Complex Numbers

E Street

One thing I haven't done much crowing about lately is Bruce. He's been touring, and quite successfully, with the E Street Band. I have tickets to a concert that's scheduled in just a couple of weeks, right here in my town, and I am excited about it even though it's just two days after my dad's funeral.

For the past few months of the tour, though, one E Street fixture has been missing: Danny Federici, organist and keyboardist. The press releases said he was "taking a leave of absence from the current Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour to pursue treatment for melanoma."

Danny had been there longer than just about anyone - he was one of the original members of the band, and has worked with Bruce for almost as long as I've been alive.

I found out today that Danny died yesterday. He was 58.

Now, with my own father's death so recent, I'm not as smacked by this as I might be. After all, my only connection with this guy was enjoying his music for most of my life. So it's not like I'm going to wear black and mope about for the next week. (Well, actually, technically, I am going to wear black, because that's what I do anyway - it's slimming. But no moping.)

Still... it sucks. It makes me feel old, and contemplate my own mortality once again.

But, for those of you who have been reading my newsletters - I won't do next month's on death again.