Who TF is Chad Sullins? - In Loving Memory
Who TF is Chad Sullins? – In Loving Memory
The man, the myth, the legend…. Chad Sullins. You either loved him, or you hated him, and usually it was a bit of both mixed together. He was loud and opinionated, made his own rules (and followed very little of any one else’s), and could write songs that would either break your heart or make you want to jump up and down and scream. Always one extreme or the other, and very little in between. Chad seemed to always live life in the extremes. He was wild and could be arrogant, but also compassionate and kind-hearted. He was ridiculously talented, and definitely underrated, but he was probably his own worst enemy in a lot of ways. Self-sabotage is prevalent in the music world, and Chad was no exception.
My tribute won’t sugar coat it all and only highlight his best qualities, like many tributes do when someone dies. Nope, it’ll be raw and real, and I think anything less would both be a disservice to this extraordinary man and that he wouldn’t want it any other way. Chad wasn’t one to mince words, he’d tell you exactly how he felt, even if it was the complete opposite of what you wanted to hear. He was as real as they come. His songs were real, his life was real…. his struggles were real, and he never pretended to be anything else. I think that’s why we all loved him so much and forgave him of so much through the years. He was always just doing the best he could in the only ways he knew how, his ways just didn’t always line up with the rest of the world. Really, I’m not sure we would ever want him any other way.
Chad started playing guitar in high school and started making music in punk and metal rock bands. He moved around a bit in this life ; Hobart, Sentinel, Tennessee, Yukon, Stillwater. In college he got married and went to work in the oilfield and quit playing music. When that marriage fell apart, he moved to Stillwater and started playing music once again. While in college he discovered the Red Dirt Scene, and a friend told him that Red Dirt was the punk rock of country music, so Chad decided that was definitely for him. The heartbreak and loss of his first marriage was definitely a catalyst into his venture into red dirt songwriting. He wrote about real life things, the things we can all relate to. Chad didn’t run from the pain, he embraced it and used it to create his music.
His band, Chad Sullins & The Last Call Coalition, formed a huge following and they toured around the U.S. making new friends and fans along the way. Their high-energy show was somewhere between a rowdy rock show, and a swinging honky-tonk and it attracted the love of all kinds of different people. To look at their fan base, it was just as eclectic and interesting as the band was. They were loud and rocking in one moment, and slowed down two stepping the next. Chad used to say “We’re too rock to be a country band and too country to be a rock band,” and that pretty much sums it up.
When the Last Call Coalition disbanded in 2015, he went solo for quite some time, then formed the band 10W-30. He’s bounced back and forth between solo gigs and band gigs for the last few years, or as much as his health would allow. Chad suffered his first heart attack in 2014, which slowed him down in his musical career. That was followed by a torn aorta in December of 2020, which is ultimately what ended up causing his death on June 27th.
Chad’s discography includes Uphill Battle, Incommunicado, Wicked Spell and Wake up Call with The Last Call Coalition and then the EPs What’s Left of Me and Songs to Drink Alone to. He was working on a new album in Studio E, owned by Erok Hoffman, which was almost completed. Chad had said it would probably be a self-titled album, since he hadn’t had one yet. My hopes are that it will be finished and put out in time.
Chad was known to drink too much, cuss too much, party too much, flirt too much, feel too much and love too much. He lived in the world of “too much”, with both the good and the bad and everything in between. He inspired an Inappropriate Trucker Hat, made by Bekah Hardick, that said ‘Drunker than Chad Sullins’, which couldn’t have been more perfect. I believe he was pretty proud of that one, actually. He was always willing to make fun of himself and take it all in stride.
Chad wasn’t just a phenomenal musician, he also had a way of befriending all of his fans and forming very real and lasting friendships with many hundreds of them a long the way. He didn’t just come out and shake hands and pose for pictures because it was expected, he really did love getting to know his people, and making them feel important and valued. He knew without a fan base, there wasn’t a reason to be up on stage, and that working to cultivate that was just as important as the songs he wrote and the shows he played. He was as loyal and devoted to his fans as they were to him, and that’s why people loved him so much.
Chad has three children who he loved and adored, with three different baby mommas, two of which he married. There’s no doubt that while he had a hard time fitting into the traditional roles of father and husband, that he loved them all with everything he had, in his own ways without following any rules. Corbin, Madison and Presley were the light of his life beyond anything else, and he loved being their dad.
Chad may have never fit into a mold, but that’s what made Chad, Chad. Some musicians pretend to be an outlaw to fit into a certain market, not Chad. Chad was an outlaw, he was a rebel, he made his own rules and lived by them.
In fact, I think Aleisha Rains, Chad’s second wife, said it better than anyone ever could:
“Being Married to Chad Sullins was like trying to cage a wild animal or harness an F5 Tornado. Once I realized it was impossible, that he wasn’t meant to belong to any one person or any one thing/place, it changed my life. He didn’t belong to any of us. People are not possessions, and he came freely in and out, unbridled, and we will cherish the good times forever. Chad was so many things to so many people. Ultimately, he was my friend and we loved each other, like friends do.”
I think the amazing friendship and the way Aleisha and Chad were able to co-parent Presley in the way that they did was a testament to how outside of the box, and outside of the rules, that Chad really was. Watching the way Aleisha and Chad maneuvered through a divorce and parenting and still staying friends and people that greatly loved one another, was awe inspiring, and I’m not sure I’ll ever see something as beautiful as that again. Really, just watching the grace Aleisha had when dealing with Chad and allowing him to be who he was without trying to break him and force him into a box he never fit in, was the most selfless thing I’ve ever witnessed. While their marriage may have broken, the love and friendship they held for one another never did.
Chad left us way too soon, and leaves a void no one else will ever be able to fill. There will only ever be one Chad Fucking Sullins. Maybe that’s a good thing really. But I wish we would have gotten much more time with him all the same. I feel like there were so many more songs inside of him that only he would write, songs that could reach down inside of you and pull it all out, songs that made you feel. Some of those heart wrenching songs are how he earned the moniker Sad Chullins, with love of course.
Chad started out with the older generation taking him under their wing and showing him the ropes, helping him find his place in the scene. He said in the beginning he pretty much crashed Bo Phillips weekly set every Thursday at Rooster’s, and asked if he could get up and play a few songs every week and Bo let him. He did the same thing at Cale Lester and Kyle Nix’s weekly gigs at Willie’s until he worked his way into getting his own weekly show.
He cut his teeth on The Strip and at The Farm, rubbing elbows with Childers, Skinner, the Red Dirt Rangers and more, as he watched and learned and then added his own twist to it all. Once he reached the status of being one of the “older generation”, after being in the scene for a decade or so, he took younger musicians under his wing and gave them the helping hand to find their place in the scene. He took Katie Butts (now Cordero) and Dylan Stewart on tour with him early in their careers. The Red Dirt Family is such a circle of that, and Chad was no exception.
Chad was an important part of the Red Dirt Family. He loved this scene and the people in it, was always happy to jump in and help play benefit shows for his fellow musicians and for the Red Dirt Relief Fund. He loved playing at The Farm and being a part of something so much bigger than just himself. In fact, one of the younger guys he took under his wing in the last few years was Jesse Hacker, and they found themselves having a conversation late one night after a gig, about what they would want to happen when they died.
Chad said he wanted some of his ashes to be put into his beloved guitar Trudy, and he wanted Trudy to be passed around a fire at the farm, to all his music pals as they played songs on it. So that’s what’s going to happen. Part of his ashes will also be put inside of a tree that will be planted in his honor at the farm. I think Chad would be highly pleased with getting to be a permanent part of a place that he held so near and dear to his heart. Pretty sure after these things are done, he’ll be watching and say “Nailed it,” with a big shit eating grin on his dimpled face.
Chad was so much more than just a musician, more than I could ever sum up in one article. He was a son, a brother, a father, an uncle, a nephew, a friend. He was my friend, and I’m going to miss him dearly. I’ve told the story several times of how he’s the whole reason I found the Red Dirt Scene, so I didn’t want to do that here. You can find that in both this article I wrote back in 2015, and in the Backstage Queens podcast we recorded with Chad and Grady Cross back in 2019. No doubt it will also make it into the Red Dirt History book I’m writing. Chad played a very important role in the way my life has unfolded over the last decade, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Presley has also taken to social media and asked everyone to participate in her project called #31daysofChadSullins, posting memories, songs and photos of her dad on social media with that hashtag, so she can have a virtual scrapbook of him and his legacy. I hope you’ll join in. You can also read the article about and listen to the song they created together back in 2017 called Daddy Daughter heart, here.
And if you’ve never checked out Chad’s TikTok account, you’re welcome.
There are at least two upcoming benefit shows for Chad. One will be at Grady’s 66 Pub in Yukon on Sunday July 11th starting at 3pm. The second will be at Tumbleweeds in Stillwater on July 31st starting at noon. Both will be packed with musicians paying tribute to Chad and his music and raising money for the expenses he leaves behind as well as for his children. Make plans now to come to one, or both.
Chad, you may be gone from this earth but you will never be forgotten. Save me a seat in the front row fellas, I’ll be there some day. I love you.
