16 Volt

from 16Volt website

October 20, 2007 | Paul Raven - RIP

I found out this morning that my old friend Paul Raven died yesterday. I first met Raven about 15 years ago and I was immediately in awe of his presence, not only from what he has done musically but he just had that something special about him, it didn’t hurt that he was a big guy and when he walked into a place, you and everyone else knew it. He was a rock -n- roller from heart to soul and lived it though and though, often outshining the front men he stood behind…. It was at Matt Green from Spahn Ranch’s house and they were working on something, banging on keyboards and making noise. He was incredibly warm, incredibly friendly and when he shook my hand he looked into my eyes. Something you don’t see very often in music let alone in the heart of Hollywood.

It had been about 8 years since I had last seen him in person when he arrived at my studio last year to record bass on the new album and I was met with that same awe, he was a big presence who immediately grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug. Raven had moved up to Portland (so have I), which gave us a chance to hang out here and there. It was only a week or so ago that we had made plans to get together and listen to some new stuff he was working on and to talk about doing some more work together. I am in shock. I don’t even really know what to say or how to say it. Never forget how precious life is. Things can change in an instant. It’s at moments like this that we are reminded how important little things are and how the people in our lives can mean so much without us even knowing it. My deepest condolences to Raven’s band-mates, family, friends and fans. We will all miss him.

16Volt website
http://16volt.com/
http://www.myspace.com/16volt