Frankie Knuckles will live forever

The headlines that keep reading: Dead at 59 are hard to read. It is like saying “it is over!” What is over? Frankie Knuckles is a leader of a sound that feed my soul when I was a teenager right at the time where I needed something to fill a major void. I live in Texas and was energetic and painfully mischievous – just a weirdo, and I still am. I needed something more in my life that would eventually create a strong sense of community in a city I had zero family members in. I was taken to a small cafe in 1998 called Zombies in Arlington, TX and introduced to house music. It was later that I learned the name and tracks. At that time djing wasn’t something anyone did to be cool, it was something my friends did because they couldn’t see life any other way. I went from being lonely and weird to having these people who played HOUSE MUSIC in warehouses where we danced till sun up like weirdos together. Even though I still do this now, every single time I still get the morning tears for being fulfilled entirely with pure love. I dare you to MOVE YOUR HIPS to this mix from last time Frankie played in Dallas and have any bit of hate in your soul! (If you are not a house lover then my dare is null and void.)

Frankie Knuckles @ The Travis, Dallas, TX – 04.10.2013 by Sam3v on Mixcloud

I’ve heard endless parade of DJs play since then their motives ranging from looking cool/sexy, to be famous, to have attention so it has been rare for me to be moved by anyone. It is also the reason I started this blog to begin with, to share what what I was moved by! There are very few who lead a dance floor and take your soul somewhere and then bring you back brand new. I was lucky to have a small group of friends who found salvation in house music. A part of us were nervous about realizing how powerfully spiritual the dance floor would get. My boyfriend at the time would raise hands and say, “In the name of house music, can you feel it!” We did. In  Marea Stamper’s Vice article, she writes about how many people put their resources together and that is what house music did for me. It’s what the music scene does for me now. I got my first sense of being a part of a bigger group with house music. I understand that is why I feel so sad that someone who in my mind would live forever is no longer alive. I found it surprisingly comforting to read the tweets from other fan who also felt his loss. I wasn’t alone in my sadness. Reading the articles that state the facts of Frankie’s life and how did he die, these are the songs he made, here are his releases are leaving out a major part of what Frankie was to the people whose lives were impacted by his music. I almost couldn’t even finish reading the Complex article as a sense of feeling that this creative and constant source of magic was no longer here. It felt like an era as over. Frankie Knuckle’s energy will forever going to be a part of my soul’s healing. It is wonderful that I have been able to dance to live life and experience that journey that his sets created. Frankie lived this extra ordinary powerfully inspiring life that allowed me to find a community any where house music.

Here is news though: Frankie Knuckles will live forever. That’s the beautiful thing about going through this process for me mentally. I hope that thought you told him, “Wow that was a great set!” will pass on his smile and complete thankful attitude. I already see how he laid the foundation to house music and as those who worked with him continue their musical journal and feed the dance floor spiritual food that house heads always starve for. It has been comforting for me to be able to connect and express my flowing gratitude for this person who made my life and the lives of the people of planet Earth absolutely beautiful. This Friday there will be 60 seconds of silence at 2 P.M. CST in his honor. Connected to the everyone will remember.

I make it no secret that my most spiritual experiences I have ever had have been on dance floors. I am blessed for hearing the Godfather.

— Ally Fíesta (@AllyFiesta) April 2, 2014