CONFIRMED: OC ReMixer Reuben Kee, 23, killed in boating accident (1984-2007)

[The Tiger]

it is disappointing that there is any sort of argument in this thread about anything at all no matter the relevance - rather than bickering about how you'll pay him tribute, everybody tribute him in your own way and get on with it. arguing amongst yourselves on a thread dedicated to his passing is trite.

please pay your respects with dignity

rest in peace, reuben, it is a tragic loss to the world that someone as multi-talented as you is no longer with us.

in peace

Quoted for emphasis. Well said.

[maestermatt]

well that fricken sucks. i dictate one of my fave songs to you mr. kee. and thanks for all my fave remixes. the song.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Um... shooting out ideas and discussing them != argument. As Reuben was a well-known and respected member of the community, I don't see any issues with the community collectively paying tribute, and in order to do that, we need to discuss verious ideas. To anybody who finds that offensive, I apologize.

(Perhaps some people will find this post offensive for the same reasons. Oh well.)

[Escariot]

Holy crap. I was a HUGE Reu fan. This is awful. Nothing new to say that hasn't already been said...

[Harmony]

I don't see anything wrong with a thread bringing his passing to people's attention. Lots of celebrities, musicians, game makers and such that've passed away over the last five-plus years have gotten threads made in memory of them. But "Reuben Roulette" just had a... gimmicky, ring to it (no offense intended whatsoever Harmony, as I know it was a heart felt idea). As such, a thread about his death seems more fitting to me, and it gives people a place to express their thoughts

Yeah I could see it being thought of as gimmicky, but the idea of putting "Reuben Dies" as a site announcement just would feel a little odd for me. And again, highlighting his music on the main page would mainly be to catch the people who are less likely to read a thread.

I'm all for a letter to be sent to his family though. We have some great writters here, but I've always thought that djp is especially talented at getting across an idea through words. Add to that the fact that he is the site admin and my hopes are for Dave to step in and represent our community with the english version of the letter.

Agreeing in part with zyko, whatever we do as a community, we should get on with it like Nario and others have.

[mattoco]

I have always felt Reuben's work carried with it such fervent emotion; for that it has and will always find a place on my playlists. His talents were truly amazing and his death can be summed as nothing short of a devastating loss for both his family and the communities he was involved in. I am interested in helping in whatever way I can with any tribute to his life and to the way in which it has profoundly affected us all.

[The Coop]

Yeah I could see it being thought of as gimmicky, but the idea of putting "Reuben Dies" as a site announcement just would feel a little odd for me. And again, highlighting his music on the main page would mainly be to catch the people who are less likely to read a thread.

Heh. I'm sure the thread title would be more tactful than that, but I can understand how that might make some people feel a little strange, or uneasy. It's a bit like seeing a family obituary over and over again.

And since I wasn't as clear as I needed to be, I was only speaking against the name "Reuben Roulette", and not the idea of having his remixes on the front page in that space for a short while. His remixes being there is a nice concept.

Um... shooting out ideas and discussing them != argument. As Reuben was a well-known and respected member of the community, I don't see any issues with the community collectively paying tribute, and in order to do that, we need to discuss verious ideas.

Indeed.

We're discussing things that we each feel may or may not be good community tribute/condolence ideas in a very constructive manner. No flames, no put downs, just ideas and concerns, zyko.

And Mr. Bottle Rocket, skill level has nothing to do with creating something heart felt. Even if what you made didn't turn out well in your eyes, the sentiment behind it will still be felt just as strongly

[Shadow Wolf]

I think we should get an address and send a letter. We really need to do something that allows the whole community to participate, even if it's only signing a card with your username/real name. Furthermore, i I think it would be awesome if we could have a cooperative effort between OC Remix, Anime Remix, VGMix, and any other place his music might have been posted. Just draft up a letter and we'll all put our names on it.

[dish]

I do not know Reuben personally myself; but I like quite a number of his remixes, especially Ascension to Cosmo Canyon.

Being in Singapore, I have heard about the news of 5 Singaporean drowning in the Cambodia boat race. Somehow, finding out that one of them is Mr Kee, an OCR community member and a musician whose music I listen to regularly, adds much more impact to the news to me personally.

Rest in Peace, Reuben Kee.

[Dhsu]

I'm sure I'll catch shit for this, but why not keep it simple? No "Reuben Roulette", no tribute albums (especially no selling of tribute albums), no overblown "Candle in the Wind"-esque projects.

Instead, find out the address of the Kee family if possible (or perhaps someone who knows where they live... or at least their E-mail address), and write them a sincere letter of condolence in both English and their native tongue if they're not English speaking... one that expresses the sentiments and well wishes of the remixing community. Have as many people sign it as possible (however you wish "sign"-ing to be, whether it's scanned hand writing, or visual images somewhat like the GenDis Christmas card last year), and send it to them. If it can be physically mailed to them, perhaps include a CD of his music on the offhand chance they weren't aware about their son's musical side.

I know his contributions to the remixing world will be missed, but let's not get carried away Ellen-style. Keep it simple, and heart felt

You can commence with the "You insensitive prick" flames now.

Actually, I was thinking along very similar lines as well.

I also thought comments like zyko's might pop up, so that's the reason I suggested multiple forms of tribute/remembrance. Like I said, whatever people end up doing, it will surely be appreciated.

[DrumUltimA]

if he's from singapore chances are his family speak english.. but i can get my singaporean ex-roomie to translate to singlish if need be

[sephfire]

I still think, if anything, we need to send his family a collection of all of Reu's music that we can find. In my own case, my family doesn't actively keep up with my music and wouldn't even really know where to look to find it. If Reu's family is the same, it could really mean a lot to them to get a CD with all of his work in one place. Receiving a disc with Reuben's work would mean far more to them than anything of our own creation anyway.

[Trenthian]

This is so utterly unbelievable!

I dont have words to describe what I feel about this matter.

I hope he was prepared for this, and faced his trial with bravery and had no regrets.

[Arek the Absolute]

if he's from singapore chances are his family speak english.. but i can get my singaporean ex-roomie to translate to singlish if need be

I am sure with all these lurkers that are from Singapore posting in this thread, it really won't be necessary, but still awesome just in case.

[zykO]

taucer, i'm positive you're misunderstanding me

[The Coop]

if he's from singapore chances are his family speak english.. but i can get my singaporean ex-roomie to translate to singlish if need be

I am sure with all these lurkers that are from Singapore posting in this thread, it really won't be necessary, but still awesome just in case.

Very true. But, better safe than sorry with something like this.

Kudos for offering DU.

[shawnphaseoftss]

this is definately very sad to hear...any time you hear of someone passing at an age this young its very disheartening. im unfamiliar with his music, but i definately will familiarize myself with what he's done, that's truly how people can live on. my condolences go out to you guys who were close to him.

[ProjectSpam]

Loved his music. Best wishes for his friends and family.

[DragonFireKai]

My condolences to his family. This is a real shame, he was a great talent.

[Zrexe]

A fellow Singaporean here. Heard some of his remixes before the incident, and when I read the papers, I didn't connect that Reuben to the remixer Reuben.

However, when I saw this thread, I was quite shocked that someone as multi-talented as he has lost his life in such an accident.

Rest in Peace.

[Sinewav]

I still think, if anything, we need to send his family a collection of all of Reu's music that we can find. In my own case, my family doesn't actively keep up with my music and wouldn't even really know where to look to find it. If Reu's family is the same, it could really mean a lot to them to get a CD with all of his work in one place. Receiving a disc with Reuben's work would mean far more to them than anything of our own creation anyway.

Gotta go with sephfire on this one. My parents are the same way. In fact, my mom always talks about "what beautiful music" I always make (an exaggeration IMO), and yet, she still never has kept up any kind of active collection of my recordings.

Just an assumption based of my experience with my parents, but here's something to think about: I'd be willing to bet that if Reuben was as good as a pianist as he was, he'd probably practiced since he was young. This probably means that his parents not only encouraged it, but loved hearing him practice. If anyone here has other musicians in the family, you know just how empty the house feels when they aren't around to play their music. I've heard many parents of musicians (especially pianists) say time and time again that when their kid moved out, one of the things they missed the most was hearing them practice... and half the time, it's just the kid playing Chopsticks or the beginner's version of Fur Elise over and over and over again. Imagine getting used to regularly hearing the skill and emotion that Reuben could convey, and knowing that's your kid. I'd be proud.

Originally, I was thinking that a tribute or a video was the way to go, but the more and more I think about it, I'd be willing to bet that a simple mix CD of everything we can find of Reuben's and a signed note of some sort would easily mean more than the world to them.

I don't know... what do you think? Just trying to gain some insight to someone I felt close to, but barely knew.

[DragonFireKai]

Gotta go with sephfire on this one. My parents are the same way. In fact, my mom always talks about "what beautiful music" I always make (an exaggeration IMO), and yet, she still never has kept up any kind of active collection of my recordings.

Just an assumption based of my experience with my parents, but here's something to think about: I'd be willing to bet that if Reuben was as good as a pianist as he was, he'd probably practiced since he was young. This probably means that his parents not only encouraged it, but loved hearing him practice. If anyone here has other musicians in the family, you know just how empty the house feels when they aren't around to play their music. I've heard many parents of musicians (especially pianists) say time and time again that when their kid moved out, one of the things they missed the most was hearing them practice... and half the time, it's just the kid playing Chopsticks or the beginner's version of Fur Elise over and over and over again. Imagine getting used to regularly hearing the skill and emotion that Reuben could convey, and knowing that's your kid. I'd be proud.

Originally, I was thinking that a tribute or a video was the way to go, but the more and more I think about it, I'd be willing to bet that a simple mix CD of everything we can find of Reuben's and a signed note of some sort would easily mean more than the world to them.

I don't know... what do you think? Just trying to gain some insight to someone I felt close to, but barely knew.

Well, here's my two cents on the idea of a tribute. I think the idea of compiling the work he did on the various sites we know onto a single disc for his family is a fantastic idea. As for the idea of a tribute DVD, I think the idea of putting together some sort of Video Game music video or Reuben Kee slide show is a little off. My unit has dealt with death on several occasions, thankfully not as many as some though. What we've discovered is that blitzing the people the departed leaves behind with pictures of him is a brutal experience. It reminds them of what they lost, and especially for the first 14 days, what's most important isn't to remind them of what they lost, it's to let them know that they aren't alone, and that the person who passed away had a positive impact. If we want to put together a true Rueben Kee tribute, I'm all for it, but right now, we need to consider the impact that would have on his family. My suggestion would be to have the members of the community record an adio, visual, or text message for the family describing how Reuben's work touched their lives, keep it short, between 20-30 seconds or 40-50 words, and have the East Coast OCR Clique compile them. That way we can let his family and friends know that he influenced many people world wide, without giving them harsh reminders of Kee's passing away while they're still in the process of grieving.

[danimal cannon]

Checking out his songs now, tis a shame, these are great.

[Dhsu]

Well, here's my two cents on the idea of a tribute. I think the idea of compiling the work he did on the various sites we know onto a single disc for his family is a fantastic idea. As for the idea of a tribute DVD, I think the idea of putting together some sort of Video Game music video or Reuben Kee slide show is a little off. My unit has dealt with death on several occasions, thankfully not as many as some though. What we've discovered is that blitzing the people the departed leaves behind with pictures of him is a brutal experience. It reminds them of what they lost, and especially for the first 14 days, what's most important isn't to remind them of what they lost, it's to let them know that they aren't alone, and that the person who passed away had a positive impact. If we want to put together a true Rueben Kee tribute, I'm all for it, but right now, we need to consider the impact that would have on his family. My suggestion would be to have the members of the community record an adio, visual, or text message for the family describing how Reuben's work touched their lives, keep it short, between 20-30 seconds or 40-50 words, and have the East Coast OCR Clique compile them. That way we can let his family and friends know that he influenced many people world wide, without giving them harsh reminders of Kee's passing away while they're still in the process of grieving.

Exactly. Although I'm not sure who's in this "East Coast OCR clique," or why you specifically suggested they handle this.

[DragonFireKai]

Exactly. Although I'm not sure who's in this "East Coast OCR clique," or why you specifically suggested they handle this.

DJP, Zirc, Pixie, etc. I believe it was Zircon who said that 90% of the OCR staff lives on the East Coast.