the corner office

Cleaning out my (personal) mail file with its hundreds of yet-unread mails, and hidden in a pile of subterania emails was news that Jaco Visser passed away in October last year. I can't find any more details except for a blog entry that mentions that he took his own life.

Man, that's just wrong. I knew Jaco from the online South African 'net.goth' community in the late '90's. Back then there were a handful of us and we all frequented the same online (and real-life) haunts. He was lead guitarist for a Joburg goth band called the Eternal Chapter. I remember interviewing him and fellow band-member Thomas for a local zine in '98. The EC were a Christian group and despite gaining 'mainstream' acceptance, they always took a bit of flak for their beliefs from parts of a community that had its head too far up its own arse. Jaco was a really decent bloke. Quiet, down to earth, no pretension, never had a bad word to say about anyone. Something I really respected about him was how he was firm and up-front about his beliefs, but never judgemental about people who differed from him.

Musically, the EC were a great band. I have a copy of their debut album, and even an early demo CD which I went and picked up from Jaco at his flat in Linden way back when. If my memory serves, his bedroom had two things: a bed, and his guitar. He was a kick-ass guitarist, and this pic from a gig from that time pretty much sums up how I've always remembered him.

I dunno what drove someone like him to take his own life. Sad...