Goodbye, Derek… Best of Luck!
It is with tears and very heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our original drummer and amazing friend, Derek Tomporowski, who is migrating South to rejoin family in Florida. I have personally known (and have been playing with) Derek since just shy of his 15th birthday. Starting with Freezer Burn, morphing into the mighty Superbasket, and most recently with The I-90s, I have had the pleasure of enjoying Derek’s talents in abundance on stage, in rehearsals and during impromptu jam sessions. But beyond his prowess on the skins and shells, Derek has simply been one of my very best friends. I have had the chance to watch him grow both as a player and person. I’ve shared deeply sad moments and unbelievably great times throughout our friendship. I once had a saying that summed up my thoughts on Superbasket (Mr. Mike Ohm, we still miss the hell out of you, too)… and that saying is that “Superbasket wasn’t a band, it was a family.” That saying couldn’t be more true to this day, because it’s the very same feeling with The I-90s. We’re not just losing a drummer… we’re not just losing a friend… we’re losing a part of our family. But in our sadness comes opportunity for Derek, and I know that I speak for every member of this musical family when I say…
Derek, we love you, and we wish you the best of luck, the best of health… the best of everything!
We’ll miss you, brother!
Your friend,
Bobby
