We were shocked and saddened to hear of Brandon’s passing. I’ve known him since he graduated from high school, through his beautiful mom, my friend, Joy. It was an honor seeing his talents used in the community and enjoying his contagious passion for pursuing the arts. Our sincerest condolences to the entire family for Brandon’s untimely parting. We are praying for you. Christine and Scott Logan

Hey BJ, have a spot of tea with Joy-Joy when you see her. You both are terribly missed. 💕 C

it was autumn 2014 and I had just moved to Knoxville from Chicago, and I only knew about 3 or 4 people. Someone invited me to a housewarming party and when I walked in I felt shy because everyone knew eachother but in the kitchen next to a speaker with an ipad was none other than Brandon Gibson. I went over to him and we went back and forth playing songs from whoevers music library it was,  we immediately bonded over Jamiroquai, D.R.A.M. and so much classic soul music. Instant friends. Once the party began to get a little more lively we headed into a room that had an out of tune piano and him and I led a bunch of sing alongs. I have no idea what we played but there was a small crowd gathered behind us at the piano and we all sang into the night. I saw him the next day and he mentioned to someone that he had "used his powers for evil", referring to the sing along. A statement that was not true at all, but one that I found pretty hilarious. I recorded a song called "You Let Me Get Away With It" shortly after and used the phrase in the song. When he heard it he sent me a message telling me how he was jamming to it and when he heard me sing the phrase it made him really happy.  

After this, I told him to come over to a house I was renting in South Knox (walking distance from his apartment), so that we could maybe collaborate on some music. We sat in my room and I played him this track and he said he wasn't hearing any lyrics persay, but that the song needed some 'gospel screams' which he willingly contributed to the song "Untitled". I'm so happy he is immortalized through these recordings because as many pictures as I took of him when we were together, I can't find one picture of him and I hanging together, which supports my theory that life's best moments cannot be recorded. 

I think that same summer my dad got free Vols tickets from work and they had an extra, so Brandon was the first person I called. And we snuck bottles of whiskey into the stadium. I did not watch the game, I just chatted with Brandon the whole time. I am glad I did because it would be one of the last times I saw him in person again. I moved to Toronto and then back to Chicago shortly after this. 

At some point during the pandemic these real estate people contacted me because they needed music for a commercial. I ended up scoring and mixing the commercial in addition to doing the voiceover for it. I hated the way my voice sounded  and told the producer that I would find someone who could do a better job, and so I called Brandon and we hired him. He recorded a perfect voiceover with a a booming narration, and I happily emailed it over to the company. The next morning I had a video chat with them and the CEO started the meeting by saying "Well that voiceover was fucking awesome, who was that?" 

He was amazing. Really and truly an amazing human being. I would call him every once in a while to catch up and to hear about what he was up to in Knoxville. They were always lengthy and laughter filled conversations, and of course when I found out of his passing, I thought "man I should've called him more".  It's not all the way real for me because I still feel like I can just pick up the phone and he'll pick up with that reassuring baritone. "MAAAATHIEN...WHATS UP BRO?"