT AIN'T A HEADED HOME YOU WON'T NEED NO RELIGION ON THE JUDGEMENT DAY WHAT YOU NEED IS THE LORD TO BE YOUR SAVING GRACE TO BE YOUR SAVING GRACE, TO BE YOUR SAVING GRACE