Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
Randall Eugene Bewley (July 25, 1955 – February 25, 2009) was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a fellow art student. They became roommates and decided to form a band. He and Lachowski, along with fellow art students Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Curtis Crowe, formed Pylon, having their first performance in 1979. On their first trip to New York City, they were reviewed in Interview Magazine.
Bewley was a very influential guitarist and used the guitar to create not just notes, but interesting sounds as well. Pylon recorded three albums, three singles and one EP. The band has opened for U2, R.E.M., the B-52s, the Talking Heads and Gang of Four. Pylon broke up twice, but reunited and had been playing occasional shows. Pylon's first album Gyrate was reissued in October 2007 by DFA records. Chomp was reissued in 2009.
Bewley was an art teacher for a while, but towards the end of his life devoted more time to his music and his own art. He also played with two other Athens projects: Sound Houses (formerly The New Sound of Numbers) and Supercluster.
On February 23, 2009, Bewley was driving on Barber Street in Athens when he suffered a heart attack. According to the band's statement, his van drifted off the road and overturned. He was admitted to Athens Regional Medical Center and lapsed into a coma; he died two days later on February 25 when he was removed from life support. He was 53.