"John Orcutt. Some of his old friends called him "Orc". I am not writing here to do a biography or an obituary. Those can be found and read by going www.inforum.com and then searching for John Orcutt. This writing is about how I experienced an amazing man. And I must first say that he would probably not really approve of all the fuss being made over his death: there were 236 people in the little town of Underwood MN at his memorial crying, celebrating him and singing his songs; someone in Colorado Springs Col. called me to say that they had heard of his passing; my acupuncturist has a friend that actually saw the accident that killed him; the Fargo Forum has articles written on him; I have already written 3 songs about him and on and on. John saw through much of the illusion of life and wanted to take it easy while participating in the essence of Life. He would probably say; "Ed just move on. That was then and this is now. Be here now my friend". But his passing has hit us all so hard that I think we have been suprised by it's impact. John was a man that was truly authentic and made us all feel better about ourselves

John was a most compassionate man working with troubled kids and their families. He really cared about these people. He was a loving but tough task master who would not suffer fools gladly. Musically he had arrived at the point where he was able to create the most interesting music, no longer dependent on copying other musicians

John was my best friend. I met him in the fall of 1967 when I heard some notes floating downstairs in a fraternity house. They were his. I joined. Later, we quit. He was at my wedding. He helped me through my divorce. ("Move on Ed. It is the past. Be here. Now.) We were in more bands than I can count. Most notably were "Loose Shoes" and the earliest incarnation of Midnight Flyer". We explored the edges of consciousness many a time; once sitting for 4 hours on the hood of a car together in a world I could never describe. John, in answer to a question about the meaning of life, told me to read Ram Dass and Alan Watts saying "these two say it best for me". I did and he was right.

Orc taught me much about what I know today about music and specifically the guitar. He and Dave let me sit in any time in their band "Island Time", creating my contribution which John dubbed "reggae mandolin". When I finished my first CD in 20 years and did the release party show at the Minneapolis "Cedar Cultural Center" John was there providing all the percussion and moral support. This amazing musician made sure that my guitars were tuned and that I hit the stage on time! I am still honored. Six months later I did another live show that he could not make it to. When he saw the video of the concert he said: "Ed you really did it. You've made it. " He complimented me on my bands performance of a Grateful Dead song "Looks Like Rain". His kind words put me on cloud nine and will forever echo in my musical memory. And speaking of the Dead! John was there when I got us back stage to meet the Dead and watch the concert from behind the amps. When I called him that Jan. day in Chicago in 1978 he did not believe me that I was backstage with the Grateful Dead and for him most importantly, Jerry Garcia. I still have the picture my wife took of us grinning from ear to ear! Lately John had expressed a great deal of happiness about his life and said that he was happy with it.

He and his wife Mavis had done fantastic things to their beautiful earth home north of Fergus Falls MN. John was able to see his good friends Jim and Annie Ulmer. Besides Island Time and me John was making music with Randy Schrenk, Wally Warhol and Bruce Newman among others. Recently John and I decided to make public the "secret" music we had been making for 38 years, our improvisational jams. We had two gigs lined up for this spring. We were going to record both and then edit down for a CD. A record of our years of listening to each other and seeing where the music took us. I am deeply saddened that those notes will never be played. But when we practiced at his studio the Saturday and Sunday before his death, we played the very best ever. I had never heard him play with such daring and confidence as we explored unrehearsed musical phrases and directions. He was excited about the spring gigs. His excitement is in me now. I hope to recruit some of his musical friends and play those gigs for John. But mostly just to play them and see where the music leads us. This is all he ever did anyway.

Fare thee well my old friend. You made the world a more beautiful place.

Ed Fissinger
November 2005.