Dear Todd, I still keep the unicorn drawing you gave me so many years ago. You were my little american brother,  so lovely and talented...Hope to meet you and Caroline again some day

..

My friend, its so hard to say goodbye, I will never forget the beautiful music we shared. Our rehearsals were so intimate, much like the traditional family bluegrass bands must have experienced before technology, when real music was shared in an acoustic space. I will always remember arriving early to band practice and you would be on the phone with Mollie or Ella. Their fragile young voices were seeking consoling in some way, and your gentle voice always seem to put them at ease. There were times when a very young Michael stayed up just to say goodnight to the musicians before we all started to play. My favorite place was when you and the family lived on Monticello St. in that beautiful old home. I remember leaving there after rehearsals some nights and a gentle, almost mystical fog would be rolling off the Mississippi river. We also shared some very magical, musical moments at places like “the Government Street Grocery” and “The Abita Opry”. You encouraged my song writing by featuring me once, at Crazy Whisky’s residency at “The Neutral Ground Coffee House”. This  inspired me to just be myself and to write more. You challenged me at a high level always with your playing and inspired me to be the best I could be. In your leaving this existence on our planet Earth, you took a piece of my musical heart and those songs we played for those brief years will never again be played in the same way. Thanks also for being a worthy sparring partner on issues of music and bands and for having me play music I might have never played had we not met. May you always have clear skies in your continued journeys, your friend always,

Rick Nick