Wayne “Doobie” Fabra, original drummer of the groundbreaking New Orleans band GRAVEYARD RODEO, died on January 15. He was 58 years old.Fabra’s death comes a little over five years after the passing of GRAVEYARD RODEO singer Perry McAuley.Kyle Thomas of fellow New Orleans metal band EXHORDER paid tribute to Fabra, writing in a social media post: “I just saw the devastating news- and I’m not okay upon learning it.”Rest well, Wayne ‘Doobie’ Fabra. A friend and mentor to me when I was a fifteen year old kid just learning about punk and hardcore.”GRAVEYARD RODEO was bridging punk and metal on the New Orleans scene before EXHORDER was even a thought. We played many shows together, had lots of fun and laughs as well over the years. Never did this Goliath of a man make me feel any smaller than he was- and he was SCARY looking. He’d be proud to hear me say that. A vicious drummer that hit hard and sang as well, he helped shape this New Orleans scene. If you don’t know much about him or GRAVEYARD RODEO, start doing your homework now- it’s worth it.”I love ya, big guy. May you rot in peace…”According to Fabra’s official obituary, his relatives and friends are invited to attend a visitation to be held at St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home in Chalmette, Louisiana on Thursday, January 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., followed by a funeral service in his memory beginning at 1:00 p.m. He will be laid to rest in St. Bernard Memorial Gardens Cemetery.Pioneers of the New Orleans underground scene, fusing metal, hardcore and doom that would later spawn the “sludge” sound which New Orleans has become famous for, GRAVEYARD RODEO’s history dates back to 1980 when they formed in New Orleans under the moniker BOB’S BARBEQUE.GRAVEYARD RODEO’s demos “Realms Of The Undead” and “Cruelty To Animals” in the mid-1980s shook the underground with tracks such as “Nuke The Nation”, “I Wanna Rot” and “Bad Seed”. They were regular fixtures at such noted clubs in the area as Jed’s, Muddy Waters, Rose Tattoo, Tipitina’s, and the V.F.W. Hall on Franklin Ave alongside SHELL SHOCK and EXHORDER. The band would share stages with touring acts BLACK FLAG, D.R.I., BUTTHOLE SURFERS, DEAD KENNEDYS and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, whose guitarist/singer Pepper Keenan was a member of GRAVEYARD RODEO prior to joining C.O.C. in 1988.GRAVEYARD RODEO’s Halloween shows were legendary, with “splatter films,” throwing fish guts into the crowd and Perry being brought out in body bag, then rising up covered in blood at the beginning of the band’s sets. In 1989, they were picketed by a local church group which found the group’s flyer so offensive that the controversy was covered by local CBS affiliate WWL Channel 4 in New Orleans. (The resulting attention brought an even bigger crowd to GRAVEYARD RODEO’s usually sold-out Halloween show.)By 1993, Century Media had signed GRAVEYARD RODEO and released the band’s debut album, “Sowing Discord In The Haunts Of Man”. A European tour opening for SICK OF IT ALL followed.GRAVEYARD RODEO was very well received all over Europe, with great press in all the heavy metal magazines of the time. This version of the band broke up upon its return home fron the road. A second version featuring new members released “On The Verge” the next year before calling it quits permanently.Fabra later surfaced as the singer of CHRIST INVERSION and drummer for the reactivated NECROPHAGIA over the course of the 1990s and into the 2000s.The “Sowing Discord” lineup reunited for one show in October of 2007 for the Raise The Dead Festival II in New Orleans at the Howlin’ Wolf.Photo courtesy of Al Hodge[embedded content]
