Mark Ross

 
I was with my family and close friends Christy & Mike vacationing in Hawaii when I got the call from Michelle Nymann that Mark had died… I was crushed and my body went numb, Christy, who was a dear friend of Mark’s as well,  broke down. I called Tom & Lisa Duke to tell them and we all fell apart. All I could think about was Sharryln, Mark’s wife, and what she was going through. They had so much love for each other, they were inseparable. . We spent the last days of the trip watching those music video’s on youtube, looking at pictures and telling stories about Mark and the old days of 415 and EMB. I know I’ve been silent this past week but I’ve never lost a friend and band brother before, I really couldn’t talk about it.

I just want to say that Mark was my friend, we broke bread together, we wrote songs and performed countless shows as band mates. I’ll miss that Cheshire cat grin, his infectious laugh, that arched back rock pose when he burned a solo with his Les Paul Jr. stickin’ straight up in the air and him always starting a sentence or greeting you with “Hey” (God I’ll miss that). Recording “ Sucker” in Atlanta, driving across the USA in a beat up station wagon and those band houses (especially the one in Novato).  He could definitely wear a leather jacket, the “ Wild Man” always had the cool clothes (except that red silk smarmy bathrobe he’d wear when he emerged from his bedroom in the late afternoon with a cloud of pot smoke billowing out behind him)…. it makes me laugh just thinking about it. Thee are just so many stories to tell so if you bump into me or see me on the street I may just tell you a few.

I was so excited to take the stage again with all the guys at the 415 reunion it brought back so many great memories, a truly heart-warming experience. Mark and I spent some quality time together after that Boardwalk show and had some tender moments backstage at the Mystic.  Man I’m so glad we did that.

I’ll never forget him.



E

2012 BURRN!