A friendship forged in both amazing fun and teenage angst in Pelham continued throughout the decades. In some of my most formative years, I counted DJ as one of my closest and most understanding of friends. He was one of the few who managed to visit me wherever I lived, from Boulder to Hong Kong to London, something for which I'll always be grateful. I was fortunate that our paths led us to both live in San Francisco for 12 years. In that city, which offered endless opportunities to go out, we often ended up just spending hours hanging at his kitchen table, laughing, listening to music and talking about life, death and the hang.
It was great to see our friendship continue and develop. And, I got the chance to acknowledge all his efforts to visit me in far-flung places by attending dozens of Neurohumors gigs...DJ was always intellectually curious and ready to laugh, not least at himself. His effervescent spirit was constantly at battle with his inner demons, a fight we all tried to help him with. We tried our best, as did DJ, but it was a tough fight.
I'll miss him greatly, but my memories will mainly center around his laughter and that award-winning smile. And every February 2nd I'll think not about Groundhog Dog, but my good friend's birthday.