Several weeks ago, on Friday, October 13 to be exact, Up Records founder Chris Takino died quietly in Texas. Takino and his partner had flown there in pursuit of a last-ditch medical procedure, a leap of faith, to save his life. Ever since my grandmother died when I was a teenager, I've held the unyielding belief that people have one specific purpose in life.
Some lives stand as tales of caution.
Others reveal that there is much evil in the world, and that no one is allowed to make stupid decisions, however innocent or malicious, without suffering awful consequences. I was fretting over something the other day when a friend told me simply that nothing that is very good comes easy . In fact, he said he wished he could have those exact words tattooed backward across his forehead so that in times of doubt or despair he could look at himself in the mirror and remember. That band, Built to Spill , flourishes and flowers to this day, as do the rest of the bands or artists Takino put out on Up Records. Bands like 764-HERO have used their associations with Up to allow themselves the luxury of changing and expanding upon a formula that was already perfect from the beginning, and with each record and song comes a new, different kind of perfect that stays as true to its creators as it does exciting to its fans.