The Cincinnati Indie Rock heroes — which released their most recent album, the critically-acclaimed What Heaven Is Like, in 2018 — were slated to tour as a full five-piece, with guitarist/vocalist Chuck Cleaver, guitarist/vocalist Lisa Walker, bassist Mark Messerly, drummer Joe Klug and Erhardt, in March, before the coronavirus pandemic put those plans on hold. Previously, Cleaver, Walker and Erhardt had done a trio of dates around the Midwest as part of a “living room” tour (playing small, intimate DIY gigs in places like St. Louis, Chicago and Minneapolis).
The band posted a heartfelt remembrance of their longtime friend, who had also been in the Ass Ponys with Cleaver, on their Facebook page, writing:
"John gave us a beauty that we’ll never see again. A combination of love, friendship, stability and that amazing swirling sound. Truly a wonder. A backdrop to everything that we are, in the band and in life."
Read the full post here:
There’s no easy way to say this but our friend and band mate John Erhardt has left us. He died this past Monday. The details aren’t ours to know or share so as a courtesy please don’t inquire.
John and I have been in and out of bands together for the last thirty years or better. We started Ass Ponys without ever discussing what we wanted to be or do. We just came up with stuff, played it the best we could and eventually made records. We put the first two out and then by some minor miracle got signed to a major label in that weird mid 90s Afghan Whigs feeding frenzy.
Because we had some problems with the band name before, we debated changing it to something more commercially palatable. I remember getting home from a practice one night where we’d discussed it and getting a call from John, who let me know that “we’re not changing our name...it’s chicken shit” so we kept Ass Ponys and drifted through major label land for a couple of albums.
Flash forward a few years. John had been out of and back in Ass Ponys and I was starting a new band called Wussy. AP was dissolving and I got another call from John. “Wussy huh? You picked another winner”. A few more years went by and through some sort of osmosis John joined Wussy. He just showed up at a practice one night and never left.
John gave us a beauty that we’ll never see again. A combination of love, friendship, stability and that amazing swirling sound. Truly a wonder. A backdrop to everything that we are, in the band and in life.
To say we’ll miss him is an understatement. It’s not gonna be the same from here on out nor should it. Death’s like that. We’ll continue to keep making up stuff, play it to the best of our abilities and make more records. There will be a hole and we’ll likely leave it that way. You can’t replace some things.
Those of you who knew John know that he held certain things ever close to his heart. His friends and his passion for his work in music and film would all be high on that list. But most of all, it was his family, especially his wife Denise and daughter Ivy...his great loves. He would misplace items constantly on the road, but he would never permit himself to be more than a few inches away from his most beloved tour accessory - a keychain holding a photo of him and his daughter from a vacation years ago. It was his good luck charm. It brought him home.
Safe travels, bud. We love you.
** We’re taking a week off from the Friday evening live stream but we’ll be back next week. In the meantime, if you’d like to share a John story in the comments, feel free. Take care out there. **