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We had been on tour for what seemed to be an eternity. Most normal things in daily life blurred together and the few things that stood out seemed to mean something, whether it be good or bad. Rob Moran suggested the idea of Some Girls covering “Absentee Debate” by Unbroken as we were playing Leeds on that tour. The rest of us in the band all grew up listening to Unbroken and were part of a musical and cultural family, so it made sense for us to do something in that vein. We were going to perform in a city that Eric Allen wanted to play when Unbroken toured the UK, but never got to. For me, losing Eric was one of those major life-altering points. I can’t properly express in words how it felt to lose someone like Eric. It was like losing a family member; a brother, a comrade, and someone who would essentially help me navigate life on this planet. Playing music can be cathartic, and once that first snare hit happens, it takes you on a journey of… something, which embraces the exchange of energy at a specific point in time. That is something which not all humans get to experience. It’s a point where you transcend all rational things. Sure, it can also be chalked up to “just music”, which is fine for those who need to think that. But some of us have no other option. We don’t do this for “fun”. It’s not something like you’d read in “The Dirt” by some dog shit band’s attempt to take a reader on a journey of rock n’ roll. This is an entirely different world. Playing that song meant the world to me. I grew up with Unbroken, and cut my teeth on the band’s music. They were the best at what they did.

Rob, who was playing Sal Gallegos’ back up loaner guitar went deep that night in Leeds, as we all expected him to. It was again, one of those moments where a person is not fully conscious of reality. We all process life in different ways. And some of us, who are capable of genuine emotion, with empathy, soul, and a greater understanding of our existence, react in ways which allow others to consume that energy. “Absentee Debate” was placed at the end of our set and was expected to draw out into absurdity. For me, I recall transcending somewhere else, where Eric’s energy was present. It wasn’t until I had laid my bass down and started to gather my senses, as feedback consumed the room, that I realized Rob was nowhere near the stage. All that was left was a destroyed guitar and the sounds that it provided to those that were there to share that moment with us. 

The guitar can be looked at as garbage. It now serves absolutely no musical purpose. Sal gutted the guitar to use the pick ups, and bridge, in order to salvage whatever was there, since some of us still need to utilize the tools that we have in our lives. Aside from the irrational destruction of the guitar, and Sal’s sense of class and ability to hustle, the guitar sat in storage for many years. The idea to auction it off recently came up, as a relic, or artifact of something that may stretch beyond music. Some Girls also recently lost a family member, a comrade. Gabe Serbian passed away in April of 2022. He was cut from the same cloth that we were. He held that rare energy that Eric Allen had. The energy that was not meant for this world. Gabe played on the track, “Deathface”, drumming along with Sal, and helped us create a sonic soundscape that felt akin to the end of “Absentee Debate”. Gabe will live on in so many of us. 

All proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Serbian family.