![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/john-lemire-teenage-photo.jpg\")
John Lemire, far right, in an undated photo.<\/p>\nJohn Lemire\u2019s name may not be immediately recognizable to many people in Phoenix\u2019s music scene. <\/p>\n
But that was never a measure of his impact.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t a musician, aside from playing piano as a kid. He didn\u2019t promote concerts or play in bands. In the \u201990s and 2000s, the closest he got to a local stage was working the door at iconic Tempe rock bars like Nita\u2019s Hideaway, Long Wong\u2019s and Yucca Tap Room.<\/p>\n
But after Lemire died on July 11 in V\u0169ng T\u00e0u, Vietnam, at age 53 from complications related to alcohol use, friends and musicians half a world away were heartbroken. Tributes began appearing across social media from past and present members of Phoenix\u2019s music scene who knew him.<\/p>\n
Liar\u2019s Handshake frontman Jared Christy called Lemire \u201ca true original.\u201d Former Eastside Records clerk Bob Schriner described him as \u201ca champion of his friends.\u201d Singer-songwriter Tremayne Ford said Lemire felt like a father figure who encouraged his music.<\/p>\n
Lemire\u2019s name never appeared on marquees or flyers. But Christy says he was an integral part of the Tempe music scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohnny was always around,\u201d Christy says. \u201cHe was usually the first person you saw when you showed up, and that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lemire\u2019s ties to Phoenix\u2019s music scene are reflected in the lineup for his memorial show Saturday, Feb. 7, at Yucca Tap Room, benefiting nonprofit Paz de Cristo. Many of his friends will perform, including singer-songwriter Rob Campbell and Christy\u2019s band Liar\u2019s Handshake. Minibosses and Tucson hardcore act Got Bit! share the bill.<\/p>\n
Arizona concert promoter Charlie Levy, who booked Nita\u2019s from 1998 through the early 2000s, says Lemire was a familiar face to musicians, DJs and showgoers alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a really good guy and everybody liked Johnny,\u201d Levy says. \u201cHe knew everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Lemire, far right, in an undated photo.<\/p>\n
\u2018(He) always marched to his own drummer\u2019<\/p>\n
Lemire was born at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and moved frequently as a child. His family lived in Colorado, the Philippines and Hawaii before settling in Arizona in 1982, when Lemire was 11.<\/p>\n
His mother, Catherine Alford, says Lemire was exceptionally bright and deeply curious from a young age. He was a voracious reader, often devouring several books at once.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was extremely smart and very well read,\u201d Alford says. \u201cEven right before he died, we were talking about politics, music and what each other was reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Music was always present at home. Lemire took piano lessons as a child and picked it up quickly, though never pursuing it seriously. Instead, he gravitated toward ideas, language and long conversations.<\/p>\n
After Lemire\u2019s father was killed in a 1988 plane crash at Mesa\u2019s Williams Air Force Base (now Mesa Gateway Airport), Alford says her son was deeply affected. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe always had an underlying depression for a long time\u201d Alford says. \u201cHe\u2019d been through counseling, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019d ever got over his father\u2019s sudden death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alford says Lemire \u201calways marched to his own drummer\u201d and despite taking classes at Arizona community colleges, decided college wasn\u2019t for him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe never did what we wanted or expected him to do,\u201d Alford says. \u201cEveryone in my entire family went to college and graduated, but John was smarter than all of us and he just wasn\u2019t interested in that. He could\u2019ve done anything he wanted, but had a mind of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n
At one point, Lemire summed himself up in an email to his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my drummer starts drumming, I start marching,\u201d Lemire wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s the only explanation for my character and actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/john-lemire-friends-tempe-music-scene.jpg.jpg\")
John Lemire, third from left, with friends at a Tempe home where he lived in the 1990s. From left: Dan Hargest, Lemire, Josh Wendt, Shamsi Ruhe, Emily Curtis, Aaron Wendt, Tony Markos, Shahzad Ismaily and Amy Markos.<\/p>\n
Life in the Tempe scene<\/p>\n
Lemire gravitated toward Tempe\u2019s thriving late-\u201990s music scene, showing up to gigs and spending long hours with bands at venues and coffeehouses. Aaron Wendt, a former member of Tempe bands Source Victoria and Ticker Tape Parade, first met Lemire during that stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t play music, but all of his friends were musicians,\u201d Wendt says. \u201cHe was totally in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lemire and Wendt also lived in communal Tempe houses that became gathering spots for local musicians, as well as makeshift practice spaces and recording studios.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always around, listening to stuff during practices and giving us feedback,\u201d Wendt says. \u201cHe was a constant source of support.\u201d <\/p>\n
Charlie Levy, who shared one such house with Lemire, recalls a rotating cast of then-local musicians passing through, including Emily Curtis, Jamal Ruhe and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big house with like 10 people living there, including Johnny,\u201d Levy says. \u201cWe\u2019d sit around having deeper conversations than most 20-year-olds, and he was always reading these huge, thick books.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wendt remembers spending entire afternoons having similar chats with Lemire at now-defunct Tempe coffeehouse Higher Ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was one of those people you could just listen to for hours,\u201d Wendt says. \u201cWe\u2019d be talking about World War II history one minute and SpongeBob the next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christy says Lemire\u2019s intelligence could be intimidating at first, especially to younger musicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was usually the smartest guy in the room,\u201d Christy says. \u201cBut once he warmed up to you, he was the biggest teddy bear.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Exterior](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nitas-hideaway-tempe-music-venue-2001.jpg\")
The now-demolished Nita\u2019s Hideaway in Tempe, pictured in 2001.<\/p>\n
Working at iconic Tempe venues<\/p>\n
Lemire began working security at Tempe bars in the late 1990s. Levy recalls tapping him to join the staff at Nita\u2019s Hideaway after he began booking shows there in 1998.<\/p>\n
Though Lemire was short and stocky (Christy jokes he was \u201cbuilt like a bowling ball\u201d), he wasn\u2019t the most intimidating of bouncers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became the opposite of what you\u2019d expect from security,\u201d Levy says. \u201cHe\u2019d sit at the front, smoke cigarettes and say hi to people. It felt like a friend hanging out at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lemire worked the door at Nita\u2019s until its original location closed in 2002, later moving to Long Wong\u2019s on Mill Avenue until it shut down in 2004 and later at Yucca Tap Room.<\/p>\n
Patrick Sedillo, frontman of Tempe band The Piersons, remembers Lemire as calm and fair during those years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen some awful bouncers,\u201d Sedillo says. \u201cJohn was not one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20_-_long_wongs_then.webp.jpeg\")
Iconic Tempe rock bar Long Wong\u2019s on Mill Avenue in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n
Vincent Ramirez, drummer for Flathead, says Lemire stood out during a chaotic era when Tempe music venues were packed with live music fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always kind and gracious,\u201d Ramirez says. \u201cThat was rare back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
For younger concertgoers, Lemire also shaped early experiences in the scene. Phoenix resident Jennie Rice met Lemire at Nita\u2019s when she was 19 and admits he let her in despite being underage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was chill and welcoming,\u201d Rice says. \u201cHe made you feel comfortable right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the only time Lemire flouted the rules while working security. Levy recalls when members of the local Hell\u2019s Angels began \u201cgiving us trouble\u201d at Nita\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember saying, \u2018John, you can\u2019t let the Hell\u2019s Angels in unless they pay a cover.\u2019 They threatened him, and he goes \u2018I let \u2019em in. What would you do?\u2019\u201d Levy says. \u201cI was like, \u2018All right, I would\u2019ve done that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levy laughs at the memory. <\/p>\n
\u201cJohnny was a character,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/john-lemire-vietnam.jpg\")
John Lemire, right, with his fianc\u00e9e, T\u0103ng Th\u1ecb Ng\u1ecdc Hi\u1ec1n, in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Lifelong struggle with alcohol<\/p>\n
Despite the friendships and goodwill around him, Lemire struggled privately. Alford says her son dealt with alcohol abuse throughout his life beginning when he was 18, followed by periods of sobriety and relapse.<\/p>\n
In the 2010s, Alford says Lemire worked a series of short-term jobs, including teaching English in Thailand. while trying to deal with his addiction. Rice says Lemire was also homeless for a time during that period.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed a place to stay,\u201d Rice says. \u201cHe really didn\u2019t seem to be in a great spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending two years in a sober living house, Lemire moved to Vietnam in 2018 to teach English, hoping for a reset. Friends say he took naturally to the classroom, even if teaching was not his original ambition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of vocabulary and the use of the English language, he was one of those people that it was fun to just listen to him talk,\u201d Aaron Wendt says.<\/p>\n
While living in Vietnam, Lemire met his fianc\u00e9e, T\u0103ng Th\u1ecb Ng\u1ecdc Hi\u1ec1n, a deaf woman friends say he cared for deeply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really took care of her and they understood and loved each other,\u201d Rice says. \u201cHe always wanted to help care for people and not just himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the pandemic hit in 2020, it took its toll on Lemire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of destroyed everything for him mentally and financially,\u201d Rice says. \u201cIt hit him really hard. He was isolated in this tiny Vietnamese town by himself and couldn\u2019t teach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alford says visa issues also kept Lemire from finding steady work, and his struggles with alcohol resurfaced, resulting in his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis demons followed him to Vietnam,\u201d Alford says.<\/p>\n
Friends were devastated by his death. Rice, who helped organize Saturday\u2019s memorial show at Yucca Tap Room, says the gigs is focused on the friendships Lemire made and the music he loved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to have a gathering where we could remember him,\u201d Rice says. \u201cMusic meant so much to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Memorial Show and Celebration for John Lemire. 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, at Yucca Tap Room, 29 W. Southern Ave., Tempe. Admission is $10 at the door.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Lemire\u2019s name may not be immediately recognizable to many people in Phoenix\u2019s music scene. But that was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":570811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,141257,593,1589,26228,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-570810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-history-nostalgia","12":"tag-obituaries","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-tempe","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116024496088464244","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}