STRAWBERRY, CA — Musician and front of house engineer Theodore “Ted” Rodden was murdered on August 20, shot while in his back yard, apparently by a deranged neighbor who later committed suicide. Rodden was the house soundman at the Rancho Nicasio restaurant and nightclub in western Marin County, Calif., a position he held for some 15 years, since the popular venue was purchased and operated by Huey Lewis manager Bob Brown in 1999. Brown retained the roadhouse feel and charm of the original venue and Rodden’s easygoing personality and gentle demeanor was ideal for dealing with the wide variety of local and occasional major-name acts that performed there.
In a statement in the Marin Independent Journal, Brown was clearly shocked and saddened by the murder. “It’s the most unbelievable thing I can possibly imagine. He’s been my right arm for 16 years,” he said. “He loved music so much I think he would have done this job for free. Every musician who came here loved this guy.”
Rodden, a resident of Strawberry, an unincorporated area in Marin County, was also a talented singer and musician, and played mandolin and guitar in Sweet Leaf, an alt-folk duet with his wife Kaye.
According to one of his many friends, noted engineer/producer/performer John Neff, who occasionally performed at Rancho Nicasio, Rodden was “the most accommodating engineer you could ever meet. He could get a good sound up in almost no time and was always gracious and kind to demanding artists.”
Rodden is survived by his wife, Kaye; children Jamie and Jessica; parents Raymond and Helen Rodden; two sisters Karen and Pam; and two brothers, Ray and Stephen.
Arrangements were not set at press time, but his remains will probably be cremated with the ashes scattered near the woodsy trails of nearby Mount Tamalpais, where he would often hike.
