Southeast Texas musician receives heart transplant

Southeast Texas singer and musician Dave Shaw is recuperating after a heart transplant at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. Shaw is in good condition in a post-surgical intensive care unit.

Shaw, lead singer for the Beaumont-based band Eazy, received his new heart at Methodist on Wednesday. He says he is in good spirits and he appreciates the support he has received from music fans in Golden Triangle area.

Since the 1970s, Eazy has played to packed houses throughout Southeast Texas and Louisiana. Their music is a gumbo blend of rock and roll, R&B and a bit of rockabilly made spicy with some Cajun seasoning, otherwise known as swamp pop.

Shaw and his band mates are known for performing at charity benefits to help Southeast Texas families in need. Last month, friends and fans organized a benefit at the Port Acres Knights of Columbus hall to help with expenses associated with Shaw’s transplant surgery.

Leave a message for Dave on The Methodist Hospital System’s Facebook page

Benefit for Houston music legend Freddie Everett

        

UPDATE: We learned that Freddie Everett died yesterday, April 2, 2009.  He was a strong, courageous man as well as a brilliant musician.

In the Houston area, Freddie Everett is a local legend.  Or he was until 2004, when he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).  Everett, best known for his Hendrix-inspired guitar pyrotechnics, has not been able to play because this disease slowly destroys the body’s ability to control its motor functions while keeping the mind intact.

Thanks to treatment and care at The Methodist Hospital and a unique device that allows Freddie to operate a computer by simply moving his eye, Everett can make music again.  He has created a new album, The Fire of Faith, which should go on sale soon.

Two big benefits are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (April 19 and 20) — proceeds go to help Freddie and wife Annette continue his medical care.  Saturday’s event, at the Firehouse Saloon, 5930 Southwest Freeway, begins at 11 a.m. and will feature 10 bands and “special guests.”  On Sunday, the party moves to The Concert Pub, 5636 Richmond Ave., with six bands beginning at 11 a.m.

Tickets to each event are $20 at the door ($15 in advance) for adults, and $5 for kids 13-17 years old. 

Freddie Everett was legendary in Houston and Texas music circles for his fluid and super-fast guitar skills and Hendrixian showmanship.  He and his band opened for Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper and Sammy Hagar, and Everett recorded with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band Double Trouble. 

Please come out this weekend and help support this gifted musician.

Freddie Everett’s website

The Methodist Hospital

Firehouse Saloon

The Concert Pub

MP3: Freddie Everett clip 1 from The Fire of Faith

MP3: Freddie Everett clip 2 from The Fire of Faith

MP3: Freddie Everett clip 3 from The Fire of Faith

YouTube: Freddie Everett performance from 2002

YouTube: Freddie Everett on the MDA Labor Day Telethon

Story on Freddie Everett from KHCW, Channel 39