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05/07/2007 Entry: "For My Friend Tim"

I've been playing drums for Blind Albert for quite some time: about 14 years, I think. In that time, Blind Al and I have been the constant. The variable has been the bass player. We started with Jay Stevenson. Mike Chesk came next, and he still plays with us a little. Dennis Lindsey had a short stint in there, and the last person to be our sole, regular bass player was Tim Cousins. (Currently we depend on Mike and Glen Dubois. Whomever is available gets the gig, but we have two that we work with. Tim was the last "regular" bass player.)

Tim was a drummer's bass player. He was solid. He was in the pocket. He didn't want to play "lead bass." He wasn't a guitar player who settled for the bass to get a gig, but secretly desired to be out front, riffing away. Nope. Tim played the bass. He was foundation. He was captain of the low notes.

Many times Tim and I rode to gigs together. We were more than just band mates. We were friends. We'd been to each other's homes. I met his son, at his son's home. Tim installed my dishwasher. (He was a master plumber by day, teaching voc. rehab at the minimum security prison in Warren.) I think we saw B.B. King together.

Time moves on, though, and Tim stopped playing with Blind Al. He met a nice girl, and they bought a home out Augusta way, so we didn't really see each other anymore. A few weeks ago, though, a mutual friend told me that Tim wasn't well. He had a touch of cancer, which they found, and took care of. Or so they thought. Turns out, it spread, and they didn't give him much time.

He passed away at 3:30 this morning. He was 54. Rest in peace, Tim. We'll jam again when I get there.