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20080402 Wednesday April 02, 2008
Saying Goodbye to a Friend Life

I lost a good friend yesterday.  He lost his battle with cancer.  It was surprisingly swift.  I didn't want to post anything yesterday since it was April Fool's Day, which is a really bad day to deliver bad news.

John and I have played drums together for over 20 years now.  We both went to the same college (UC Davis) and were in the marching band.  I was still in college when he recruited me into an offshoot band called the California Repercussions.  We have been playing together, year round, ever since.  He became my mentor of drumming.  The band has taken multiple trips outside of the US, as well as a trip to Hawaii just last year, and the whole band is like an extended family.  The percussion section is even closer.

In addition to the Reapers, John and I also played percussion in various musical theater productions.  John has a massive collection of drums and percussion which he would lend to me at any time.  Where else can you borrow a set of timpani or a bell tree?  We would sub for each other and discuss the best way to play a song (much of the drum/percussion parts are improvised).  One of my favorite show memories is the two of us covering the entire West Side Story part, written for four percussionists.

John's last show (just weeks ago) was playing High School Musical with his 11 13 year old son, Eric.  I'm really glad that he got to do that.  I may be called up to take up John's part in the band.  I hope it's only temporary.  It would be nice if Eric could take his father's place in the future.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the 2007 Pro Bowl in Hawaii:

Hula Drummers
John and I with Hula Cheerleaders

Pro Bowl Gig
Playing outside the Pro Bowl

Thanks, John, for everything you've ever taught me over the years.
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April 02, 2008 06:50 AM PDT Permalink | Comments [5] | del.icio.us technorati slashdot digg reddit facebook stumbleupon

Comments:

I'm so sorry, Kevin. It's wonderful that you have so many fond memories of John.

Posted by Skrocki on April 02, 2008 at 07:21 AM PDT #

Sorry to hear this, a great life cut short. I hope you can bring some smiles to his family like you do so for us daily.

Posted by Thin Guy on April 02, 2008 at 09:18 AM PDT #

I'm very sorry to hear this, Kevin. John sounds like a wonderful, wonderful person. I'll be keeping his family in my prayers.

Posted by melanie gao on April 02, 2008 at 03:58 PM PDT #

I'm so sorry to hear about John, especially since his son is only 11. What a sad loss.

Posted by Murphy Rowan on April 02, 2008 at 07:14 PM PDT #

I got Eric's age wrong. He's 13. But I should also mention his 10 year old daughter, Roxy.

Posted by Kevin on April 02, 2008 at 10:51 PM PDT #

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