Feb 09, 2015

Last week I got an email from a high school in El Paso, TX that I'd done post-grad parties for for about the last 10 years.

This show had been booked in the past by René Lopez of Image International. The email informed me that René had passed away last December.

Like a lot of agent/artist relationships, René and I usually talked when gigs were being pitched or.. at the gigs themselves. For René and me that meant we talked about 2 or 3 times a year, either on the phone or in person. The last time I talked to René was last June, although I had sent him an email recently, but a little too late.

I would sometimes stay at René's house instead of a hotel when I worked in El Paso. We'd stay up late after the show drinking and talking, until I retired to the guest room, where I usually slept with one of René's 3 Bassett Hounds. (He was a dog guy like me.)

I can't "hear" many people's voices in my head, it's just not a strength for me, but I can call up René's voice in an instant. The way he referred to guys as "cats", beatnik style.

I will be heading to El Paso in June to entertain at the school's post grad party once again. It's a great school with super kids and the venue is one of my favorites. The only thing missing will be René, but he'll be there with me, I know.

Rest in Peace, René. You are missed.

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