Late last week, Craig ‘Slippy’ MacNeil, a friend and long-time member of the Waterloo Records family with whom I worked for many years, passed in his sleep. Slippy, a lovable merry prankster with an ever-present smile and a perpetual gleam in his eye, was without question one of the most kindhearted, true-spirited, and gentle-souled people to ever shuffle through this mortal coil, and he had a way of making all who came to know him feel as though they were the best, most favorite part of his life. There’s a certain magic to that, and the world suffers for its loss. But no matter the loss suffered, it cannot overcome how much better a place the world is simply for having had Slippy in it for his all-too-brief yet brilliant life.

The fuzzy photo above was taken during one of the last times I saw Slippy out and about. Slippy–his arm around me, holding me close, almost conspiratorially, as he spoke–had spent the evening explaining to me that I was going to join his band. It was going to be a cover band, and the entirety of our repertoire was to be a song by the Sun City Girls off of the recent album Funeral Mariachi. The photo, taken by Slippy and immediately emailed to me, was to be our first band photo, and it included this short message: “The Moon is a UFO”. I don’t know that I saw it then, buddy, but looking now, I don’t know how I missed it. The moon is a UFO. Thank you for always showing me new and beautiful ways of seeing the world.

My heart goes out to the Waterloo family and all who have the good fortune to have known Slippy. He will be missed.