Brandon Straitjacket Charles Curtis

When in doubt, trill. This was the mantra of the great fiddle player Brandon "Straightjacket" Curtis. I learned that Brandon died this morning or yesterday from Hemochromatosis, he was 58. He and I had a duo in Los Angeles in the mid-eighties. The duo soon grew a drummer and a bass player (Jeff Klein and Dave Soyars) to become David Nigel Lloyd and His Mojave Desert Ceilidh Band. With a background in classical, jazz and Indian music, Brandon's approach to traditional material was anything but traditional. Our cassette LP, "An Age of Fable" received much high critical praise for the fiddle arrangement and playing. John MacAdams replaced Jeff and for a while we were LA's only Celtic folk rock outfit. Before the MDCB, he played fiddle on the now highly sought-after underground classic, Immortal Gods by Eddy Detroit. During the early days of his career, he was one of David LaFlamme's several replacements in Its a Beautiful Day. A devotee of Stiphane Grappelli, Straightjacket released an LP of his own progressive jazz-rock music in the early 1990's simply entitled Straightjacket Rocks. It's song "Whistling in the Dark" is beginning to rattle its way back into mind now as a sort of self-penned epitaph. After the MDCB, he became the only member of the band to actually play in the Mojave Desert when he formed the successful country cover band, Curtis and Crosby; he toyed at this time with changing his stage name to Fringejacket. His impact on my music is immeasurable. He is survived by two beautiful and intelligent women who will miss him terribly: Mercedes Lares Curtis, his wife; and Lucille Lares Curtis, their daughter.

David Nigel Lloyd

Celtic Balladeer and Song Poet

Arrangements under the direction of Turner & Stevens Live Oak Mortuary, Monrovia, CA.