Recently many people in Sac have been reeling from the death of Sac musician Jim Maclean. I didn't write about it because I didn't know him that well (although, like everyone else who met him I knew he was a cool guy) and others who were closer to him wrote some wonderful things. Now we have had more sad news. Mike Guis was struck by a car and killed.
I found this picture today, and although it's not the best picture of Mike (he was handsome as fuck), it shows him doing what he loved most and did best. Mike was an amazing drummer. He was the drummer for the Popesmashers, the Yah Mos and he was the original drummer for chkchkchk.
This past weekend I have again had occasion to marvel at how wonderful my community of friends is. I feel so lucky because my friends are truly my family and I couldn't ask for a more wonderful group of people. I feel like it's amazing we have all found each other because for one reason or another most of us just don't fit in to the normal world all that well. Although in the past few years Mike G. had moved from the center of my circle of friends more towards the periphery, he was still a part of that family to me. He struggled to fit in and find his place in the world because he was so idealistic and innocent, which could be as maddening as it was admirable. He didn't give a fuck about money or possessions and he would literally give you the shirt off his back. The last time I saw Mike was about six weeks ago at my Halloween party. It was really late and he was trying to get a rowdy party guest to leave. He was so sweet and apologetic about it and after he left I realized that he may not have had a place to stay for the night because he was staying out at his moms in the burbs and it was probably too late for him to get out there. I felt like a real fucking schmuck that I had let an old friend down like that. It wasn't that big a deal but it was thoughtless and I should have remembered that you don't treat your family that way.
I think there is a service on thursday, so I will post the details as soon as I find them out.
13 comments:
I feel all out of things to say, this is perhaps a first for me.
-Natalie.
This is really sad news. I didn't know Mike that well, but when I think about the heyday of the Loft and all of the people that made that time so much fun, he is among them. My heart goes out to all of his friends and family.
i dug up a few of my favorite Gius pics and started a little tribute here:
http://homepage.mac.com/violentmonkey/PhotoAlbum16.html
Thanks Johnny. I have a photo at home of Mike posing with a banana peel on his head that I want to post.
Wow. This is terrible news. Mike was one of the sweetest most sincere people I've ever known. And he turned me on to Black Sabbath.
He was quite a talent as well. The Popesmashers in the basement at the P house is on of the best live music experiences I've ever head and I only caught the last minutes of their set.
The last time I saw Mike Gius was at your Halloween party and when I left I gave him a great big kiss. I felt a little weird about it at the time, but now I know I will cherish that kiss forever. Mike was a sweetheart. A total sweetheart. I am bummed that I will be out of town for his memorial or wake.
-emily
Here's where the service is at, it's this Thursday.
Divine Savior Catholic Church
9079 Greenback Ln
Mike's mom said to keep it casual,no need to dress up Mike hates uniform so keep it casual.
I was thinking of maybe setting up a Mike Gius tribute show, and having it my basement, since like KLJ said, seeing the Popesmashers there was one of the true wonders of the world.
Sorry, I'm spacing out, the service starts at 11am.
I'm with Natalie on this one.
This sucks.
I can take 3 people with me if anyone needs a ride. Leaving from midtown. Let me know.
francoisfly at yahoo.com
Dave Smith emailed me about mike`s Death..I emailed him this story.Mike was always cool sailin` thru shit.....
Once the Sea Pigs we`re praticin` at the loft.We we`re drunk and i
was sittin` behind the drum set pissin`in a heinken bottle.Mike walks in and ask for a drink.I of course and hand him the piss bottle and he slams it.Then he
realizes it`s piss..spits it out and comes over a little angry but
gives me hug.Always open,friendly and always a buddy to ya..Crazy we got in argument over the press club incident but the disagreement was pretty much small talk and friendly(just his voice was always nice and smooth).I could never
truly get mad at the dude and we talked about doin` Buttplug but then i got cancer.So yea...I remeber at the press club Chris W said "man my buddy just threw a flowerpot at me or something"..take care pal---jay
What i always liked about Mike was the fact that he was so stoked about music. Always. I remember him going on and on about how much he thought i would like the Popesmashers, and i just smiled and humored him. Then i saw them play, and he was so right. I prectically begged them to let me put out their record.
He was also a shit hot drummer, but this was overshadowed by being a great guy.
Mike was the person that you hoped to see at a gathering or a show and the type of person you would ignore everything else to talk to and enjoy his company. I seen him turn many of shitty drumsets into drumming musical masterpieces by his overwhelming energy and talent. The world is that much more uncool without him.
-Andre
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