by Michael Gill

It often takes death to generate an enthusiastic celebration of life. The year 2016 has provided too many opportunities for such celebrations. The most recent loss was that of guitarist, singer, and songwriter “Detroit” Dave Meer, who died on Nov. 13.

A memorial concert to celebrate Meer’s life drew a large crowd that filled the Concourse at the International on Sunday, Dec. 4, to share “Detroit” stories and listen to music performed by a multitude of musicians who were associated with or influenced by him over the many years he lived and played in Knoxville. Fellow Detroiter Michael Crawley, a longtime friend of Dave and a musical partner in several notable bands, was the coordinator and master of ceremonies, but he had lots of help from several of Knoxville’s music impresarios and a multitude of musicians.

The crowd could perhaps be described as the Knoxville Detroit community, which combined many of the old Sassy Ann’s and Hawkeye’s Corner folks, as well as others, rather like a long-delayed homecoming. Several members of Dave’s family and some of his old friends from Detroit were also present. Perhaps most remarkably, there were numerous Knoxville musicians in the audience who were not there to perform. That may have been the biggest tribute of all, because it doesn’t happen often.

The show itself was amazing and included a retrospective of the many bands that Dave played in and more, from Bluefish to Leftfoot Dave and the Magic Hats, with Crawdaddy, the MacDaddies, the Kirk Fleta Band, and of course Jenna and Her Cool Friends in between. Crawley and Jenna Jefferson sang some songs that they cowrote with Dave. Other bands featuring many of Dave’s friends also played, and many Dave stories popped up throughout the evening. Many of the stories were about what a great ear for music he had and what an unbelievable vault of music he had stored in his mind.

One of Dave’s bands wasn’t there, and that reminds me of the first time I ever saw him. I had returned to Knoxville in the mid ’90s after a long hiatus and was just getting reacquainted with the music scene. I didn’t know Dave from Adam, but I had heard folks mention him and had seen his name in Metro Pulse. One evening, my wife and I went to a place called the Spot on Kingston Pike. We thought we were going to hear some jazz by a group called the Nairobi Trio.

It turned out to be a four-piece trio, and they weren’t playing jazz. The guitarist and singer played and sang with incredible intensity. I noticed that he seemed to stare with that same intensity into some unknown corner of space. I had to ask someone, “Wow! Who is that guy?” Now, after hearing many musicians tell their Dave stories, I reckon that unknown corner of space Dave was staring at so intently was really the vault of music in his mind.

One thing’s for sure—we’re going to miss that vault of music, that intensity, and we’re going to miss Detroit Dave.