in loving memory of Benson Krause
I apologize for not posting a comic last week. I've had the wind knocked out of me for a variety of reasons, one of which I'm going to address now.
Last week I was informed that Benson Krause, lead singer of my favorite Illinois local band Ophur, killed himself by driving in front of a train in Downer's Grove.
When I was in high school, growing up in Wheaton where bland pop-punk bands ruled, Ophur was a shining light of quirky creativity. In the early days of the website I plastered their banner anywhere I could. Imagine U2 if they stuck to the breathy sensuality of their Zoo TV era, only with a zeal for beauty instead of irony. One of the things that made them great was inarguably Benson fronting the band. I remember during certain Ophur songs he'd take a giant vegetable (an eggplant or a cucumber usually), declare "pretend this represents everything you hate" and proceed to smash the offending vegetable against the ground. After shows I remember him being gentle and laid back, a perfect gentlemen to his friends and to his fans.
In 2004 Ophur broke up and I lost touch with the members. I'd actually not seen Benson in years, and now I'll never be able to again. Even though you don't see someone for a while, you assume at least that they're happy, they're healthy, and most of all ALIVE. The fact that such a good man took himself out of the equation far too early is nothing short of a tragedy.
I'd like to ask all of you to keep your thoughts and prayers with Benson's family at this time. If you'd like to get more familiar with his music, you can start here.