Daniel was my cousin, my mentor, and my friend. We grew up together, we worked together, we played together. As a kid, I thought the world of him. He wasn't much older than me, but I still looked up to him like a big brother. I wanted to make songs just like he did. We both got our start with Mario Paint's music composer on SNES, and went on to Noteworthy Composer, which I still use to this day. We collaborated and uploaded tracks to MySpace way back when. We even made a cringy album back in 2006. We were kids. And though we went down separate paths in life, he never stopped inspiring me, and he never stopped creating music. We were always close, even when he was across the country. I'd send MIDIs his way and he'd remix them. Music connected us.

He had a hard life. He lost his father to cancer, his girlfriend left him for somebody else, he lost him home, his job, all within a year or two. And through his misfortune, he still managed to be hopeful toward the end. He told me just a week ago that he was suicidal at one point, but that part of his life was over. He had just gotten a new job at Yellow Stone National Park and was so excited about going. He was even bringing his guitar and his laptop to write music while he was there. As far as I know, he never got to write anything. Not long after arriving, he had a heart attack and while in the hospital he had a stroke. He was only 28 years old.

Some of the people who follow me on here might be disappointed, but I'm retiring from making music for now. I just can't. I don't know what happens moving forward, but I'll return someday. I just need a little time to heal. Thank you for your support. I love you all <3

- 1991