Flat Duo Jets’ Dexter Romweber has died

Dexter Romweber of North Carolina psychobilly/garage-punk legends Flat Duo Jets died on Friday at age 57. News came via his family who released a statement and tribute on Romweber’s official Facebook:

It is our sad duty to inform the world that our beloved youngest brother John Michael Romweber II – you know him as Dexter — died at home on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. He was 57 years old, and found by his sister Monica. It is believed he died of natural causes; a medical exam is pending.

Singer, guitarist, artist and bon vivant, Dexter Romweber was one of the most acclaimed artists of the roots-rock underground, going back to his time with the Kamikazes. But the band that put him on the map was Flat Duo Jets, the guitar/drums duo he started in 1983 with Chris “Crow” Smith (and later with Tony Mayer on bass). While the Jets never broke through commercially, their fiery sturm and twang was a major influence on artists including the White Stripes, X, Cat Power and Neko Case.

After the Jets broke up in the late 1990s, Dexter played in a variety of acts including The New Romans and Dex Romweber Duo with his sister Sara. He released more than a dozen group and solo albums over the years, playing everything from wild-eyed rockabilly to Rachmaninoff-styled classical piano. His most recent album was “Good Thing Goin’,” released in 2023.

Romweber was preceded in death by his sister Sara; brothers Joe and Luke; and most recently his mother Sara.

We will have more to say soon, but ask for privacy at this time.

Dexter was a charismatic eccentric from the start, as anyone who has seen the very memorable segment on Dex that aired on MTV’s The Cutting Edge in the mid-’80s knows. (You can watch that below.) He may have inspired by Gene Vincent, Hasil Adkins, and The Cramps but Dex was a true original, and absolutely electric live performer, and was a huge influence on the next generation of underground musicians, including The White Stripes. Jack White reissued Flat Duo Jets’ 1991 album Go Go Harlem Baby on his Third Man label in 2011.

In the 2000s, Dex formed The Dex Romweber Duo with his sister, Sara Romweber, who was the original drummer in Let’s Active. Sara died in 2019.

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