Spring Break
The Daily OrangePike's fans mourn, remember his legacy through Web
By Heath Williams
Posted: 8/27/07, 1:43 AM EST Section: News
To Ryan Hickey, John Pike was an inspiration.
To Jeff Irvine, he was a very talented drummer.
To Style Band Aid, a client.
To Kacie Barton, a close friend.
To all of them, John Pike was a bright, skilled young man whose time came too soon.
Pike, the drummer for Ra Ra Riot, a band made up of Syracuse residents and Syracuse University alumni, was found dead in seven feet of water in Buzzards Bay in southern Massachusetts on Sunday, June 3. He had been reported missing late that Friday night after attending a house party in Fairhaven, Mass.
Pike, a 2006 SU graduate, was 23. Paula Pike, John's mother, estimated that 1,700 people attended his wake in their hometown of Hamilton, Mass.
Following the discovery of Pike's body, Ra Ra Riot's MySpace page was bombarded with messages of condolences. Not until recently have the messages returned to their usual candor of congratulating the band after each performance.
The messages were of hope, sorrow and remembrance from fans across the nation and across the globe.
"I love you all," wrote user NewCliché at 7:20 p.m. on June 3. "He will be sorely, sorely missed."
NewCliché's profile picture, along with many users that left comments, was changed to a picture of Pike.
Style Band Aid, a Japanese graphic design operation geared toward indie rock bands, left a message in broken English, saying, "Japanese 'Ra Ra Riot' Fan hopes that there is john safely."
In an e-mail, a representative of Style Band Aid said the group was shocked to hear the news of Pike's death.
"The loss of John Pike is a great sorrow to us, too," the representative wrote. "Also, I was making a flyer for the band's summer tour. Just as it was completed and sent to them, I heard of John's death. We, Japanese Ra Ra Riot fans, are groping for something we can do for the band, especially now, after this sorrowful event."
Ryan Hickey, a sophomore wildlife sciences major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, also left a message on MySpace.
To Jeff Irvine, he was a very talented drummer.
To Style Band Aid, a client.
To Kacie Barton, a close friend.
To all of them, John Pike was a bright, skilled young man whose time came too soon.
Pike, the drummer for Ra Ra Riot, a band made up of Syracuse residents and Syracuse University alumni, was found dead in seven feet of water in Buzzards Bay in southern Massachusetts on Sunday, June 3. He had been reported missing late that Friday night after attending a house party in Fairhaven, Mass.
Pike, a 2006 SU graduate, was 23. Paula Pike, John's mother, estimated that 1,700 people attended his wake in their hometown of Hamilton, Mass.
Following the discovery of Pike's body, Ra Ra Riot's MySpace page was bombarded with messages of condolences. Not until recently have the messages returned to their usual candor of congratulating the band after each performance.
The messages were of hope, sorrow and remembrance from fans across the nation and across the globe.
"I love you all," wrote user NewCliché at 7:20 p.m. on June 3. "He will be sorely, sorely missed."
NewCliché's profile picture, along with many users that left comments, was changed to a picture of Pike.
Style Band Aid, a Japanese graphic design operation geared toward indie rock bands, left a message in broken English, saying, "Japanese 'Ra Ra Riot' Fan hopes that there is john safely."
In an e-mail, a representative of Style Band Aid said the group was shocked to hear the news of Pike's death.
"The loss of John Pike is a great sorrow to us, too," the representative wrote. "Also, I was making a flyer for the band's summer tour. Just as it was completed and sent to them, I heard of John's death. We, Japanese Ra Ra Riot fans, are groping for something we can do for the band, especially now, after this sorrowful event."
Ryan Hickey, a sophomore wildlife sciences major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, also left a message on MySpace.
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