One of the defining figures in Chapel Hill’s music scene is gone: rock legend Dexter Romweber passed away Friday, February 16, at the age of 57.
Romweber’s family announced his passing on Facebook Friday night. A medical exam is pending, but it’s believed he died of natural causes.
John Michael “Dexter” Romweber II was born June 18, 1966, into a prominent Indiana furniture family. But Dex’s calling was rock and roll: he formed his first band at the age of 10, right around the time the family moved to Chapel Hill in 1977, and shortly thereafter he connected with Chris “Crow” Smith, with whom he formed the two-man juggernaut Flat Duo Jets in 1983. Though Dex and Crow were still in high school – playing songs they mined from the Romweber family’s collection of 50s-era records – they quickly established themselves as an indelible powerhouse, with a lo-fi garage-rock sound that directly inspired later bands like the Black Keys and the White Stripes. (The White Stripes’ Jack White counted Dex as a lifelong friend and frequently cited him as a major influence, calling him “one of the best kept secrets of the rock ‘n’ roll underground.”) For years, the center of the local music scene was Dex’s residence – a garage behind the Romwebers’ Pine Street house in Carrboro, which he styled after the Addams Family and lovingly called the Moz. (Short for “mausoleum.”)
For 15 years, the Jets’ iconic sound would be shaped by that uncanny “sturm und twang” combination of retro rock and dark humor. (Call it ‘psychobilly’ if you want, though Dex always insisted – rightly – that a single label could never suffice.) That energy boiled over into their legendary live shows, every one unforgettable. “His face contorted and his eyes rolled back in his head,” music journalist Aaron Gilbreath once wrote of Dex’s onstage persona. “He frothed, jogged in place and swung his body as if temporarily freed from gravity. People thought he was possessed.”
The Flat Duo Jets split up in the late 1990s, but Dex barely skipped a beat, releasing several solo albums in the early 2000s. Later, he formed the Dex Romweber Duo, with his sister Sara on drums – and he never stopped playing and recording, releasing what would turn out to be his final album, “Good Thing Goin’,” just last year.
But Dex’s later years were marred by tragedy. He lost three of his six siblings in a two-year span, including Sara, who died of a brain tumor in 2019; his mother also passed away recently as well. Still, despite those tragedies, Dex continued making music to the end, dedicating “Good Thing Goin'” to his sister in honor of her memory.
Poignantly, a 1985 Daily Tar Heel article about Romweber ends with a single, short sentence: “Dexter will live forever.” His memory, his legacy, and his impact assuredly will.
Featured photo by Stacy Watson.
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Dexter was legendary on the streets of “ChiCarrboro” in the early 80’s and every time I passed him walking those streets I made sure to palm him a 10 or 20 dollar bill to encourage his pursuits. There should be a star added to a sidewalk somewhere…..