No McGeoch for Sioux Tour( R.I.P)

[CHAD PORCH]

I got my tickets for the tour today.
You may already know this
Love,
Lisa Vequinox

Some words for John..
11.03.04

Prior to leaving for London last Thursday, Siouxsie & I had been talking about inviting John McGeoch to guest with us on stage. We hadn't spoken in ages but we had a mutual acquaintance whom I was going to get in touch with. I'd even had a daydream about us playing a version of 'The Light Pours Out Of Me' or 'Shot By Both Sides', actually just thinking of those guitar riffs brings a lump to my throat. It wasn't until we arrived back home last night that we knew for sure that it would indeed remain a dream. John was gone. 
Without any disrespect to all the other guitarists we have worked with, none had the relaxed mastery and such a depth of expression as John McGeoch. No amount of scrutiny of filmed 'Live' performance tapes could reveal the subtle economy of technique that made an apparently complex phrase look so deceptively simple. Exasperated guitarists would often comment, "But his hands don't even move!" 
His signature style was what made the intros to songs like 'Spellbound' and 'Happy House' so unique, the guitar break in 'Israel' swing & the feedback in 'Night Shift' scream. 
I remember in pre-show soundchecks John would move around the stage locating the 'harmonic sweet spots' which he would employ like a magician, literally conjuring sounds out of thin air. I also remember him entertaining the road crew we shared with Motorhead with a manic rendition of 'The Ace of Spades' or a note & tone perfect version of Hendrix's 'Little Wing'. 
On a recent trawl of the web looking for clues, I came across an interview with the 'Chilli Pepper's' John Frusciante, who cited John as one of the guitarists he'd studied religiously, I think 'The Edge' & many other guitarists were listening too. 
John was also an entertainer and a charming gentleman, his smile was sincere and his voice which I can still hear, had a gentle Scottish lilt which would make the adjective 'apparent', sound like the noun for a mother or father. 
Sometimes the mild mannered Scot from Greenock could get a bit Glaswegian. When playing as 'Janet & the Icebergs' in 1980, John was about to show some baiting idiot in the crowd a bit of Scottish etiquette but not before first retiring stage left to change out of his soft shoes. Much to our relief the coward made a hasty exit while John put his boots on. Of course we teased him endlessly for being on stage in his 'Slippers' in the first place! 
It was nice to see John in a recent documentary, remember his time with the band so fondly but also heartbreaking to hear him recount the events leading up to his departure so acutely. We can all be grateful that he agreed to add his part to the band's recent biography with the intelligence and dignity that were always his most outstanding characteristics. 
I'm honoured to have shared some special moments with John McGeoch and I will always love & remember him as a warm & caring friend. 
Budgie, March 10th., 2004 

.to paraphrase Siouxsie from 2003's biography; 

"My abiding memories of John are good ones. He was always fair and would discuss things with me. He was easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the most creative guitarist we ever had." 

Our thoughts & sympathy to his family. 

John McGeoch 
Born 28.5.55. Greenock, Scotland - Rest In Peace 5.3.04