13 months on
jon February 20th, 2007
It’s been a long while since Dan parted ways with us; at least, it feels that way. Everyone I’ve seen since misses him a lot. You’ll notice the same sentiment echoed in comments to the preceding post on this page.
As the anniversary of Dan’s passing went by in January, I was overseas with my family. It’s been a little quiet here, though I know people have been coming by to check on the page, so I thought I’d share a couple of photos with you - a pair of pictures that are strongly associated with some really good times past. They may be familiar to some of you - either the photographs or the times, places and memories.
Click on either image for a larger version.
The first was taken at Dan’s and Hannah’s shared birthday party in 2005. Maybe it was the wine, maybe the beer, but Dan was super happy that night. A whole bunch of his/Hannah’s/mutual friends descended on the Keppel St household. Dan chatted to everyone; sort of floated around the house from one cheerful interaction to another, taking photos along the way. It just stuck in my mind because he was smiling so much. I know it’s not the finest photo of him, but I like it because it’s a moment captured plainly and simply… no prepared smile, no pose. Just honest, happy Dan.
The second shot was taken a month or so earlier at Sydney’s @Newtown venue, where Dan was playing with Scissors for Sparrow. It was sort of a crazy affair, with 8 or 9 people squeezed onto the somewhat shallow stage there, each vying for a little space in which to play their instruments. We’d rehearsed all together that afternoon, and before that, Dan and I had visited 2SER for a radio interview. We’d never really been on a holiday together as such, and though this wasn’t exactly a holiday, it was really exciting walking around Sydney with Dan, taking photos of the cool stairwell in one of the UTS buildings, and stuff like that. Going out to see bands and hanging out all day.
Dan was a dream to play music with; his extensive musical knowledge (both technical and stylistic) was enviable, and the speed with which he’d pick up new things impressive. He was ambitious and had initiative, and I was looking really forward to working on some new ideas with him. We’d often talked about setting up his computer with some more electronic music software; an area he was keen to explore a bit more.
We’d played music together since not long after meeting in high school, a pair of somewhat awkward teens with a mutual interest in Pearl Jam. I’ve still got a handful of cassette tapes and Realaudio files of our early songwriting efforts and slap-dash recordings. Dan also joined a band I was in, called Blue Tracer, not long before it officially fell apart.
So I suppose you could see why it’s easy to be sentimental about a photo which has Dan on stage with the rest of us, playing my guitar and quietly smiling to himself. There’s a photo of he and I in Sydney before the show which sits in my studio - where the band now practice - reminding me of the band member who couldn’t make it to rehearsal today, but who’s always here in spirit.