It’s all about the bass….
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no treble…. I shared with a friend that looking at a photo elicits memories and that I strive to capture those memories so that they will never fade away. So, as with so many other days gone by, I scroll through the photos on the camera roll, to any date before June 22 and life seems strangely normal. It’s almost as if my life, and that of so many others, are measured in terms of WR and AR (with and after Robert). This particular photo was taken on Saturday, April 12, 2014.
myDarlin’ Robert Kenui Pope and I sat in his sister’s living room with the family, and there in the corner stood the bass. And it represented his deep roots in music encouraged by his father. At age 14, he had already been playing piano, ukulele and several brass instruments for a few years, so his father invested $50 for this upright Epiphone bass as a gift for his son.
All through school, and on to his young family, the bass became a member of the family attending concerts, church services and hula shows. So much a member of the family, that the girls shared the back seat with the bass every Sunday on the way to the Lahaina Canary Mall. And as myDarlin’ left his native Hawaii, the bass took up a new residence with his sister.
He anxiously awaited notification of the bass’s arrival here in ATL, and rushed to pick it up from the shipping company. As the clerk brought the case out, myDarlin’ almost broke down in tears as the neck was dangling from the body of the bass. Memories of his father, the joy it brought and all of the care he took of it came pouring out. I don’t even remember him being mad, but rather a great sadness overcame him. He feared there was no way to restore this piece of his life, his history, but knew that if there was anyone that could do it, it was his good friend Jonathan, the luthier.
A few short weeks later, myDarlin’ picked up his bass which had been brought back to life and began to bring it to gigs, open mics and church services. And his Dad smiled down on him to hear the Epiphone making sweet music once again. Almost four years later, a small chip of veneer came off as we put it in the case, so it was back to Jonathan’s again to fix that, get a new set of strings and set up. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the conversation of basses, Hawaii, God and music as I visually explore the surroundings in my mind trying to grasp every detail of the moment.
I am filled with gratitude as the dawn breaks today, for the love of friends and music, the threads that run through this fabric we call life. You might even say it’s all about the bass……
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