In Praise of Drummers: Goodbye Arthur Hays

Arthur Hays was an irreplaceable figure in music scenes that included San Antonio, Austin, and most recently Houston. A Texas native son born who graduated from high school in the early 1970s, he was a rock’n’roll drum legend whose sheer titanic pounding, flexing rhythmic force, and sheer velocity filled records by The Next, The Ideals, Mystery Dates, Bang Gang, Hickoids, and more, including the project of a lifetime, Screech of Death, an old school punk unit anchored by the love of his life Lisafer/Lisa Pifer. Arthur was a genuine figure that endured some tough times, including multiple stints in prison, but he found a state of grace in the end through his music community and punk family values.