Michael ‘Mick Rain’ Ruane, drummer for Chicago power pop group Pezband, dead of COVID-19 at 68
Hero to today gone tomorrow is my favorite opening line from a song Mick and I collaborated on. He was the printing block and I was the fabric. So much of our writing together took on that characteristic. An incredibly gifted writer with wry sarcasm, humor, insight, and observation—this was his mark. And he was a hero to many, a modern knight dedicated to helping and serving others.
This month would have marked thirty-two years of dedication to his AA efforts. His daughter said, ‘He lived out loud.’ I will add that that is just the way he played too. We played together some 25 years and traveled the world. It’s all love, it’s the only thing we leave. A quote from yet another collaboration, a wonderful song. But he has left so much more to all of us. I have my love for him and I will miss him the rest of my days. It is only love, and he has left me with that love for him.
—Mimi Betinis, August 2021
Pezband Featured in New Music Exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Pezband’s iconic logo is featured in a new exhibit: THE STATE OF SOUND: A WORLD OF MUSIC FROM ILLINOIS at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL.
This one-of-a-kind exhibit showcases the achievements and contributions of Illinois’ finest in music. Written by award-winning author, documentary-producer and former Chicago Sun-Times Columnist and Critic, Dave Hoekstra.