For hardcore fans of heavy metal music, nothing could be more metal than shuffling off this mortal coil while shredding on their guitar onstage and keeling over.
But for longtime local heavy metal guitarist Greg “Clee” Clecak, that came frighteningly close to how he met his demise, and it really wasn’t as thrilling as one might hope it to be.
During a show March 8 at Toot’s Tavern in Crockett, Clee was just finishing up a song with his band, Hellbender, when he says, “I remember hearing a weird noise on stage and then getting all sweaty.” He continues, “I went down to adjust my foot pedal, and then I hit the floor, on my butt; I couldn’t get up. I knew something was definitely wrong.”
As it turns out, something was most definitely wrong, and Clee had suffered a fairly major stroke. And as he continues to heal, our ever resilient Sonoma County music community has come together for a benefit show, Clee Fest, on Saturday, May 9, at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. Hellbender will headline, with support from friends From Hell, Unprovoked, Right to Remain and Here Comes the Comet, with proceeds from the $15 cover going towards Clee’s road to recovery.
Clee has been a staple in the Sonoma County music scene for more than three decades, playing guitar in bands including his self-titled band Clee, Porterhouse, Crimeseen and since 2011, Hellbender. Beside him on stage in every iteration has been high school buddy, bassist Eric Lee, who is also the host of Metaluma on Petaluma’s radio station KPCA.
Naturally, Lee was onstage with Clee when the stroke occurred and notes, “We have played Toots Tavern over a dozen times, so it was business as usual. We were four songs in, and I saw him reach down to his pedalboard, and then he was sitting down looking confused.” Lee goes on, saying, “Our singer, ‘Dollar’ Bill [Scheffler], went over to check on him and got him to the front of the stage, and we heard a nurse [from the crowd] come over to check on him, so that was reassuring. She got ice on the back of his neck.”
Then, the scene got even weirder. Lee laughs, recounting, “Clee goes, ‘I’m good; keep playing.’ It was all surreal when it was going on. We played two more songs while he was sitting there, and then we had to stop because he was really not feeling good at that point.”
One may have clocked that there was indeed a nurse in the audience that night, and if she hadn’t been, everyone agrees the upcoming May 9 show may be a memorial. Lee says, “She saved his life by putting ice on his neck because that is supposedly one of the first things you should do for a stroke victim. I didn’t know that until then. She is an angel.” Who says the dark forces of the devil’s music don’t look out for their own?
Since the stroke, Clee has been shuttled to a few different hospitals as his care needs have improved. He is at home now and working daily on rehabilitation. “Sutter Health Care provided me with physical therapy for the first four weeks, and now I’m doing the exercises at home. I’m projected to be back to normal in 60-90 days, and so I’m almost there but not quite,” he remarks. “I feel a lot better, but not 100% yet.”
Lee says, “Clee is getting better every day, but there’s still a lot to do to get back to playing a Hellbender gig. But he’s determined, so it will happen. It could be three months or six months; we just don’t know. But the good news is that he will make a full recovery.” He adds, “We had this Phoenix show booked months before, so we decided to turn it into a benefit for our brother, so it’s all about Clee Fest now.”
Clee Fest, 8pm, Saturday, May 9, at The Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St., Petaluma. For more information and tickets, visit bit.ly/cleefest.
