Tribute to Randy Snodgrass RIP brother

Randy Snodgrass was more than a brother, more than a friend, more than a loving father. When we started our friendship in 1983 I knew I had found a life-long friend, who's memory now, is not far behind the quickest of thoughts.

And although Randy leaves behind a legacy of unforgettable memories, his spirit remains with his friends and family members.

This is the actual crash site of our dear brother in spirit, minutes after his funeral. The pain is in our eyes, and still tugs at our consciousnesses.

Randy was the life of parties, a brilliant public speaker, a menacing nose-tackle, and a friend that would give you the shirt off his back anytime, although he may tell you that you'd have to rip it off......then smiling like only Randy could. His smile rivaled that of any alligator, and so too, did his voracious appetite.

Randy and I were virtually inseparable, thru our high school years and beyond. He loved the band ACDC, and could sound exactly like Bon Scott, his idol, and possibly a lifestyle that led to both of their demises.

One evening in 1985 we jumped on a Ouija board in an apartment I was living in while attending Charles Page High School in Sand Springs Oklahoma. We had already involved ourselves in Ouija sessions, and lit candles, turned on the black lights, and knocked back a few shots of Tequila Gold, with lime.

Randy wanted to summon Bon Scott, his obsession with was quite the talk of the school. Randy was on suspension for wearing a "Highway to Hell," t-shirt, and I was ready to help him in his quest.

" We want to talk to Bon Scott of ACDC!"......Randy exclaimed. The planchette moved in circles, and spelled A.Y.E. Mate! We looked at each other in amazement! The entity was using Australian dialects! We become convinced we were talking to Bon, and it asked US a strange request. It asked us to light a cigarette, and place it in the hole in the planchette! What proceeded both made us laugh, and well.....become quite spooked. We lit a Marlboro 100, took a few drags and placed it cherry up into the planchette hole.

We put our fingers on the smoking center-piece, and it spelled thanks, while we witnessed the cherry light up like ol Bon was enjoying perhaps his first cigarette since 1971! We were bright eyed school kids enjoying ourselves until things took a different spin.

When the cigarette was smoked down to a snipe, the planchette spelled FUCK YOU RANDY!  I had hope this wouldn't happen, but had seen it before. It was Zozo all along! The planchette spelled out that he was going to banish Randy to hell, Randy didn't take kindly to threats, and proceeded to cuss out Zozo like only Randy could. Then Zozo spelled "I WILL HAVE YOUR SOUL."

I quickly ended the session, and tossed the board like a frisbee outside my balcony on the second floor of a complex in Sand Springs. The next day our Indian guitar buddy knocked on my door. He brought inside the Ouija I threw out the evening before.

Randy began a series of lows after that session. He lost his wife Kathy, endured a bitter divorce, but was awarded split custody with their son Chance. He lost his Harley Davidson motorcycle, which sent him to years of depression and alcohol abuse. I was with him every step of the way, until we too had a falling out. I didn't speak to Randy for three years, until I showed up on his birthday as a surprise, and to mend old wounds. That night we become Indian blood brothers.

Randy and I traveled across the country chasing storms, as my Father worked for various Insurance Companies as a catastrophe adjuster. We met a cool group of Australians who overheard Randy singing ACDC on Bourban Street in New Orleans. As chance might have it, the original bass player for ACDC was with this group, who made plans for an ACDC tribute band. As fate would have it, they invited Randy and me to fly to Melbourne Australia the following month for the audition. Unfortunately, we never made it, as Randy couldn't leave his precious Chance. And I could not leave my children as well.

Randy was discovered by Francis Ford Coppola in a restaurant in Tulsa Oklahoma. He invited him to be paid stuntman actor for the film The Outsiders.

Notice the ZOetrope Studios logo? The Z connects to it's inverted relationship with the the letter S. Is this synchromysticim? The film was shot entirely on location in Tulsa Oklahoma, many scenes shot at The Admiral Twin Drive-In which burnt to the ground in 2010. As it write this, I see this connection for the first time.....you never know when the syncs will reveal themselves.

Randy gave me a bandana worn by Matt Dillon in the film, one of his prized possessions. Randy also went on to have roles in the films Rumble Fish, Tex, and others. Randy turned down a lucrative career in Hollywood to be with his son Chance, and was not willing to take a chance by leaving his only son.

Randy felt like he was in a prison, and one of his favorite ACDC songs was Jailbreak. He also enjoyed Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, and of course, Jimmy Page.

In our last Ouija session in 2005, Randy asked Zozo when he would die. The board responded by saying I-N  C-A-R......A-T  N-I-G-H-T.....A-L-O-N-E

Randy died in 2007 in a violent head on collision with a telephone pole at a dangerous turn on Wikiowa road less than a mile from his home. His last words to me hours before the accident, and I will never forget the pain in his voice....."Darren, I will see you in HELL."

The next morning I got the call from his girfriend Alicia. 

"Randy never made it home last night Darren." 

The tears were are rolling down my face.

The chills run up and down my entire body.

"Randy is dead."

I punched the brick wall, the tears now joining my blood, and my brother flowed  away.

Randy dedicated this song to me after the untimely death of Dime-Bag Darrell of Pantera, just months before he died. And his last hug he gave me lifted my large frame up off the ground. That was the last time I saw my best friend alive.

Our dear friend and brother Greg Lee says goodbye. Greg is tattooing Randy face on his back, because thats what Randy had, was your back, without question, right or wrong he stood to defend his friends and family.

Me and Dallas De'Priest say our final goodbye's, the pain on Dallas's face will forever show the pain of losing a brother such as what was, and still is the legacy of Randall Lee Snodgrass. A cloud formed over the burial and rained on us all that day. And now every time I hear the old songs, I cry, and I laugh at the same time.

Randy left his son behind, and Chance is doing well. He is pursuing his father's dreams for him, and is also going to law enforcement training. Someday Chance will find himself through his fathers eyes which burn inside him. Randy's father was once a world class powerlifter, and we called him superman. Randy emulated his Father in many ways, and his spirit keeps us strong, focused, and passionate.

Goodbye my brother, you will always be a thought away.