I just learned of the cause, devastating. Heartfelt condolences to his wife and family, damn.

I can't believe this. Hard to wrap my arms around it. I met him a few times but can't claim to have known him. He handed me one of his drumsticks after a show at The Beacon one time. I doubt he remembered me but we spoke earlier that day. Maybe he did. It was a nice gesture. He could have given it to anyone. God rest his soul.

This is how I feel

I am saddened by this tragic news. The last time that I saw Butch was at Peach Festival 2016 with Les Brers, he was so excited to be showing off his newest grandchild to everyone there. He’ll be missed greatly.

Very sad, and it doubles down knowing the consequences of his passing. Words for an explanation are impossible.

Aweful news! RIP Butch. Prayers for his wife and family.

What is shocking to me is that Butch seemed to be in the best of health of all the original surviving members, the some one forwarded me this :EXCLUSIVE: Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks shot himself in the head in his waterfront Florida condo in a horrific scene witnessed by his artist wife of 25 years

Butch Trucks suffered a gun shot wound to the head and died Tuesday in his waterfront condo in West Palm Beach, Florida at the age of 69
A woman caller who is unidentified on the transcript but described as 'hysterical' dialed 911 at 6:02 p.m.
The dispatcher noted his wife Melinda witnessed Trucks pulling the trigger
Although he was breathing when police arrive, Trucks expired seconds later
Palm Beach County court records show Trucks appeared to be wrestling with financials problems
In 2011, Trucks had to sell his prized home in Palm Beach for $2 million when it was possibly worth twice as much to pay off a $800,000 mortgage
Last year, the IRS filed two liens against the condo to force Trucks to pay additional taxes for 2013 and 2014 for a total of more than $540,000
He was considered by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 10 drummers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4157864/Allman-Brothers-drummer-Butch-Trucks-shot-head.html#ixzz4WtmjEL5l
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

I had a very close friend decide to take his life a few years ago after a couple bad decisions (DWIs), so I get a little pissed off when I hear about stuff like this. The collateral damage done to family and friends is tenfold compared to the person.

My father in law told me, "Suicide- a longterm solution to a temporary problem."

[Edited on 1/26/2017 by chris]

I'd like to encourage the "family" of fans to express their emotions and share with us.
It's important because there might be people out there who will use this tragic event as a reason to let this darkness consume them.
Remember that we need to take care of each other at this time.
The shattering, ripping, tearing.
The anger, shock and disbelief.
The shattered lives of Butch's family.
This is all so devastating on so many levels.
But the main thing we can do right now is come together and share our collective grief.
I salute those of you who have posted already with such heart touching posts.
You are beautiful people.
Griff.

Jeez. The secret to life is having a decent accountant, I guess.

It is impossible for me to talk about suicide in a meaningful way because all I can think of are rational responses, but the suicidal person is seemingly unable to see those.

Years back, I had a friend who wrestled with anorexia, and I use that as a kind of analogy. She had lost so much weight so quickly that she was hospitalized. Her muscles and circulation suffered. I visited her in the hospital, and she was gaunt. She shuffled over to the mirror and looked at her gaunt self and moaned that being in the hospital was making her fat. She couldn't see reality.

I think a suicidal person must be in a similar frame of mind, unable to see realistic alternatives. What a terrible feeling it must be.

So sad to read today's news. Prayers to his family, especially his wife to have seen that. Horrible. Pray the music community comes together for a benefit to help his family out so she can have some peace.

I'd like to encourage the "family" of fans to express their emotions and share with us.
It's important because there might be people out there who will use this tragic event as a reason to let this darkness consume them.
Remember that we need to take care of each other at this time.
The shattering, ripping, tearing.
The anger, shock and disbelief.
The shattered lives of Butch's family.
This is all so devastating on so many levels.
But the main thing we can do right now is come together and share our collective grief.
I salute those of you who have posted already with such heart touching posts.
You are beautiful people.
Griff.

well said indeed.

i was torn apart yesterday learning of Butch's passing.

Today i'm stunned to learn what happened.So so sad for Butch,his family, the band,friends.

🙁

I had a very close friend decide to take his life a few years ago after a couple bad decisions (DWIs), so I get a little pissed off when I hear about stuff like this. The collateral damage done to family and friends is tenfold compared to the person.

My father in law told me, "Suicide- a longterm solution to a temporary problem."

[Edited on 1/26/2017 by chris]

Perhaps there is more to this very ugly story ... Financial problems haunt most of us... especially since we had a financial crash about 8yrs ago many many people lost everything , things have been unstable since in fact I have never recovered from my losses .... money issues can be resolved changing your lifestyle etc... but when you are in the mist of financial crisis it can seem like no way out bleak dark. I think Butch would know that there is .....so it makes me think there is more , maybe an illness no one knew of . It just seems so shallow right now ...
I pray for the peace he yearned for .. It makes me seem shallow saying these things and that would never be my intent ..understanding is what I am searching for ...

I think I'll listen to mountain jam ...hopefully it will unscramble my head but it wont bring Butch back to life ...

Im in shock dumbfounded

Chris

As you can see, I rarely post to this, and most other forums. However, I have been to multiple concerts of the ABB, from 1972 to the present. I have met met some of them, including Butch, briefly.

"I had a very close friend decide to take his life a few years ago after a couple bad decisions (DWIs), so I get a little pissed off when I hear about stuff like this."

Have you ever been diagnosed with Clinical Depression? I'm thinking that you haven't. I have, and it's a beast. I've been lucky to find ways to control it for years, with pro help. It can be extremely debilitating. I'm guessing that Butch found himself in that state. Think about it: if Butch was at all mentally healthy, do you really think that he would want to do this? I think not. I'm guessing that you have never been in this position. And if you haven't, you have never felt Personally what it is like.

Instead of being a little pissed, maybe take into account how bad his mental state had to be at that moment, and since we don't know what happens after we die, bid him Blue Skies on this next journey.

Thank you Bob31 for expressing what I could not - unless you have been in someone's shoes ...

RIP Butch. Condolences to the Trucks family. I'm just gutted.

So many people here in this thread that we haven't seen in ages.

Very sad that this is what it takes now to see their names.

That said, it's nice to know Dino, Ryde, Chris, KCJimmy et al are still with us.

Dave Schools Shares Thoughts On Butch Trucks and the Allman Brothers Band’s Southern Influence

https://www.relix.com/news/detail/dave_schools_shares_thoughts_on_butch_trucks_and_the_allman_brothers_bands_southern_influence

After the passing of founding Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks circulated yesterday, tributes have come in from all over the music world, including statements from Trey Anastasio, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes and more, plus musical homages last night from the likes of Bob Weir, Tedeschi Trucks, Greensky Bluegrass and more. Today, Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools posted a heartfelt note about his relationship with Trucks and the influence he felt from the drummer and the Allman Brothers Band in general, noting his early days learning ABB music to the times he played with Trucks and company on stage.

As one member of a Southern Rock staple to another, Schools talks about running into Trucks and the ABB members around the southern states when Panic were starting out, saying that Trucks “was always sweet and kind to us greenhorns” and that Trucks was one of the first to reach out to him upon the death of Panic guitarist Michael Houser.

On playing with Trucks and ABB, Schools recounts some specific sit ins and joked about Trucks messing with him on stage by counting the intro to “Dreams” in a different time signature. “I often had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming when I’d turn around and there was Butch: grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat.”

Schools also write about learning ABB basslines when he started the instrument and how Trucks and company inspired southern musicians, calling him “an architect of classic Southern Rock.”
“To say that Butch was family goes without saying,” Schools writes. “And it hurts to lose a family member.”

Read the full note below.

I’m not really sure when I met Butch Trucks for the first time. Most of the Allman Brothers guys were floating loose around Macon, GA and Florida as Widespread Panic forged our band chops all over the South, and we’d run into them on occasion in all kinds of places.

But I can say this about Butch: He was one hell of a real human being and everything an artist should be: opinionated, fierce, angry, and loud, but he was always sweet and kind to us greenhorns.

When he wasn’t berating us for signing with the Allman’s old label, Capricorn Records, he was seeking me out to talk about various things in our lives that usually had absolutely nothing to do with music.

He was one of the first people to contact me after the death of Michael Houser saying that he empathized with us having lost a fellow band member himself.

He never struck me as an architect of classic Southern Rock.

But he was.

When it came to powerful and soulful drumming the team of him and Jaimoe was about as bad assed as it gets.

Watching the ABB rebuild themselves throughout the 90’s was a joy to behold and I will treasure the times I sat in with them on classic tunes like Dreams and Southbound. It didn’t matter that Butch would always try to fuck with my head by counting in the intro to Dreams in 7. It was fun. He sounded of joy and the very stuff of life when he played…but when that locomotive locked in you better get off those tracks because there was no stopping that train.

To say that Butch was family goes without saying.

And it hurts to lose a family member.

One suddenly realizes there’s now a hole that can’t be filled. Certainly my association with his nephews Derek and Duane are well documented, but I’ve recently grown to consider all of the Trucks clan my family. My heart aches for each of them.

Every single one of the ABB guys have been a part of the history of Widespread Panic in so many ways that it would be impossible to explain.

I must also confess that I learned my first blues licks trying to play along with Barry Oakley’s bass lines on the Fillmore East LP. The Oakley-Jaimoe-Trucks rhythm section was relentless. As a young player it was devastating. But I learned. And I learned so much every time I played with the ABB. I often had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming when I’d turn around and there was Butch: grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat.

When Widespread Panic accompanied ABB on their 40th Anniversary Tour there was a night in Birmingham Alabama where they simply SLAYED Mountain Jam. I was watching from stage left and after the dust settled bassist Oteil Burbridge turned around to Butch and with a look of utter joy exclaimed, “That was great!”

Butch took his drink (which he rightly deserved) and toasted Oteil saying, “Here’s to us…we’re fucking great!”

No argument here Butch: you were fucking great and you stomped heavily on the terra leaving a mark of sound and rhythm that will resonate forever.

Thank you for being a real human and showing me so much love and so much about the power of rhythm.

Godspeed Brother Butch.

das

WoW, So sad...He seemed such a happy guy...

Dickey Betts Butch Trucks Interview
http://www.concertvault.com/dickey-betts-and-butch-trucks/video/interview_1011816.html

Allman Brothers Band - High Falls, 7/2/98

I just saw the cause of death,it makes it harder to swallow,i'm torn apart,please take care of your loved ones when you see that it's not going well and please keep an eye on firearms

It's been a very long time since I posted here, but I sure am glad today to be a part of the ABB family to join with those who knew Butch personally, devotees of the band, fans, friends and family to express deep heart wrenching sorrow at his untimely death. I cannot begin to understand the pain he endured but appreciate the contribution he made to the music and to our lives. I am really at a loss for words but only wish strength and courage for Butch's family.

Very sad news 🙁 Thought and prayers to the Trucks family. RIP Butch

It really is a terrible, sad thing. My uncle killed himself in a gruesome fashion and my grandmother found the body. She was never the same after that. This will leave a mark on Butch's family that will never heal.

Sorry that he felt that was the only solution. I'm an extreme enough libertarian that I feel we all have the right to end our lives. I have defended Hunter Thompson's decision to do so, rather than live in debilitating pain.

Even so, just because you have the right to make that choice, the consequences of that choice for the people left behind can be devastating. I can only hope that time will help heal, and my prayers go to the Trucks family, who have given me so much joy and are now in so much pain.

Rip Butch... hope the pain is gone

The Freight Train leaves the station on a final journey. Godspeed Butch Trucks … rest well. Comforting thoughts going out to all those who loved Butch, especially his wife and children and immediate family who loved him most. May you all find peace through this difficult time.

I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this since hearing about it Tuesday night and am saddened that the initial rumor of Butch’s passing was indeed fact and heartbroken over the story that has unfolded since then. I think some things are maybe beyond our ability to comprehend … this is one of those things. I’ve walked through this landscape before and the only thing I know for sure is that one second can be a drop in the bucket and it can be everything (and this is one event where survivors are casualties). If you see someone struggling stick out your hand and help lift them up and if you are struggling look for that outstretched hand and hang on tight, seek that lifesavor of hope. Let the second drop into the bucket and let your life be everything if you can.

I haven’t posted for awhile but this event called me back home, back to the peachy family who would understand. These 6 men that originally brought us something remarkable who are now 3. The handful of others who have stepped into empty shoes along the way on that road that goes on forever and helped keep the music alive. I hope they realize how much their musical gift has meant to so many. And how their musical brotherhood came to transform strangers into this big, widespread family. It was the music that first drew me in and guided me here but it’s the people I’ve been fortunate to meet here that have kept me coming back.

Butch did a lot to keep the light on and the flame burning for this musical caravan over the years aside from providing the heartbeat behind the notes. The apparent delight with which he shared both the bands music and their story over the years. His time spent and acts of kindness that have been documented in this thread that added some magic to the special sauce in many lives. Moogis, which gave so many of us an opportunity to catch those Beacon shows that we would have missed otherwise and great companions to enjoy them with. The workshops he participated and/or organized to pass the music down through new generations. Lana and Rowland mentioned that Butch was a driving force behind the creation of a little thing called Hitting the Web with the Allman Brothers and look at what that has meant and to how many. I hope he knows we see him, we see this, that he means a lot to many people. I don’t use the past tense here because these are living things.

Thanks, Butch.

Lots of great posts and tributes everyone

hearing the cause was devastating news. heard one of my best friend's found out her Cancer had spread last night and she is in for quite a fight.

Now hearing about Butch ending it makes you think about what he must have been going through and dealing with at some level.

I can still hear him at the final show at the Beacon back in October introducing the final numbers. "we're going to end it as we began it" and the band played their final number together.

When i heard the news before learning the cause I said to everyone-makes no sense he always seemed like the healthiest and most in shape guy in the band.

Very broken up today.

griff, thanks for that link. The Statesboro and IMOER are truly inspired. Thanks again.

I had so hoped his passing was peaceful given the rumblings ... devastated to learn the cause of death.
He may have thought his passing would provide for his family in terms of life insurance.

A friend of mine came home to find the love of his life hung herself.
She couldn't kick drugs and didn't want to lose him.
He is remarried, time heals wounds.

May his loved ones find peace.