Amoeba Remembers: Byron Frost
The Amoeba Hollywood employee and good friend to all has passed away
This past week, Amoeba lost one of our own. Byron Frost was a member of our security staff, much loved for his odd sense of humor, great energy and unique personality. Hailing from Texas, Byron was an old friend of Amoeba’s Austin contingent and well known at the stand-up comedy clubs there. He had just started to carve out a niche in the L.A. underground comedy scene when he tragically passed away. He made our lives better, he was hilarious and talented, he was great fun to work with, and we will miss him very much. His friend and fellow stand-up comic Brently Heilbron wrote these words for Byron:
Byron Frost, actor, comedian, Amoeba employee, has died. We wish it weren't so.
A rare example of someone who lived unapologetically without being defensive. He was who he was and went along happily about it.
In addition to working on Amoeba's security staff, Byron was helping run two comedy rooms in Los Angeles. At Hollywood's M Bar and the Big Fish in Glendale, his life was an open book. His stage presence a natural extension of his life. There was no switching on or off. He was gentle and biting. He was Byron. And Byron is cool.
Working at Amoeba Music was a happy period for him. His joyous attitude and love of music--all music--were evident. In his own words: I listen to everything, I know a lot of people say that but I actually do. I can go from John Coltrane to Slayer to Prince to Willie Nelson to soundtrack to Into The Woods. Huge fan of the following bands plus tons more Faith No More, MOTHER LOVE BONE(Andrew Wood Was the MAN!!!!!), Bad Religion, The Clash, The Ramones, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Geto Boys, Motley Crue, Blind Melon, Prince, Soul Asylum, Anthrax, C.O.C., Public Enemy, Queensryche, and many many many more"
Born and raised in Texas, Byron took up acting to fill a needed elective in high school. It was either that or agriculture, and Byron had no intention of manually inspecting the business end of a horse. From there, Byron further honed his craft at Texarkana Reparatory.
He loved comedy and studied it meticulously, listening to everyone and everything he could get his hands on. Yet, he never imitated any style. It just fueled his love for the medium. Byron LOVED and didn't mind telling you. Yes, that's homemade Batman art above his bed (lots of it). Yes, that's Mick Mars from Motley Crue fan art on his wall (drawn in marker). Why wouldn't it be? Byron is cool.
The night before he passed, he was happily telling everyone about an upcoming show he had planned with several of his friends and favorite comedians. He fell asleep at his house surrounded by friends and just kept sleeping.
In his childhood, Byron spent hours and hours switch-hitting, often as both punishment and reward, likely. Byron developed a love of sports that would often survive the franchise. He was often seen at Amoeba sporting a t-shirt for the Houston Oilers. Go BLUE! As he put it, "it was just on top of the pile." That's pretty much how he lived it. Byron went with what came next. It suited his style of fluidity. On a high school trip to Los Angeles for the Academic Pentathlon, Byron insisted that they visit Compton--on the first day of the LA Riots. He went with it. That's why he was fun. That's why he was a great comedian. We just don't get to know what's next for him now.
He was 33 years old. He should be ambling over and saying, "y'all talking about me?" He shouldn't be dead.
But Byron Frost was never about what should be. He's about what is. And what's next. He actually talked about his funeral a lot and the choice of songs he would want. "Ave Maria" followed by Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You". Yep, Byron is cool.
He is survived by his parents, sisters, family and friends. I can't believe we'll never see him again. It's the worst tragedy of all. -- Brently Heilbron |
