Jeffrey Ladd passed away some days ago. He was a member of Black 47 back in the chaotic first year of the band. Officially, I suppose he sang back up vocals but oftentimes he would double my voice. I met him in 1979 through our drummer, Thomas Hamlin and our associate member, guitarist Mike Fazio. He was part of the Queens connection when the Major Thinkers were blasting through the CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City scene.
He became “roadie” for the Copernicus “orchestra” and I have a memory of him at a performance in the old Tier 3 in Tribeca getting his foot broken during a particularly fractious and rowdy gig. That was Jeffrey, always in the thick of things, ensuring that there be at least some infinitesimal control on the chaos. He later became a vocalist/keyboardist with Copernicus.
I have another memory of him with Black 47 in Sunnyside when a fight broke out in a very narrow and hostile bar. We had just finished a set, so I moved backwards to avoid the fray. Not Jeffrey – he stood before the equipment, impressively making sure the fisticuffs did not spill over to the stage. It was only later I found out that he was an ice-hockey goalkeeper.
He was lead vocalist in a number of bands including The Baby Flies and Life With The Lions. A fine singer in the Ian Curtis/Peter Murphy mould, he was one of those creative, sensitive people for whom the brutality of the business end of rock music often proves too much. They enter it with a sense of idealism that often turns to disillusion. Jeff Ladd, though, never lost his sense of humor.
A beautiful person – never less than kind and caring – he was particularly loved by women as he always took the time to listen and identify with individual pain. He certainly knew enough about the subject. He’d had some hard times of late but had pulled his world together; then life played its cruelest joke.
He was a comrade and a friend, someone you could always turn to. He will be deeply missed by the Black 47 family and by the many who loved him for himself and his undoubted talent.
Monday, 31 May 2010
4 comments:
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I'm an old friend of Jeff's from Astoria, and our paths diverged some time in the middle 80's. I have such affectionate memories of Jeff, and found that he always had a positive effect in the lives of those he knew, and who knew him. Mike and Jeff turned me on to so much great music, and I count myself as one of the lucky ones to have seen AE, Copernicus, and later Chill Faction,
ReplyDeleteI have often thought of them, and you and Hammy, always hoping that all was well. My sister Nessa relayed the news of Jeff's passing to me. I just lost one former bandmate from back in the day, six days after Jeff passed, and my heart is now heavier still.
God rest his truly beautiful soul.
sean burns
Rest in peace, Jeffrey.
ReplyDelete"Jeffrey Ladd" (Jeff Nozilo) was my boyfriend for three years during the time that he was in Black 47, The Baby Flies, and Copernicus bands in the 80s. He played flute, was lead singer, and back up singer. He was a huge Cure and Joy Division fan,sounded like them, and always dressed in black. I used to go to his rehearsals, shows and hang out in the recording studio for hours on end with Pat and Jim Waters,Lin Culbertson, Chris Katris, Thomas Hamblin, and Mike Fazio. I'd wake up at 4AM to go out to Long Island to ice hockey practice with Jeff. When I met him, he worked at NY Magazine and then USA Today. He made the mistake of marrying someone else instead of me, and I couldn't bring myself to ever talk to him again, but he was a special part of my life.He loved b/w photography and shot many images of angel statues in cemeteries. He mourned the loss of his mother and never recovered. He is now with the her and the angels forever. Rest in peace there, Jeff.~ April Sandmeyer
ReplyDeletei am in shock to read this about jeff. i lost contact with him three years ago. we parted on sad terms and i have been trying to find him to make it right.....
ReplyDeletesher