Dan Federici, January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008
It is with a real sense of sadness that I begin today by talking about the passing of Dan Federici, who lost his battle with melanoma cancer in New York City yesterday. He was 58.
Federici was a founding member of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band and had played with Bruce for 40 years, going back to pre-E Street bands in New Jersey.
To me, Dan was a musician. He was a musician who played a role in shaping and performing music that has become a part of my life, a part of me. The music connected with me and so I feel a tangential connection with him. News of his passing saddens me, but he was more than a musician. He was a flesh and blood friend and a member of a real family. It would be wrong to make this about me. What those closest to him lost is far different and incalculably greater than what I am experiencing today and as such the way I respond should and will be different.
We lose each other. People come and go in our lives whether through the permanence of death or because of frictions and transitions that are part of the world in which we live. We lose each other and it’s a common bond that unites us all, regardless of faith, origin, race, culture, creed, or socioeconomic station. That shared experience is a source of empathy, empathy that too often leads to an ugly narcissism that will spread its poison across the intenet. Ignore that.
I had an e-mail exchange with fellow Sprinsgteen fan Lisa McKay and she had a great perspective on all of this. To summarize our conversation, Dan spent his life doing something he clearly loved. That something brought joy to millions of people and made a difference in their lives. That’s not a bad legacy to leave behind.
Instead of wallowing in misplaced grief, I’m going to celebrate a life; the life of Dan Federici, musician, because it’s through music that I know him. To those for whom this loss is personal and profound, my thoughts and prayers are with you as you mourn. He left far too soon, but his life’s work is still with us and within us. That is cause for joy and gratitude.
Filed under: Tags: Musical Musings and Random Ramblings
