James Hansen Sralla

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley James H. Sralla passed away on April 2, 2020 due to complications related to liver failure. Jamie, as he was known, was a manager at the Resale Barn in El Campo, which he operated with his parents. He was born in Houston in 1973 and was an avid skateboarder and music lover, attending hundreds, if not thousands, of concerts and playing multiple instruments himself, including drums, guitar, piano, and trumpet. In his twenties, he started his own recording studio, Static House, and recorded and mixed albums for many bands over the following decades. As a long time employee of Cactus Records, he influenced the music Houstonians heard and the musicians who visited for in-store concerts. The Houston Press published some of his musings on the Texas music scene. Life-long struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder and depression put some gaps in his recording career and sent him to El Campo for stability, to work with his folks. There he didn't have as many friends, but he knew some good people and lived close to extended family. Before his death, he was putting pen to paper about his time spent recording in Houston. He was known in the Houston music community as a talented audio engineer, live soundman, and occasional road manager, but also as a kind, quiet guy with a sense of humor. He is survived by his parents James and Jeanne Sralla of Danevang, Texas, who have taken custody of Jamie's dog Dolly, his sister Joni Sralla Miller of Annapolis, Maryland, her husband Rick, and his niece, Chloe, and nephew, James.