| Randall Bewley | |
| Birth Name: | Randall Bewley |
| Alias: | Randy Bewley |
| Birth Date: | 25 July 1955 |
| Birth Place: | Bradenton, Florida, United States |
| Death Place: | Athens, Georgia, United States |
| Instrument: | Guitar Bass Drums |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Occupation: | Musician, Songwriter |
| Years Active: | 1978–2009 |
| Genre: | New wave, post-punk |
| Past Member Of: | Pylon Supercluster Soundhouses |
Randall Eugene Bewley (July 25, 1955 - February 25, 2009) was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia-based band Pylon.
Bewley was born in Bradenton, Florida. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, D.C., and near Atlanta, Georgia, while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art where he met Michael Lachowski, a fellow art student.[1] They became roommates and decided to form a band. He and Lachowski, along with fellow art students Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Curtis Crowe, formed Pylon, having their first performance in 1979.[2] On their first trip to New York City, they were reviewed in Interview Magazine.[3]
Bewley was a very influential guitarist and used the guitar to create not just notes, but interesting sounds as well.[4] Pylon recorded three albums, three singles and one EP.[5] The band has opened for U2, R.E.M., the B-52's, Talking Heads and Gang of Four.[6] [2] Pylon broke up twice, but they reunited and had been playing occasional shows.[7] Pylon's first album Gyrate was reissued in October 2007 by DFA records. Chomp was reissued in 2009.[1]
Bewley was an art teacher for a while, but towards the end of his life, he devoted more time to his music and his own art.[6] He also played with two other Athens projects: Sound Houses (formerly The New Sound of Numbers) and Supercluster.
On February 23, 2009, Bewley was driving on Barber Street in Athens when he suffered a heart attack. According to a statement by his band Pylon, his van drifted off the road and overturned.[8] He was admitted to Athens Regional Medical Center and lapsed into a coma; he died two days later on February 25 when he was removed from life support. He was 53.[9]
Pylon
Supercluster
Other
Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984, Penguin Books, February 2006, p. 264.
The Great Indie Discography, Canongate Books, October 2003, p. 282.
Christgau's Consumer Guide-the 80's, Pantheon Books, 1990, pp. 329, 498, 506.