Written by: Paul Gleason

I got in the car today to run some errands, scrolled to Black Tusk’s Taste the Sin on my iPod, and hit play.

Of course, I’ve done this many times before, but today it felt like I was doing it for the first time – because Black Tusk’s bassist-vocalist Jonathan Athon was dead.

As “Embrace the Madness” plunged into “Snake Charmer,” Taste the Sin formed the soundtrack to my thoughts. And I just kept on driving – and remembering. I couldn’t stop.

I remembered how Taste was the first Black Tusk record that I ever played for my wife – and how she loved it.

Then my thoughts turned to James May – drummer-vocalist in Black Tusk – and how I was scheduled to interview him for a project on which I’m working.

Then I thought about Savannah and its vibrant music community, which has given me so much over the years.

The outpouring of public support for Black Tusk by some of the bands that I most admire – Baroness and Kylesa, in particular – reminded me of what makes the Savannah and, really, the entire Southeast music community so special.

The key word is “community,” which means “a feeling of fellowship among others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.”

As a journalist, I’ve interviewed at least a dozen people from this community – and they’ve all done nothing but embrace me with their boundless generosity and kindness. I know that I’m an outsider looking in – at heart I’m just a tremendous fan of their music – but I feel that I’m a part of their community.

I never interviewed or met Athon. But, having read Baroness’ and others’ moving Facebook posts about him, I know that his spirit infused and continues to infuse a community of artists whose work I love from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you, Athon. Thank you, Black Tusk. Thank you, Savannah. Thank you, Southeast.