David Lescht (1948-2012) : A New Mexican Musical Appleseed
A popular deejay for nearly two decades at KUNM, David Lescht was committed to bringing quality music not only to these airwaves but to any place where human beings congregated-voluntarily or involuntarily.
Demonstrating his commitment to great music for the masses, Lescht traveled for many years between his Santa Fe area home to the KUNM studios in Albuquerque, where he maintained a regular freeform afternoon show, cranked out tunes Saturday mornings as a member of the Folk Routes collective and dutifully substituted for other slots.
“The man just loved music and loved bringing it to people,” commented fellow New Mexico musician Steve Terrell in the wake of Lescht’s passing.
“He was just an amazing character. He did so much for the community, period. KUNM was just one thing he did for the community…we were good pals, we adored each other,” said Claude Stephenson, Folk Routes collective co-founder and longtime KUNM deejay.
When Folk Routes host Dr. David Dunaway went on an extended sabbatical in the 1990s, Lescht was among “25 or 30” KUNM volunteers who answered the bugle call to duty in an enthusiastic if somewhat unwieldy effort to keep the show airing, Stephenson added.
KUNM deejay Harry Norton recalled Lescht’s Freeform shows, saying “he played a lot of African music, international music. He played a lot of world music.”
On Folk Routes, Norton remembered Lescht spinning the song of Dick Gaughan, the trilingual Scottish folk, Celtic and protest artist from the other side of the Atlantic.
According to Norton, Lescht was once so determined to interview Bob Dylan that he vowed to successfully meet the enigmatic singer/songwriter in New York City. “He decided he’d just go there and knock on his door,” Norton said.
As both a musician and band promoter, Lescht moved between his old home diggings on the West Coast, New Mexico, Spain and England, where he met his wife Sarah, before finally settling down in New Mexico
On his life journey, the former member of the old Brotherhood band also put in time managing homeless shelters.
David became a well-known community figure for spearheading Outside In, a non-profit program that staged live musical performances in prisons, homeless shelters, nursing homes and other institutions. He also organized the summertime Santa Fe Bandstand series of free concerts held on the capital city’s historic plaza.
The long bearded fellow traced his inspiration for Outside In to the Bread and Roses program in California created by his musician friend, the late Mimi Fariña, sister of iconic folk singer Joan Baez and a noted folkie in her own right.
Fariña, who was named Margarita Mimi Baez by her Mexican father and Scottish mother, was reportedly inspired in 1974 to form Bread and Roses (named after the 1911 poem “Bread and Roses” by James Oppenheim that became associated with the labor movement) after she was jailed in connection with a 1967 protest demonstration and due to her participation in a 1973 gig at New York’s Sing Sing prison together with B.B. King and her sister Joan Baez. Performing before an elated audience, Fariña,and her older sibling strummed guitars and sang in both English and Spanish.
“Lescht was completely smitten and indoctrinated to (Bread and Roses’) concept by Mimi Fariña, Stephenson recalled, describing his dear friend as an “unapologetic, dyed in the wool hippie anarchist, power to the people, in the mold of Richard and Mimi Fariña,and Joan Baez.”
Lescht was quoted in the Marin (California) Independent Journal and on the Commondreams.org website following Mimi Fariña’s death from cancer at age 56 in 2001:
“Mimi was not only an inspiration but a mentor and shining light for us. I hope it gave her comfort to know that (her work continues to touch) many lives in difficult circumstances, as far away as the mountains and deserts of New Mexico.”
Earlier, in a KUNM exclusive David interviewed Joan Baez.
David Lescht interviews Joan Baez on KUNM in 1996
The founder of Outside In had acquired relevant experience before starting the New Mexico-based organization when the Brotherhood band played hospitals and prisons, places where he witnessed how live music could uplift the spirits of confined people.
Putting his money where his mouth was, David dug into his own pockets to launch Outside In during the 1990s. The gamble paid off, and within several years the program averaged an astounding 500 events per year, while the musical ringleader dashed back and forth between Santa Fe and KUNM.
Pivotal grants from the McCune Charitable Foundation and Santa Fe Community Foundation helped put Outside In on a firmer financial footing, attracting support from Santa Fe Arts Commission, Albuquerque Community Foundation and many other funding sources.
A 1997 concert featuring Roger McGuinn of the landmark 1960s’ band The Byrds was held in Santa Fe to benefit Outside In. The show was recorded and broadcast as part of a documentary on KUNM.
A sampling of Outside In’s gigs included performances by Cajun Connections for the developmentally disabled at New Vistas in Santa Fe, Albuquerque’s Withdrawals at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas and Jono Mason’s group at the women’s prison in Grants.
Nationally-known acts added their rhythms and melodies to a project serving the incarcerated, sick and shut in of society, including Ozomatli, Arlo Guthrie and singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson.
“David was on a first-name basis with many famous stars, and he used to get them to do amazing things with Outside In,” Stephenson remarked.
In an Albuquerque Journal interview, Lescht explained both the mission and modus operandi of Outside In. “We try to uplift the spirits of people who have little or no access to the arts,” he was quoted by the newspaper.
“I try to match the right artist with the right facility. In a nursing home, we play folk or classical music and do magic shows. In a prison, we bring in a good rock/blues or reggae band with a positive message to give those people a little bit of hope.”
The energetic man behind Outside In once told the Santa Fe New Mexican that the project also had beneficial qualities for musicians. “Musicians tell me this is therapy themselves…the effect on the artist is amazing.”
Claude Stephenson, who contributed his own musical talents to Outside In, said Lescht would call his buddy at times trying to coax him into playing a last-minute performance or expending his energy in locating an emergency guitar.
As a state employee Stephenson declined payment, but the former New Mexico State Folklorist discovered how Outside In could be a joyous experience for musicians who performed to appreciative senior citizens and other audiences. “The tears, hugs, was payback enough,” Stephenson added.
Despite offers of freebies from some performers, Lescht maintained a principle that musicians merited compensation.
“They deserve payment,” he insisted to the Journal. “My goal from the very beginning was to provide professional performances. I want quality acts, and it’s important to pay for them.”
For Outside In’s endeavors, Lescht’s organization received several awards, including the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s 2001 Annual Piñon Award for the Arts and Humanities, Cornell Corrections Santa Fe County Youth Development Program’s 2001 Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2002 Mayor’s Recognition Award for Excellence in the Arts in Santa Fe.
Among varied places, Lescht’s musical reach extended into the Santa Fe County Juvenile Detention Center, where he inspired weekly guitar classes, and the Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club, outfitted with instruments courtesy of the Bonnie Raitt/Fender Guitar Program.
In the spring of 2012, then-KUNM news reporter Rita Daniels sadly informed the station community that “a beloved freeform host here at KUNM” had passed on at the age of 64. Only the day before his death, Lescht appeared on KBAC radio in Santa Fe promoting the upcoming Bandstand series. “Joe King Carrasco is the first headliner in July! Damn, David, you’re going to miss it!” wrote Steve Terrell.
Stephenson, who had a lunch date with Lescht the day he unexpectedly died, judged his friend’s sudden departure as not only a tremendous loss to KUNM but to the broader New Mexican community as well. “When he died it left a huge hole in the Santa Fe music scene, one that’s left to be filled,” Stephenson concluded.
Besides his brother Stephen, David Lescht’s family included his wife Sarah and children Alea, Tali, Petra, Tobias, and Esther Theona.
Information: Steveterrellmusic.com, Santa Fe New Mexican, November 12, 1995. Albuquerque Journal, May 4, 2012. Rita Daniels, Claude Stephenson, Harry Norton.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/santafenewmexican/obituary.aspx?n=david-lescht&pid=164558720
https://outsideinproductions.org.
https://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0719-02.htm, www.legacy.com
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mimi-farina-dies-249997/
https://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/bread-and-roses-by-james-oppenheim/
Edited by Kent Paterson
