I was absolutely shocked and crushed when I found out. I kind of tried to analyze my feelings, because I don't really have a problem with death per se (happens to us all, after all), but I was really gutted. I guess that I was really delighted by Rick's presence in Dave's tour and his plans for a solo album, and it seemed like he was going through another creative revival like the one that resulted in TDB and Broken China. It seemed that finally he had really found his way all the way back as a musician, after this long difficult period. I think that Roger said that his death was "premature," and I really felt (feel!) that way.

I've gotten over a lot of the initial sadness now. I am really glad that there seems to be a lot greater awareness of just how much Rick contributed to PF and music--an awareness that has been building for years, I think, but which really showed itself on Dave's tour and with the reaction to Rick's death. I was watching all of these Youtube videos of PF songs that heavily featured Rick (or, in some cases, of Rick solo songs), and there was just this incredible outpouring from all over the world. I guess that was what really hit me--people would be writing comments in multiple languages, and from what I could read, it was really clear that Rick's passing had touched people all over the world, and people knew exactly what he had given us. That really meant a lot to me.