RON BRASHEAR 1935-2005
Ron told me that when he was young he used to beat on the pots and pans in his mother’s kitchen with knives and spoons. His older brother Don, a freelance pianist, heard him and gave their mother money to buy him a set of drums. Ron immediately began teaching himself to play. By the time he was fifteen he was playing regularly with local and area bands.
I met Ron in 1954 when I heard him playing a gig in Evansville. After the job, my jazz buddy Mike Robb and I introduced ourselves; then we retired to The Maxwell House, drank lots of coffee and talked until the wee hours. Within a month we began meeting to play and we soon became friends.
Ron was based in Washington, IN. He held a day job to support his family and worked gigs as they came along. Sixty years ago there was, if not an abundance, a fair amount of casual work. Most of it was provided by local Fraternal Organizations (ie, Animal Clubs: Elks, Eagles, Owls, Moose, VFW, K of C, etc.) which held dances nearly every weekend. So Ron worked regularly, freelancing with various bands in Southern Indiana.
Around 1980, when we needed a drummer, the first person I called was Ron. He said yes and that began a fifteen-year association, making music with Cafe Jazz Society. Ron was forced to quit playing due to health problems in 1996.
Ron was a great drummer; also a fine artist and chef. I miss him.
(J. Ost)