Halah

Music has long been used as a means of expression- feelings, memories, relationships....I am often reminded of Wes because of his love of music. I hear a song or see a band and think of him. The title of this is Halah, that is the name of a song by Mazzy Star. When Wes was living in Santa Rosa he bought me her album, She Hangs Brightly. He thought I would like it. I did and still have the CD. The song Halah not only reminds me of Wes because it was a gift from him but something about the song, her lyrics or the way she sings it reminds me of him. Recently, I saw a student at the school I work at with a Danzig tshirt on. Immediately, I thought of Wes. He loved Danzig, even had a tattoo on the back of his leg of the skeleton horned face ( I don't know how else to describe this) from their albums. Wes had made me a few mix tapes and throughout there were Danzig songs, they were pretty hard core. I don't have the mix tapes any more but I do have one song by Danzig- How the Gods Kill. This song is not as hard as most of their songs but it still has the anger and sorrow that are throughout Danzig's music.
The song Free Bird by Lynrd Skynrd reminds me of Wes as well. In high school I remember driving with him and that song was blaring as we drove and sang along. In Susan's writing of Hawk Eye I thought of that song- "Fly high free bird" . Pink Floyd makes me think of Wes. We were at his dad's house one day and he had just bought Pink Floyd's new CD. His dad had a very elaborate sound system that was wired throughout the house and he played that CD about as loud as he could, which was very loud. If you've ever heard Pink Floyd the louder the better. Blues Traveler reminds me of Wes. We went to their concert one 4th of July. We didn't know how lucky we were growing up in an area with a place like Red Rocks. Blues Traveler at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was a great concert and a very peaceful night.
When Wes died the song Crash Into Me by Dave Mathew's Band was new. I listened to that song over and over again. I would put on my earphones and put that song on repeat- the day of his funeral I must have listened to it a hundred times as I watched the snow fall. Yes, music makes me think of Wes. The happy times, the sad times - it was an outlet for him as it is for most. On some occasions I will hear a new song and think of him- "Wes would really like this song."