HBD to my late friend

Today is the birthday of the great musician and my friend, Jason Funk Fields. But this is not the kind of happy birthday wish I like to send.

I think I met Jason Funk Fields shortly before turning 14. He was 16. I often hung out with him, James Jemison, and my older sister Christine. When it was just Jason and myself we would talk about skateboarding, girls, and music. He was quite a good bass player even then. A favorite memory of mine was jamming with him and his father once in their living room.

In the early 90s I saw his first band Spoonless play in one of Thug’s legendary basement shows and watched with admiration as his next band Tub Ring raised the bar for a lot of the musicians in Chicago’s punk scene. I’m really happy I got to see him in all his rockstar glory with Tub Ring on the Metro stage and spend a little time with him before I moved to Korea in 2003. Witty, honest, and supportive, Jason was a great guy all around who seemed to get even better as time went on. I was shocked and very sad to learn from James about Jason’s sudden passing earlier this month.

Jason, you were an important part of my childhood. It’s such a shame my only interaction with you the past twenty years has been the occasional comment on social media. I don’t think I even have a photo of us together — just memories. But they’re all good ones. I’m really glad I knew you.

Rest in peace, my friend.