I was heartbroken to learn that Hoover, our former bass player in Mighty Joe Castro and the Gravamen, passed away Saturday morning, on his 53rd birthday. It’s a punch in the gut that will take some time to truly process.

Hoover and I formed the band together in 2017. In the first few months, it was just us, squeezing in 9am Sunday rehearsals in Roxborough. When he stumbled in late one morning, a little worse for wear, I yelled “Hey man, wake up, you’re rockin’!” He smiled and said “there’s your title for your next song.” So I went and wrote that one for him.

He was an early champion of my songwriting and a staunch supporter of my artistic vision for the band, which meant a lot to me. We discovered a shared love for The Godfathers, so we covered “Birth School Work Death” and decided to wear suits. And it was Hoover who brought in Dallas on drums, as well as Mike Stingle on guitar. He played upright bass on all of our recorded material and always kept it tasteful. He had a great ear for harmony.

He was stubborn and could often be a real pain in my ass, but he offset that with a sick sense of humor, which I loved. A character for sure, with great taste in footwear. And despite all the walls and gruff exterior he put on, he was a generous person with a soft heart. Sadly, his leaving the band last year left a bitter rift on his end that was never healed.

Hoover said to me many times, “ Look, I don’t have any kids. So this music I’m playing is my legacy.” Please raise a glass and go listen to his music today, whether it’s The Gravamen, Thorazine, or Cthuhlu Martini.

Thank you for getting this wreck up and running, h00v3r. You are not forgotten. My sincere condolences to Alaina Gurski and to the rest of his close friends. Your loss is our loss. Rest in Peace Daniel Hoover.