Yesterday I went to a “Celebration of Life” for my former bandmate and good friend, Dave Poarch. Dave eventually lost a battle with cancer, but not before a helluva fight. He was one tough hombre.

Around 2010, the trio I was in needed a guitar player and singer, so I put an ad on Craigslist, and Dave responded. From the outset, I could tell he’d bring exactly what we needed, and he crushed my expectations with his excellent vocals and solid-as-a-rock guitar playing.

We soon became “Beth Britton and The Boomers” and hit the local farmer’s market scene, hoping to move up. Dave’s voice blended really well with Beth’s. That, coupled with an eclectic set list no other band had, gave us a niche in the private party scene. Before we knew it, we were gigging 3-4 times a month. Nothing was off the table. We covered everyone from Amy Grant to AD/DC. Dave brought in songs from artists I had never heard of that became staples of our set list. His creativity and openness to whatever sounded good were a real asset to the trio. My two favorite songs featuring Dave were Beautiful Wreck (Shawn Mullins) and Into the Mystic (Van Morrison).

Our trio worked its way to playing at an actual bar, Marks on the Channel up in Scapoose. I had seen notable local artists play there and never thought I’d play there myself, so I went in with a little bit of imposter syndrome, but Dave and Beth carried the day. Before long, the place was rockin’. There’s no better feeling for a band than when people get up to dance and seem to be having a good time. We probably split $200 between us; I don’t remember the exact numbers, but the money was never the point. Dave just loved music. It was innate to his very being.

Through the band, Dave and his lovely wife, Vicki, became good friends of ours. Dave was always an interesting hang. The conversation was good, but what I remember most about him and Vicki as hosts is that they always focused on you. They genuinely wanted to know what was going on in your life and dug deep into what we were up to. Dave never made it about him. Even when he was really sick, he didn’t want the focus on him for very long.

Not surprisingly, Dave’s Celebration of Life in Newberg was packed, and music was on the menu. He clearly touched many lives. I didn’t expect anything less. Knowing him meant having a really good friend.

Vaya con Dios, amigo.