The Daily Swarm

Creative Loafing:

For the last nine months, Benjamin Jay Womack has been soldiering through terminal lung cancer that has spread to his brain, liver and God knows where else — at the age of 34.

It’s been two weeks since B Jay went into hospice, but he’s since returned home. When he’s not in bed watching movies, he gets around in a wheelchair. Because of his frail physical condition, he won’t play anymore shows, but a benefit concert will be held at 529 on July 4 to cover his funeral expenses…

One year ago, the man best known by his stage name Bobby Ubangi was a rebel without a pause, partying like a rock star and working as the grouchy door guy at the Drunken Unicorn off Ponce de Leon Avenue. Long considered a mascot of sorts for the Atlanta music scene that nurtured such bands as Deerhunter, Black Lips and Gentleman Jesse, B Jay was a founding member of Carbonas before he got kicked out because he didn’t like to practice. He went on to play guitar and sing in such local garage-punk outfits as the Lids, the Gaye Blades, and Bobby and the Soft Spots. “B Jay is omnipresent around here,” says Jared Swilley of the Black Lips. “He’s been around forever.”...

Following his diagnosis, B Jay developed a phobia of cremation, and the idea of being embalmed doesn’t appeal to him, either. Instead, he’s opting for a “green burial” at a monastery near Conyers. The procedure is basic but carries a price tag of $4,000 to $6,000.

It’s a depressing affair to plan one’s own funeral, but it’s a task that B Jay has approached with the same resolve he applied to the creation of his final album. “Making funeral arrangements stresses me out, but I take my time with it mentally, and realize that I can’t fix everything in a day,” he continues. “Whether you’re religious or spiritual or not, some things are out of your hands. In a situation like mine, you just have to bide your time. It’s the uncertainty of life that makes it so beautiful, but it’s also what makes it so torturous.”

Donations info at ubangipreservationfund@gmail.com.