RIP - Josh Burdette - thatguy

[Unsanity]

Oh man... I'm shocked. He was always kind and helpful to me. R.I.P. Thatguy.

[MattySox]

I had a class with Josh, freshman year at UMD...I remember thinking, "Holy Shit, that's a scary dude..."  And that was before almost all of the ink and piercings...but through the one semester we had together, I found out that he was a gentle, intelligent, incredibly well-spoken and passionate guy.  That was 19 years ago and dozens and dozens of shows at the Club later.  It's so hard to believe he's gone...

One on my favorite memories of Josh is with Dicky Barrett of the Bosstones sitting on his shoulders behind the barricade at a show in 2003...Dicky said, "I'll bet when this guy came to work today, he didn't know he'd have Bosstone balls on his head!"  And Josh just stood there grinning, like it was the coolest thing ever.  Later at that show, I drunkenly threw my Red Sox game jersey to Dicky and he wore it for the encore...Josh helped me find Dicky after the show and I got my jersey back, signed and all.  Everytime I've worn that jersey, I've told that story to someone...

Being at the Club will never be the same without seeing Josh on the barricade, nodding his head in time to the band, looking out for all of us.  Keep looking out for us, Josh.  We'll miss you.

[BrettnotBritt]

I'm speechless. The venue has been integral part of my life in D.C. since I attended my first show in 2000, and Josh was the face of the club. My condolences go out to his friends and family. A brutal loss for the Washington music scene.

[kosmo vinyl]

Update, 3:17 p.m. In a statement, 9:30 Club co-owner Seth Hurwitz says:

Josh was one of the wisest people you would ever meet. When you talked to him, you hoped you would be lucky enough to retain some of that wisdom, but you had to make the effort as he never forced it on you. But every word he spoke was from one of the kindest, most thoughtful and well-centered folks you could hope to have in your life.
And then there was the fantastic joke that people that didn't know him fell for every time. Here was this scary looking dude that was a complete contradiction of his appearance. I think everyone felt a little ashamed and learned from that.
We were all so proud to have him as our ambassador to the world. He was as 9:30 as 9:30 gets.

I'm pretty good at moving on but this one's gonna be tough. There will be no getting over it, sorry.

[Medusa]

Found out the news today via Facebook - so very sad - I did not know him personally but of course always saw him when I went to shows at the 9:30 Club - he was as integral to the place as the very structure that houses it, the sound system, etc. - my condolences to his friends, family & co-workers.

Cheers

DJ Medusa.

[yohansen5b]

just heard the news.  i'm so sorry.  my condolences to his family, the club, and his many, many friends.  i never met josh but saw him so many times at so many shows.  total badass, total professional.  when i think of the 930 club, i think of josh.  i don't expect that to change.

[dyecraig]

Always a true gentleman to my wife and I for as long as we've known him - his unmistakable look and presence always made us feel safe and know that we were gonna have a great time.  Last time we saw him, he was helping Rodriguez up and off the stage at 6th & I.  Wow.

[Bags]

I am so saddened and surprised. Josh was a wonderful person, and the face of the club.

My deepest condolences to his family, friends and the club family of which he was a special part.

[Relaxer]

Any info on how he died? I've heard a rumor that makes a sad story even more sad.

[ggw]

Any info on how he died? I've heard a rumor that makes a sad story even more sad.

I have seen the same thing on the news (Channel 5) and on-line (WJLA).

Very sad day.


As my wife pointed out ? everyone has a Josh story.  Hers is that she and my step-daughter waited all day to get into one of those Foo Fighters shows many years ago (the one where Seth played drums).  They were among the first handful of people in line, but when the doors opened, their names were not on the DC101 guest list as they were supposed to be.  They never spoke directly to Josh, but he apparently overheard them talking to the door staph and, without saying a word, quickly tracked down the DC101 people, confirmed that my wife and step-daughter were on the list and then personally escorted them around the corner of the club and into the back stage entrance so they would still be among the first people inside the club.   

He was a good guy and a consummate professional.

[heather]

this is a painful loss. thinking about all of josh's family, friends, and colleagues.

[SPARX]

My sincere condolences to all those who knew and loved Josh.

In my many many years attending the 9:30 club, he was always an ambassador of goowill.

There wasn't a single time when I was in need of assistance that he didn't do all he could to help and did it graciously.

 I was glad to see him get some recognition on the evening news, as he certainly had an impact in all of our lives at one point or another. He was a fine representative of the best of what D.C. has to offer. RIP Josh "Thatguy" Burdette.  You will be deeply missed.

[c.roolz]

This is incredibly sad.  I was never lucky enough to meet the guy, but he is inseparable with the club, and with DC.  I am so sorry for all of you that knew him personally.

I was screwing around online after I heard the news and made this little animated GIF of him dancing, taken from a Chuck Brown video:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/7ntQVjd.gif" title="Hosted by imgur.com" />

I thought some of you might enjoy seeing him having fun.  I will miss seeing him at the club.

[Jerrinna]

RIP that guy. 

Going to the 930 club will never be the same without you.

[eros]

everyone has a Josh story.

Here's mine....

My wife and I took our oldest (who was about 2 1/2 at the time) to see Laurie Berkner at the club.  For those who don't know, Laurie Berkner is big with the Nickelodeon crowd, playing songs about dinosaurs and clapping hands and such.  The club was decked out like a preschool, complete with juice boxes at the bar.

As we were leaving we saw Josh standing at the door, just like we had so many times in the past.  My kid stopped for a minute to look at this crazy huge pierced tattooed guy.  He just smiled and waved.  My son looked right back at him and waved back.  I learned two things at that moment - that my kid was going to be able to look past a person's exterior and that underneath what we saw was a kind, warmhearted guy.

RIP Josh, it will never be the same without you there.