Members Magpel Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 Yes, I feel like noting in my "home forum" the shocking and untimely passing of a local favorite, a ripping bass player by the name of Mike Kemp, Mikey, Big Mike. He was only 32 years old. Cause not yet known. We weren't close friends or anything--hadn't seen him in a few years--but he was a super nice kid and he lived--LIVED--to the play the bass and nothing else. When I knew him best, he was very young--probably in fact too young to be hanging out legally in the bars we were hanging out in. I was in a band that hosted an electric open mic on the same night a Dead cover band had a weekly gig across the street. On his set breaks, this giant kid would run across the street with his bass, plug in and just BLOW until it was time to run back across the street to do his next set with the Dead band. Now, of course, you don't always want your bass playing BLOWING, and Mikey figured that out by himself, and fast. One night, I remember it well, he showed up at the open mic and pretty much just said: "I'm all about taste now." And it was true. Still, when you have the chops he did, it would be a shame not to trot them out, full bore, on occasion. He went on to make his living teaching bass out of Alto Music and taking every gig that came his way, which was a lot, including some good ones with the likes of Jim Weider (The Band) and others. And now he's gone, and a lot of people here are pretty damn bummed. My thoughts go out to his family and to his many close friends on the local scene. RIP, Big Mike Kemp--man who lived for music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 Yes, I feel like noting in my "home forum" the shocking and untimely passing of a local favorite, a ripping bass player by the name of Mike Kemp, Mikey, Big Mike. He was only 32 years old. Cause not yet known. I'm sorry to hear of his passing. But 32? Is there something you would suspect to cause such an early demise in his case? Very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted January 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 I'm sorry to hear of his passing. But 32? Is there something you would suspect to cause such an early demise in his case? Very sad. I don't know. I think he might have had some known health issues, but I am not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted January 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 That's funny...I linked to a picture of Mike and now it's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend! It's especially hard to lose someone so young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slight-return Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 WowIf you feel comfortable, let us know the cause of death(not morbid curiosity, just part of the story) did he have any web content out there? I'm sorry for your loss as well as the loss to music in general Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted January 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 Here's a blog entry about it, with the nice picture of Mike that I tried to post in this thread: http://plochmann.blogspot.com/2009/01/bassist-big-mike-kemp-passes-away.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richard King Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 Wow... according to the blog it was a heart attack. 32 is way too young for a heart attack. Very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted January 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 Wow... according to the blog it was a heart attack. 32 is way too young for a heart attack. Very sad. It is, and, again, I don't want to over-dramatize my part in this--we were friendly, jammed a bunch in the late '90s, and had not much contact since. But everyone liked this cat. In a strange but really all too common twist, I had just sent him a Facebook friend request probably the day before he died, after seeing him on a mutual friend's friend list--first time I had thought about him in quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 32 That sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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