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When Great Girls Blouse moved to San Francisco, the first person we met and became friends with was Jeremy Hill. It was our first visit to the open Mic at Café International and as its host Tyler pointed out, it was an unusually packed turnout. Someone’s guitar was malfunctioning and as a small group gathered to lend a hand we noticed a guy whip out a portable soldiering kit and start working on the troublesome guitar’s electronics. “Check out that guy with the soldiering gun!” Jason said approvingly, and he received a knowing nod in return. That resourceful man was Jeremy Hill. His music was ironic and piercingly self-aware while remaining emotionally accessible to all who heard. His conversation was so open and frank as to put us at ease immediately. I remember thinking that THIS was someone with whom I could be friends for life. Unfortunately we did not have that long to know him, as he passed away on December 9th 2007. His struggle with depression was well known in this community and I know that people here tried to reach him and make him see how important he was to us. If we can take away some knowledge from suicide’s tragic impact it should be to never stop trying to reach those who talk about taking their own lives. The finality is too unacceptable, the loss is too great. We will never recover from this vacancy in our lives, and never stop missing him and wishing we had more time to share with him again. We hope you will click the link to visit the 200 Pockets remembrance page commemorating Jeremy Hill’s life. We are indebted to Bridget for her excellent work documenting his place in the community. We will never forget Jeremy. |
