Today is a sad day for Deadheads like me. Twenty years ago today Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose at his home in California. Brent was an incredibly talented singer and keyboardist who brought a new sound and tons of energy to the band. I was a huge fan of his. I remember being especially sad when he died, and not just because we had tickets to see six shows at Boston Garden in September that year. I remember thinking mostly about all the songs he wrote about his two daughters. This photo is of Brent with one of his daughter at Shoreline Amphitheater in CA just one month before he died,
Now that I have kids the age his girls were when he passed, his death is all the more tragic. I’ve touched on this before, here. His friend and songwriting partner John Perry Barlow tweeted this last year on the anniversary of his death,
“One of these days I’m gonna pull myself together, soon as finish tearing myself apart.â€
I wrote that line for Brent Mydland, dead 19 years today. A sweet, doomed genius he was, who could only speak in music.
Could he ever speak in music. Enjoy!
Brent Mydland takes us to church- Blow Away from WooklifeSANITY on Vimeo.