Mario Comesanas: A Eulogy

Mario Comesanas, a Sirius/XM Liquid Metal DJ and prominent figure in the North Jersey music scene, passed away unexpectedly earlier this week of a brain hemorrhage. He was 30 years old.

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This is the honest to God truth: if there was one underlying thread in the New Jersey music scene it was you.

You were the one who broke Thursday, My Chemical Romance and countless other bands simply because you were so passionate about the music and because you knew the world deserved to hear it. Your unwavering dedication to rock n’ roll and metal has enriched the lives of so many people the world over and you will never get to hear their thank yous. You will never know how many kids out there have a chance at a bright future because you turned them on to the bands that inspired them to never give up on themselves.

I am a better person for have knowing you. I have met some of the greatest friends I have ever had through punk rock and a local scene that thrived because you breathed life into it and inspired it to be greater. Sometimes the greatest trick a magician can play is making something look so much bigger and grander than it really is – until it is perceived as real. You did that Mario, for all of us. You truly were the New Jersey scene and now we are so much poorer without you.

If you were touched by a band that Mario broke, remember that as a gift that was given to you. Without Mario, the early and mid-2000’s would have been boring as shit and the New jJersey scene would have rotted on the vine. Plenty of the people reading this now would never have discovered their favorite band if not for Mario. The other half will never have any idea about how he quietly shaped your musical landscape.

The fact of the matter is this: we have ALL had a friend like Mario. Someone who has impacted our lives for the better in one way or another, someone that we maybe gloss over as time goes on. I tell you, Dear Reader, do not take these people for granted. Give credit where credit is due. Be it your best friend, your brother, your grandfather, your brother, your mom, dad or favorite band, tell the people who influenced you that they made a difference. This is not just lip service, it is giving them the recognition that they deserve, while they are alive to get it.

J.D. Salinger wrote at the end of The Catcher in the Rye ,“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” I am glad one of the last things I said to Mario was, “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” because it was the goddamned truth. Anybody who doesn’t believe that is fucking lying to themselves.