Some evenings Chad Percy, aka Cadillac Fraf, parked his car near the patio at the Chat Room Pub in the Hospital District, plopped down on the hood and strummed his guitar. The tattooed 36-year-old who performed regularly at Fort Worth live music halls played “old-school country,” including a few songs by Hank Williams. “Senior, not junior,” said Brad Hensarling, the pub?s owner. “He even knew a lot of old hobo songs from time he had spent hopping trains. The customers loved him.” Percy, considered a stalwart of the Fort Worth live music circuit, died in a Fort Worth nursing home Saturday from a head injury suffered more than three months ago in a scooter accident. Percy was riding his scooter on Eighth Avenue just south of the Interstate 30 overpass early Sept. 25 when he struck a curb, police said. He was on his way home from meeting friends for coffee, relatives said. Percy never awakened from a coma, said his mother, Kay Percy. A familiar figure at live music shows, Percy performed at Mambo?s Tapas Cantina, the Wreck Room and Lola?s Saloon among others. In last week?s issue, the Fort Worth Weekly listed Percy?s accident and coma among its feature on Worst Things to Happen to Local Music in 2008. “If there was a little spot somewhere, he would play there,” Kay Percy said. Percy, a 1990 Arlington Heights High School graduate, worked the counter at Liberty Electric Tattooing in west Fort Worth. The first things his friends recall about him was his warmth and sensitivity. “He could always think of nice things to say to you,” said Victoria Villarreal, who works at the Spiral Diner and Bakery, which Percy frequented. “Once I went into the [tattoo] shop, and he was at the counter drawing this really intricate birthday card for a friend. He was one of the most genuine people I have ever met.” Even Percy?s tattoos had meaning for others, Kay Percy said. He got a red rose for a close friend who was paralyzed years ago; a yellow rose for his mother; and a Liberty Bell to remember U.S. troops. Since his death, several friends have mentioned to her Percy?s lack of interest in material things, she said. “All he cared about was people and his relationships with them,” she said. “I think that is about as good a way to describe him as there is.” Percy once told his mother that when he died, he didn?t want a somber funeral, Kay Percy said. He wanted a party, a place for his friends to remember him and have fun. Family and friends will try to accommodate him, she said. A memorial service will be held this month, and plans for an after-party are in the works. It is sure to attract a large number of people, friends said. “Everyone keeps saying that this guy cannot be replicated,” Hensarling said. “And it is true.” Memorial service 11 a.m. Jan. 24 at St. Stevens Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth.
