Jani Lane: Too Young To Die

It is with regret that I got the news of the death of Jani Lane, the former lead singer of rock band Warrant.

Yes, I know that hardly anyone knows about this band, the Warrant. I also know that nobody cares about Jani Lane. Another drug addict who dies due to abuse and wild living, they say.

But things are not quite like that.

I am of the generation that grew up listening to heavy metal in the late 80s. I loved the hard rock of bands such as Warrant. They, the hairy rockers could even be drug users or addicts beverages, hooligans, but no matter. This was and is part of rock 'n roll. But they were our idols.

The Warrant was never a very famous band outside the United States, but even so, who was a fan of hard rock music knew them, and they had a great  poser look. Many did not like, but many liked. I loved it.

But Jani Lane is, personally speaking, even more important.

People think of rock as people inaccessible. Yes, they are even, when they are at the height of his fame, and many of them continue to flee from ordinary people for all life. But not Jani Lane.

Roni, my younger brother, left Brazil in 1993. Jani Lane left Warrant in 1992. They two met sometime between 1993 and 1998 in Winnipeg, Canada. My brother lived there and knew who was Jani Lane.

One day, Jani was playing in a bar in Winnipeg in the vicinity of where my brother lived. And then, Roni went to the show. The bar was small and the public was not very big. At the end of the show, Roni had the opportunity to talk personally with Jani Lane. I do not know what they talked about, nor how long. But Roni told me about this meeting with great pride, because, after all, Jani Lane was a great singer from a great band that had great success and sold several million records. It's not everyday that we find people like that. And is not every day that people like that allow ordinary people like me and Roni, to approach and talk like normal human beings.

After this meeting, I always had great affection for Warrant and Jani Lane. I bought their albums, now in CD format, which did not exist here at the time they were successful. Of course I dare not rock every day. In fact, I have many sounds I buy CDs and keep more fondly as a reminder to listen to every day. So, I got the CD and Warrant consider this a tribute to the band. They did a great sound.

Now, after years, I have 41 years. Roni will be 39 soon. Jani died at 47. It was a little older than us.

He was a guy who was not in the media, but it does not matter. It was and will always be the Jani Lane, the guy from Warrant, the guy who played in Winnipeg and talked to my brother like a normal guy.

And now he's dead.

A guy too young to die.

Jani Lane, here is my tribute.

Now, you too are eternal!