Dan Nugent

1962-2026

Jul 01, 2026

For my old friend, Dan-I haven’t been able to find the words to tell you all that he is gone from this life and what he meant to me and all of my people—for Dan there were infinite words that sprang from his mind like pennies from heaven, like cicadas on a summer day, like moonbeams, fairytales, ice cream and ginger ales. He’d tell you about his smells, his love life and his current musical obsessions—a funeral procession is in order I’m afraid. Dan Nugent my long loved brother in the struggle has met his hour and gone on to that great groover’s paradise in the sky. I wish I could call him but he forgot his phone at home with all of us now more alone, looking at the tracks of our tears and laughing about the million times he made us feel that life was lighter and more absurd than anything we thought was real. He had a gift of gab like The Godfather of soul was super bad. He was the greatest air drummer that ever lived, sitting crossed legged on the floor flailing his stubby arms with tiny fists, part Clyde Stubblefield and part Mo Tucker. He was an intelligent MFer, a ball of light and love as deep as the Gulf Of Mexico, but he hated the water. I met him when I was 17

42 years ago and this is the first time I’ve ever counted them. Because he was an ever presence in my incarnation. The Tom Sawyer to my Huck Finn, The Jerry Lewis to my Dean Martin. I would not be me the man I am without him. And I will miss him for the rest of my life. This man, this wild ass, brilliant poet clown scholar friend.

I’ll have lots more to say when I have unpacked a life’s worth of loving laughing crying singing dancing air drumming, picking him up and taking him back home, talking for hours, talking forever, and mostly me listening, marveling, grimacing, guffawing, chortling, trying to remember every story every metaphor every riddle and every store we stopped at to get hotdogs at 3am. I ain’t never loved a man the way that I love Dan

I’ll stop right there, I believe it’s time to cry and say good bye to my old buddy my old pal my old son of a son who preferred the moon hit his eye like a big piece of pie, that’s Amore

Bye Bye, Good Bye Danny B Goode!!