Voodoo + Rawk in Roll = Good Times

Voodoo Organist: The Devil Made Him Do It

By Colin Hickey, 4-04-07

	Check out those skull maracas.

If Tom Waits and The Devil had a baby it would be the Voodoo Organist.  Now I know what you’re thinking “Isn’t the Devil supposed to be a man?” Well lately I’ve put some thought into that and I’m pretty sure it’s a she down there.  The Voodoo Organist (aka Scott Wexton) is one badass mofo.  While still just a solo act, he played more than 500 shows on the road in three years.  Trust me that’s a lot of driving for one guy to do by himself.  I’ve had the pleasure to book the Voodoo Organist a couple times in Missoula over the years, but one story comes to mind while trying to describe the man: 

It was about four or five years ago at a club I used to book called Jay’s Upstairs. It was an off night and not too many people were out on the town.  The Voodoo Organist was on stage putting on one hell of a show for the forty people that were there.  Along with his organ The Voodoo Organist has a couple skull shaped maracas that he plays from time to time.  Well, some drunk frat guy ended up at the show and he started to hassle the The Voodoo Organist. 

Now, Scott is not a very big guy.  I would say he might weigh about 120 pounds if he was completely soaked and carrying a bag of groceries. But, he had those maracas and he’d had about enough of this stumbling heckler. So right in the middle of the song without missing a beat he threw one of those skull-shaped maracas across the bar.  With the precision of a comic book character, Scott hit the drunk right in the head.  At this point the drunk ran for the stage but was stopped by the employees and taken “outside.” Through the whole thing Scott didn’t even flinch.  I was amazed.  Some cute girl from the crowd grabbed the maraca and handed it back to the devil on stage and the whole incident was forgotten while the show went on. 

The Voodoo Organist has just added a drummer and a junk percussionist.  This new show has just as much voodoo as the old one—if not more.  The man is on tour and can be seen at the following watering holes.  If I were you I would make my way down to see him—just on the off chance you might see a flying maraca.

Friday April 6th- Salt Lake City @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
Saturday April 7th- Ogden, UT @ Brewskis
Monday April 9th- Boise @ The Bouquet

Check out some tunes here. 

Colin Hickey is New West’s Events Editor. Keep an eye out for his “MVP Events” or check here to find your own: www.NewWestEvents.net.

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