The past 12 months have been particularly bruising for the North Texas music scene, as it has said goodbye — in many cases, far too soon — to a great many key figures, such as Shaun Martin, Daron Beck and John Freeman, to name just three.
With the passing of Mark Ridlen — who died Nov. 16 at the age of 65, after a protracted and valiant battle against kidney and lung cancer, according to multiple reports — a beloved collaborator and key link to some of Dallas’ seminal musical history has been lost.
“He was a creative force of nature who could not be slowed down,” wrote Reid Robinson, a frequent collaborator, enduring friend and co-host with Ridlen of “Sonic Assembly Power Hour,” a weekly show on KNON, wrote on Facebook following Ridlen’s passing. “Mr. Rid was a mentor, a friend and like a big brother to me. I have no doubt many others share this same sentiment.”
Ridlen, who performed under the musical moniker DJ Mr. Rid, was an integral part of the ascent of dance music in Dallas, and regularly gigged at the Starck Club in the 1980s.
“In the early ’80s, I started making mixtapes for vintage clothing stores and various friends which landed me a gig at the Starck Club when it first opened in 1984, and also when the Starck briefly reopened in ’96,” Ridlen told the Dallas Observer in 2014. “At that time, I had started programming music for soundtracks, fashion events and friends’ weddings.”
In addition to working at the Starck Club, Ridlen also launched Lithium X-Mas, a psychedelically inclined rock band, and one of the sonic linchpins of the Deep Ellum scene in the late 1980s.
“Lithium X-Mas was, in my opinion, the only noise art rock of our city,” wrote Tim DeLaughter in a Nov. 17 Facebook post memorializing Ridlen. “They invented it for us, and Mark’s gentle madness made it approachable.”
Ridlen’s DJ services remained in demand right up until his death, performing at this year’s State Fair of Texas. According to Robinson, plans are in the works for a celebration of Ridlen’s life on Jan. 11 at the Texas Theatre, with additional details coming in the next few weeks.
For now, however, DJ Mr. Rid’s friends, fans and fellow artists are left to mourn his passing. As my KXT colleague Waffles noted on a recent episode of “The Homegrown Show,” Ridlen’s brainchild, Lithium X-Mas, “encapsulates the eccentric and boundary-pushing nature of [his] musical presence.”
“His absence is already felt in the scene,” she said.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
