Tomorrow I go to say good-bye to a friend and musician buddy Gabe DaSilva.
My story started with Gabe via his SOS Portuguese Band in the 1988-1990 time period. We met via our fathers, who worked together at the Ford plant in Oakville. I played keyboards and sang back up vocals for the band. We had a lot of fun gigs with that band, and I grew a fondness for Portuguese food and culture as a result.
During this time we also recorded a lot of original songs in the band’s studio in the basement of ABC Variety on Kerr St. in Oakville, ON. Gabe was always a great friend, mentor and overall great person. We always knew he was into whatever music we were playing when he started bopping his head and tapping his feet.
Recordings in my archive are mostly Gabe playing guitar, but there was another recording that I love where he wasn’t playing guitar, and I wanted to share this one because they captured some wicked musical intensity when they recorded the song. Gabe was an awesome guitar player, but I didn’t know he played other instruments until I heard this track.
Gabe and my other friend and long time musician buddy David Kruger recorded a song that David wrote in the basement of ABC studios using an old 8 track analog recorder. The recording has suffered over the years because of tape age, and the recording was a little rough. Hey, we worked with what we had!
With permission from David, I present to you “I Know You Know”. In this song, Gabe played the drums and bass for the song. David is playing the guitar parts. I wish I had been there during the recording…
Crank it. Loud. Seriously.
Missing you Gabe. Thank you for being a friend and an inspiration. Rest In Peace.
