Metal gods

Dallas guitarist Mike Scaccia, of Ministry and Rigor Mortis fame, died Saturdayat Fort Worth club

Guitarist Mike Scaccia, who passed away in the early hours on December 23, 2012.

Photo courtesy of Omar Mena Photography
Rigor Mortis' final show at the Rail Club in Fort Worth on December 22.

Photo courtesy of Susan Roden Photography

Dallas musician Mike Scaccia, who achieved national acclaim as guitarist for metal-rock bands such as Ministry, the Skatenigs and Rigor Mortis, died on Saturday during a performance at the Rail Club in Fort Worth. He was 47.

Fans saw Scaccia collapse in a seizure while onstage during a Rigor Mortis show, from what was reported by some friends to be a heart attack. He was taken to the hospital but did not recover.

Susan Roden, a friend, saw him in the green room right before the band went onstage. "He was in great spirits. I know that," she said.

One witness posted on Facebook that Scaccia fell in the middle of a solo.

His daughter Sarah posted a poignant message on his Facebook page at 3 am Dallas time, saying, "I love you so much dad. I love you so much."

Rigor Mortis played at 11 pm, as part of a long-anticipated show that included Maleficus, Embalmed and Rabid Flesh Eaters.

The band formed in 1983 in Arlington as a three-piece with Scaccia on guitar, Casey Orr on bass and Harden Harrison on drums; singer Bruce Corbitt joined the band in 1986. Their self-titled debut was released by Capitol Records record in 1988, followed by 1989's Freaks and 1991's Rigor Mortis vs. The Earth.

Scaccia rose to national prominence in 1989 when he joined industrial metal band Ministry on their "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" tour. He played on Ministry's platinum-selling album Psalm 69 and the '95 release Filth Pig, and he joined Ministry on the 1992 tour of Lollapalooza.

Scaccia also played with other industrial metal bands such as Revolting Cocks and Lard, and on solo releases by Ministry founder Al Jourgensen. In March 2012, the two recorded a new Ministry album called Relapse.

Despite his fame, he remained generous and down-to-earth, said drummer Andre Avelar, who played with Scaccia in a band called League of Blind Women.

"He was a shining example of what you would like to hope that fame brings, in that he remained true to his roots and was kind even to those he knew only moderately," Avelar said. "He had his demons over the years, including some drug use [Scaccia and Jourgensen were arrested in 1995 for possession of heroin], but no one ever had a bad word to say about Mike Scaccia."

In August 2012, the original Rigor Mortis lineup reunited and had been working on a new album, Slaves to the Grave.

One post on his Facebook page spoke for a lot of local fans.

"You will be greatly missed by the metal world and especially those of us who grew up within the DFW local metal scene (80s-90s). We have lost another legend from our metal family waaay too soon and you will always be remembered as one of the greats!"

Corbitt bid goodbye, calling Scaccia "the greatest guitar player I ever knew."

In Scaccia's last update, he said, "These next 2 shows is what I worked my whole life for... Look out Mother Fuckers...hahha"

Chris Kelly, singer for League of Blind Women, said that he and Scaccia had talked about the similarly untimely death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, guitarist for Arlington metal band Pantera, who was shot and killed while onstage in a club in Ohio in December 2004.

"He once said, 'If I go out ripping on stage, what's a better way to go?'" Kelly said. "And he did."

Scaccia was survived by his wife Jenny Rowen Scaccia, their two children Gianna and Ryder, and older daughters Sarah Scaccia and Taarna Scaccia Hopkins.

UPDATE: According to the Star-Telegram, police responded to a call from the club at 11:45 pm, and Sciacca was pronounced dead at 12:26 am in the emergency room at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

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Movie Review

John Turturro takes rare lead in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

John Turturro is one of those people who embodies the term “character actor” the best. With over 120 credits in his nearly 50-year career, Turturro has rarely been the star of any of his projects. Instead, filmmakers have mostly used his unique face, New York accent, and inimitable acting style to help support the lead actors, a role for which Turturro seems well-suited.

Now 69, Turturro is taking the reins in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, playing Harry, a long-in-the-tooth thief who still has skills but not as many opportunities. The plucking of wallets isn’t as lucrative in the mostly-cashless modern society, and Harry has little use for smartphones since he doesn’t know how to use them. However, a rare opportunity presents itself when he happens upon Dylan (Will Price), a young man who seems to be as oblivious as he is rich.

After a clever robbery of Dylan’s vintage car, though, Harry discovers he might be in over his head, especially when he finds a card-shaped USB drive. It's the contents of the drive that soon puts Harry and anyone around him in danger, including his wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave), who’s suffering from unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; Ben (Steve Buscemi), who helps Harry sell stolen items; and even his estranged daughter Kelly (Tatiana Maslany).

Written and directed by Noah Segan, the film is a low-key thriller made to emulate the tempo of Harry’s life. While one of the plot points puts a degree of urgency into his actions, for the most part Harry is someone for whom slow and steady always wins the race. He is someone who has developed relationships over decades, including with NYPD Detective Warren (Giancarlo Esposito), and it’s those bonds that help him make it through each day.

Even though Harry is a criminal, the film treats him as an overall good guy, especially through the way he takes care of Rosie and the generosity he displays with his (stolen) money. Almost no one has a bad thing to say about him, and so Segan comes up with a couple of ways to give him more depth. His one scene with Kelly does the trick, providing a glimpse into a lesser man who clearly existed at one time.

One of the pleasures of the film for longtime movie fans are the reunions Turturro has with Buscemi (his co-star in The Big Lebowski) and Esposito (his co-star in Do the Right Thing). All three could be all-stars on a team of character actors, with each having made big impressions in all sorts of roles over the past 40 years. Seeing them back together again as very different characters from when they last collaborated underscores the level of talent each of them has.

Turturro ably carries the load in the lead role, but given his acting style and the type of role he’s called to play, his performance is far from showy. The same goes for Buscemi and Esposito, who are there to give great support to the classic supporting actor. When someone does go over-the-top, as Price does in most of his scenes, it stands out in a bad way. Maslany scores a lot of points in her brief appearance.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a quiet film with big rewards despite its small ambitions. The beauty of the story lies in its small details, both character-related and not. Turturro rarely disappoints when he’s not the lead actor, and he demonstrates that he’s equally capable of making a movie great when he’s out front.

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The Only Living Pickpocket in New York opens in theaters on October 30.

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