by Delilah Aguilar
Actor/musician Ed Quinn and Pennywise songwriter/vocalist Jim Lindberg responded in similar ways upon hearing of the suicide of their surfer/musician friend Jimmy Miller in 2005. Quinn had actually written a song with Miller. Lindberg wrote a song about Miller after his passing. Neither had any intention of ever performing the songs.
Quinn wrote his song with Miller while the two were on a surf trip to Bali. Lindberg wrote his song after learning of Miller’s death while Pennywise was performing in Hawaii.
This Saturday, July 20, Quinn and Lindberg will perform their songs for the first time, at the 20th Annual Jimmy Miller BeneFiesta.
The night will benefit the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, which offers surfing and other forms of ocean therapy to the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton, and to other trauma victims.
For Quinn, what brought about his change of heart about performing his song about Miller was learning the theme of this year’s BeneFiesta is “Welcome to Dreamland, Bali.” The song he and Miller wrote together in Bali is called “Dreamland Dreams.”
“Each year we do a different theme. This year’s BeneFiesta is extra special because it’s been 20 years since Jimmy’s death,” said Nancy Miller, Jimmy’s mother. “We picked this year’s theme because Bali was one of Jimmy’s Favorite places.”
Quinn said he went to Dreamland with Miller in 1996.
“Back then Dreamland was just a small farm, a single lane dirt road that went all the way to the coast. It was this secret spot that we found to be the most amazing thing ever. We wrote a lot of music during our time there. “Dreamland Dreams” was one of them. But we never played it before an audience,” Quinn said.
Upon learning of this year’s BeneFiesta theme, he found a recording of the song on an old hard drive and rushed it to his studio in El Segundo to create the version he plans to debut at the Saturday event and to release on streaming platforms.
The lyrics include, “I’ll be back someday from another land/ I’ve just got to find my way home.” According to Quinn, the song is about living your dreams. The pair wanted to “find their way home” not to the South Bay, but to a lifestyle in which they would feel free of everyday burdens.
“Life is but a moment, but within these moments there’s these sweet spots” Quinn said. “That time in Bali with Jimmy was a sweet spot. Revisiting this song feels like seeing an old friend.”
Lindberg said his song about Jimmy came to him on the flight home from Hawaii after hearing of Miller’s death.
“When we got the news I knew everyone in our group, as well as his family, was hurting. I changed my flight home to try and get back early so I could join them at a local bar to mourn his loss, but unfortunately my flight was delayed and I didn’t make it in time. While my plane was flying over the South Bay I wrote this song about the feeling of looking down on our town and knowing there were so many hearts in pain,” Lindberg said.
“Performing it will be a little nerve-wracking. I’ve always said I feel more at home playing in front of 20,000 people than in front of 100 of my friends. But I’ve been doing this for a while, and I think that songs like these are important for that cathartic purge. It gets people to remember those who are close to us who have passed on, and that’s a worthwhile pursuit,” Lindberg said.
For more information about BeneFiesta visit JimmyMillerFoundation.org. ER
