At A Loss For Words…Rest In Power Riley Gale

I am at a loss for words…as I’m sure many of you are as well…especially those of you who had the pleasure of seeing Power Trip on their recent Asian tour and got to meet this amazing man face to face. I never had that pleasure because they didn’t come through Hong Kong. But I had the pleasure of watching people’s videos, photos, and all the kind things people posted online from their interactions with Riley specifically. Many people wrote about how Riley took the time to thank each person, took the time to really listen to how much Power Trip meant to them, he even took the time to make sure he watched the opening bands. He then went on to thank the opening bands during Power Trip’s set, not only thanked them but would say a few words about a few of them. Like when Singapore band Deceased traveled all the way up to Kuala Lumpur to play the show, Riley thanked the band for doing that 12 hour round trip journey to play the show (Photographed with the band below).

I noticed all of his interactions from my home and was really blown away by his genuine gratitude to those people who came to the show and those who came to speak to him. There was something in his face, an aura, in all of the photos that people shared online. There was something in his face that showed that he wasn’t just taking photos with people because that’s what bands do, he was taking photos with people because that was the least he could do to thank them for spending money to see them, spending money to buy their music, spending money to buy their merch.

Being genuine.
Being real.
Being sincere.
Being authentic.

This will always go far in my books. And because of this, I will be a Power Trip fan for the rest of my life.

Thank you, Riley, and the rest of the Power Trip dudes.

This is a heavy loss that I’m really feeling and that many MANY people around Asia and the rest of the world are feeling right now. My heart goes out to his family and friends…I’m so sorry for your loss.

Rest in power my friend.

Photo Credit: Reed Dunlea