Dear Meg, Dia, Carlo, Jonathan, & Nick:
I don't think I could properly convey the profound positive effect you've all had on my life, but first & foremost, I must credit you for being a major influence in starting my own band, Vale Of Avalon, a few years ago. I always chose a song of yours to warm up to, even covering Joey Had A Smoke, and owe all my success to you guys for inspiring me to finally do what I love. Music has always been so vital to me, and hearing that raw passion in your songs was so refreshing & I fell in love with it immediately. The day I found your music was the day my taste started shifting for the better. I wish I could accurately stress the fact that I've never felt more inspired than when I put your records on. That your words are so powerful & they move me every single time. That the music you made is one of a kind. I could confess that I never hesitate to say that you guys are the greatest band ever assembled, no matter how bold that sounds. That I had the honor of meeting you all every time I got the chance to see you live. I never missed a show when you guys were in town. You were all always so gracious to meet everyone and I never got used to the feeling of meeting my heroes regardless of how many times we met. You guys even started to remember me & my brother, which meant so much. I have so many fond memories of you all. From meeting Dia for the first time at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, a show I almost missed after suffering a heat stroke at a concert the same day, Nick giving me & my brother his drum sticks after that show, us presenting him & Dia personally designed panties a year later at Warped Tour, me smoking a cigarette with Jonathan after a show, me exchanging a guitar piñata for a MaD vinyl with Carlo at Warped, getting to talk to Meg about Chandler after Dia's last performance out in LA. All these memories & more will always reside in my heart. They mean more than I can ever explain.
Every one of your performances always blew me away, and you could always find me & my brother up front & center for any of them, rocking out. We even had the pleasure of seeing you perform from backstage at Warped Tour '09, which to this day remains as the best Warped Tour year ever for me. I wish I could truly express the gratitude I feel for how much your music has gotten me through & continues to. The last time I spoke to Meg, in the mist of our conversation, I mistakenly told her that you guys got me through high school. And while that is true, I didn't mean it to sound like I think of you guys purely as a nostalgic band to listen to, that your music is something of the past. Because the truth is that it's something that will always resonate with me for the rest of my life.
I owe so many countless amazing friendships to you guys. I'm sure you guys are aware, but you have the best fans in the whole world. They're some of the most creative, witty, funny, kind, & loyal people I've ever known, and it's all thanks to something so special bringing us all together. We've all grown so much though your music. I can't believe you guys are gone. I wanna say I'm not holding on to the hope that someday in the distant future you'll come back, but I am. You are all too talented not to. Not to say that you can't create magic on your own, because you can & are, but Cocoon was genius. I can understand that you'd wanna end on a high note with your best work though. I guess I just didn't expect it to be so soon.
I guess what I want most of all to get across in this letter is that I am just a fan you genuinely won over with your brilliance. That I deeply appreciate all the fine music you gave to the world & everything that came along with that. All the days & nights that I've listened to it to wallow in my melancholy or to feel hopeful & happy. I'll cherish all the times you saved me always. You're masters at your craft. I love you all very much and will continue to support you in all you do. Thank you for everything. I'll see you guys around.
Love, Michelle Molina aka Jax Havok
dededos
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