In loving memory of David J Holmes
David J Holmes
9.08.1965 – 4.01.2024
David was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a very rare and utterly ruthless condition. There is no cure, and timeline after diagnosis is typically short weeks or months.
Many friends and family were able to spend precious time with Dave. Thank you to all who could make it. To see his face light up when a flying buddy or an old friend from school rocked up was something we will treasure.
David was a musician (bass, trumpet, piano) backing vocalist, salesman, live and studio engineer and a widely-liked figure across various facets of music and audio industries.
In his career, he worked for the likes of Yamaha, Klotz, Syntec International and HME. At the new Brash’s on Pitt Street in the late 1980s he honed his chops working upstairs in the musical instruments department, alongside the likes of Craig Calhoun, Harvey James, and Greg Lines.
Dave played bass in covers and original bands and was usually the one making sure the leads and cords were all plugged into the rights holes and sockets. He was also most likely to be telling the guitarists to ‘turn down’ and suggesting to the drummer they might like to pull it back a little volume-wise.
Dave fashioned himself into a highly regarded salesperson. He had the charm, the knowledge and skill to close the deal. It didn’t matter if it was a $500 guitar or a multi-million-dollar audio outfit.
He did his Masters of Design Science-Audio with David Gilfillan, Carmelo Tripolone from TAG and Dave Rashleigh from Crestron ANZ, and built an impressive studio in the laundry and rumpus room of the house he shared with his brother, Peter, with whom he played in a band in the early to mid-1990s.
David was a bit of a daredevil, having paraglided the entire southern coast of Bali, skied The Palisades and Motts Canyon in Lake Tahoe, done hot air balloon bungy jumping and completed an FA1 750km triangle in a glider. He was a scuba diver and worked on ski fields in Australia and North America as an instructor He was enthusiastic and fearless and just got on and did it.
The CJDSGN guarantees that every cent received will go directly to support the CJD Research Teams in Australia, improvements in diagnostic tools or the work of the CJDSGN in supporting families affected by CJD. David’s family will be notified of your donation and consulted on the allocation of funding.
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