MAKH DANIELS

I met Makh when I was 15, when my band played for the first time in Redwood City. I'd probably seen him around before, he probably was at some shows that my previous band had played with a group he was friends with, but the first time I was introduced to him was at this show our bands played together. They were called Hands Held The Dead. I remember them playing last in this huge gym at the YWCA, in the near dark. I think alot of kids had left, or maybe not that many had been there to begin with. Either way, when I think of them playing that night I remember how big and empty that room felt. And then I remember how large and brutal they sounded. I remember how I instantly felt connected to Makh after seeing him play. You could literally see the tension leave his body. Total release. I could tell he was on my 'team'. I could tell he used music to work out whatever he needed to work out. His next band was one of my favorite bands, Betray The Species. They had one 20 minute song that they played at like 15 shows and I believe I saw most, if not all of them. It was one epic intense experience seeing them. The second song they wrote came out on a CD called Sleepwalker and contains the lyric "someone somewhere loves me" which always just cuts right to my core, and which is more than true considering the turn out at his funeral this week. Alot of people in a lot of places loves him. He went on to play in a bunch of bands ending with Early Graves. I hadn't seen him in a few years but we were in contact on the internet consistently, which regrettably is much too common these days with old friends, although it's better than nothing I suppose. He was a great dude and an all around inspiration.

I have a few different live recordings of Betray The Species first song, one on VHS that I have to dig up, but until then:

Hands Held The Dead cdr
Betray The Species - Sleepwalker