In Memory of our friend Dan

It was the spring of 2015, we were in the early planning stages of that summer’s Spencerville Stampede and had started booking the lineup for the musical aspect of the event. Festival attendees had overwhelmingly requested Tim Hicks be the headliner that year and organizers were determined to make that happen. As we finalized the lineup opening night the booking agent approached us and asked if we’d consider adding this new, Ottawa area band, to the lineup. This band had no music out and, aside from being from the area and being on the same label as Tim Hicks, was relatively unknown. Naturally we agreed and the rest…was history.

The band was called the River Town Saints and little did we know then that we’d actually become pretty good friends with these Ottawa Valley boys, that they’d have some catchy tunes and put on one heck of a live show.

Each of the band members had their own qualities but there was something about their bass player, Daniel DiGiacomo that always stood out. Perhaps it was the fact that he played his bass like he was in a rock band and not the typical sleepy country band method, perhaps it was his uncanny ability to grab the mic and turn the country show into a full on hip-hop rodeo in the blink of any eye. But to me it was Dan’s off stage persona that made him special.

Dan was a gentle giant. There was no question that he needed a larger physique to make space for his huge heart. Dan was an incredibly intelligent person. That came across especially in his sense of humour which was often inspired by factual events. You could always count on Dan to give you a smile and firm handshake when you met him, he loved his fans and his fans loved him.

Dan was a giant teddy bear to his younger generation of fans. The first band my own son ever saw live, and probably met, was the River Town Saints at our festival in Spencerville and every time after that we would meet RTS all of the guys made him feel special, especially big Dan. Late last year Dan joined Dreams Take Flight as a volunteer and travelled to Disney with an aircraft full of children. Every picture I’ve seen from that trip with Dan in it he’s just beaming. You could tell that he was in his element. Dan was like a mascot but without the costume, it was just who he was. He had that larger than life personality that comes with that kind of role.

Sadly some time on Thursday February 21 Daniel left this earth. The cause is unknown and really doesn’t matter, he’s gone and he’s not coming back and it’s not fair. When I got the news it ripped my heart out of my chest and tore it in half in front of my eyes, I felt sick to my stomach and empty all at the same time. My thoughts immediately turned to the rest of the guys in the band and how they must be feeling, these guys were like a family to each other. It’s rare to see a group of guys that close.

To make things even more difficult Friday night was the scheduled night for our annual Sing Out for CHEO fundraiser, and event headlined by the River Town Saints a year ago. Initially I thought, how can we go on with this tomorrow? But then I realized that there’s no way that Dan would want us to stop doing anything. Dan was full of life and there’s no way he’d want us to stop living ours just because he was gone.

That said I knew we had to do something in Daniel’s memory. A quick phone call and a couple of FB messages later a plan was in place.

Friday night came and, I think, we were all a bit nervous. Would the tribute we had planned be enough…too much? When the time finally came and Rainwater Whiskey joined Danny Sylvestre and his band on the stage everything fell into place. The 3 or 4 minutes that followed hurt like hell, like something I haven’t felt before and, honestly, am in no hurry to feel again. There were few dry eyes in the room after the tribute but after a short toast to Dan’s memory the show went on, just as Dan would’ve wanted it to.

Daniel you were too young to die and I’m mad about it. We will all miss seeing you on stage at festivals and events this summer but hopefully you’ll be watching us from wherever you are and rockin’ out in the greatest band there ever was. Thank you for the memories you gave us over the last few years, I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Our deepest condolences to Dan’s family and his bandmates in the River Town Saints, our hearts go out to you all at this time.  So long my friend, till we meet again. I’ll remember you!

If you want to assist the family with the costs associated with Daniel’s funeral you can do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/support-for-di-giacomo-family

Danny Sylvestre Band and Rainwater Whiskey pay tribute to Daniel at Friday night’s Sing Out for CHEO event in Ottawa!