Monday, December 19, 2005

Mike

I was just killing time at work and I decided to check out www.heckasac.blogspot.com. I was saddened and shocked to hear that my friend Mike Guis was struck by a car and killed. Mike was the drummer for beloved Sacto punk band The Yahmos and for The Pope Smashers, one of the best bands I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Those outside of Sac might know The Yahmos as the band that most of the members of !!! used to be in.

Mike was a real easy going guy. He was ambitious artistically but he survived job to job, often having no job and he maintained every bit of intergrity he'd been born with. I looked up to Mike in many ways and I often wish that I was brave enough to live as he lived. Making art, traveling around, not stressing out about security. Once he mentioned Black Sabbath and I giggled. He tore into me. It was no joke. If I thought Sabbath was a joke then I hadn't listened to them he said. I respected Mike as a musician so I went to the used CD shop and traded some free tickets to a show I was promoting for some Sabbath CDs. I've been a fan ever since. He gave me Sabbath. Damn! That's a guy you've got to love.

This is really sad. I'm going to miss Mike very much. The comments section at HeckaSac have some links to photos and what not. The great photo up top here I got from HERE.

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