I only knew Dino for 4 years, but he is truly an unforgettable person and he had a great impact on me. When we first formed the band, I was a green and slightly ornery and hardheaded kid out of college and I could always count on Dino for some advice. I could always count on him to set me straight when I got too bigheaded also. Dino sort of became an older brother figure to me.  Alas, I never told him how much I appreciated him.

It’s a shame I never shared those words with Dino and I’ll have to accept that and learn from it but I do thank whatever force brought us together because he was a very influential person in my life. The drummer/bassist bond is usually a strong one, like ours was, but our bond as people was stronger. As I said, I never fully expressed how much of an impact he had on me musically and personally and I’ve lost that opportunity. In another sense, he taught me to seize that opportunity from now on whenever it presents itself.

I’ll leave you with a video of Mirror Image performing “Some Other Life” at the Rock-It Room in San Francisco on March 24, 2007.  At 2:26 or so, I play a triplet fill to kick us back into the final choruses to end the song. For some reason, he always had a bit of trouble nailing the last note of that fill but he would always give me a head nod and a smirk when we nailed it perfectly.

Rest In Peace, Dino.

My friend and bassist, Dino Scoppettone, has been recently diagnosed with a type or sarcoma cancer and has put down his trusty Warwick Dolphin and Fender Geddy Lee basses to attend to his health.  I’ve known him since Summer 2004, which is when he joined the band, and he quickly became a valuable bandmate due to his bass chops and unmatched sense of humor.

I can honestly say I became a much better drummer because of him and his playing.  He challenged my drumming by phrasing bass lines in ways I did not expect and I challenged him by switching up the kicks and snares in ways that caught him off guard.  My band jams and sometimes Dino and I would find ourselves in a train wreck when we decided to get a little bit too playful with our playing but we always managed to save it.  That confident nod we’d give each other during the song and the fist-bump afterward is all we needed to do to show our appreciation to one another.

It’s only been 3 months since I last played with him but, dammit, I miss the nod and fist bump.  I’ve done two shows with two different temp bassists, but I thought they were disastrous regardless of what anyone else thought.  Much like playing with a trusty baseball mitt, I want my trusty bassist standing to my left of me to shoot me a weird look when I screw up a fill and to give me the nod when we nail something awesome.

My bassist is missing, in a sense, and I feel like one of my limbs is missing as well.  Get well soon, Dino.  I am not the same drummer without you.