Carter Albrecht, RIP || September 3, 2007

(photo by Kate Mackley)

Unbelievably sad news today, as Sorta member, New Bohemians member and Sparrows founder Carter Albrecht passed away; if the story that is making the rounds is true (told to me by a highly trusted source and confirmed by at least one other), Albrecht was shot and killed last night through a neighbor's door after knocking on it late in the evening.

Motherfucking Dallas.

Obviously, other sites and outlets will have the manpower to dig for more information--and find out how the shooter will be prosecuted, since I'm tempted to believe that the other side of a front door is not a trespassable location. Will link to any updated reports ASAP.

Update: The Dallas Morning News' report uses the "authorities say" bit about the possibility that Albrecht was the aggressor here, going so far as kicking the door. Since this case is probably coming down to "he said, they said," I'm afraid to think that this bullshit will actually prevail with the dopes at DPD, but hopefully someone will brighten up enough to realize that "gunshot through the door" wins in the aggressor column.

Update #2: Kudos to Robert Wilonsky for his deep report into the matter and the story behind it. Sadly, the full story and pathetic excuse tucked into it only make me sadder, angrier and more bewildered.

I had the nerve a few weeks ago to knock Sorta in my We Shot JR awards picks, which I only thought was fair to do when comparing them to my diehard favorite Dallas act Pleasant Grove. Thing is, Sorta is a band full of incredibly open and friendly guys who really do epitomize what Dallas' music scene could be in terms of niceness and offering a helping hand (benefits for charity, reaching out to bands in different genres for shows, etc. etc.). Albrecht stood out in that category, a bleeding-heart kind of guy who never turned his nose up at anybody after a show or at the bar. When I was barely part of the Dallas Observer staff, Albrecht approached me and talked at length about music, women and general guy-to-guy stuff, and at the time, I thought he was warming me up because of my writing gig.

Turns out he just did that with everybody. You will be missed, Carter. -SM