Death of Frankie 45 Leaves Void in Dallas and Beyond

Spector 45 frontman Frankie Campagna died early Saturday morning

Spector 45 frontman Frankie Campagna died early Saturday morning at the age of 24, leaving a palpable void in the local music scene and scores of mourners in Dallas and beyond.

Details are being finalized for a memorial show Thursday at Club Dada in his honor. The doors will open at 7 p.m., and bands, including local acts the Doubledowns, Missile and Here Holy Spain, will begin playing at 8 p.m.

There will be no cover, but, according to the wishes of Frankie's father, muralist and gallery owner Frank Campagna, donations of $10 to go to the Deep Ellum Community Association will graciously be accepted.

Frankie Campagna, widely known as Frankie 45, or simply Frankie, had become a staple around the Deep Ellum area of late -- and actually had more or less grown up in the area -- both for his work with the self-styled "greaser-punk" band Spector 45 and as a bartender at Club Dada and, more recently, at Amsterdam at Exposition Park.

Frankie and I only met a few times, though we shared a few mutual friends, including Spector 45's drummer, Anthony Delabano, which, passing though our acquaintance may have been, makes this something of a task to write.

All I guess I knew about Frankie, really, was that he was a highly-talented young musician with seemingly inexhaustible potential and was a nice, gregarious guy. Before pitching this piece, the first thing I did was reach out to a mutual friend to see if he had anything he'd like me to include. After a while, though, we decided that the most poignant possible thing to say, at the moment, is this: It sucks.

Further details for the memorial show for Frankie Campagna may be found on the Dallas Observer's website.

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