His wife told me that he still had nightmares of those days, and she hoped that the trip would be healing for him as much as for the people he had liberated. I can tell you that his face lit up when my mother took his hands in hers and thanked him for saving her life, and I truly hope his experience helped to ease his troubled soul.

"I have said this before, and so has Neil, but it bears repeating: if we learned one thing from all of this, it was a young artist's greatest asset is the word "no". It's an immensely valuable word. There will always be pressure on you to compromise, pressure to sell your dreams short, and there will always be people who want you to be something that you're not, but none of these things can happen without your permission. My most urgent advice to aspiring artists is always" Be true to yourself and just say no". Oh, and always take your wallet onstage with you. Bada-bing!"

For a bass player to find a drummer with the exact same mindset is a rare and special thing.