Jonathan Zanin, known as jonnyz (this was his preferred way of signing things) or Jonny, was a friend to Popular Ink. His Bizarre Market in Richmond, VA carried our shirts and books. An advocate for the arts and a number of worthy social causes, Jonny Z helped us with our initial promotions and always cheered us along the way.
Yesterday, I read that Jonny was killed on the Boulevard Bridge in Richmond when he was riding his bike home from a fund-raiser on Sunday night. Reports say that the police have not determined how Jonny Z died. (See article from The Richmond Times Dispatch below.)
I cannot imagine that anyone who knew Jonny Z would want to hurt him. He was, in all aspects, a lovely person.
Just last week, I went by his shop to check on Popular Ink’s stock. I had in tow my eighteen-month-old daughter, May. Above his store (which he shared with Nonesuch), located in the bottom of a converted row-house, someone was practicing on drums. Jonny Z was leaning against a wall out front, smoking a cigarette and intently listening.
When he saw us, he stood up. He was wearing a tee shirt, jeans and sneakers. With his slight frame, unkempt sandy hair and guileless smile, I thought to myself that he looked more like a kid than the proprietor of a popular store.
“Her eyes just lit up with the drums,” he said, motioning toward Baby May.
“She loves to dance, but that might drive me crazy.” I gestured at the open window from where the drumming boomed.
Jonny Z nodded thoughtfully and set down his cigarette. “Not me. I love it. I love it when anyone tries to make music.”
After we went into the store and talked inventory, Jonny Z carried a box out of for me and put it in the trunk of the car. Ever polite, Jonny Z waited as I tried to get May into her car seat.
May deftly slipped out of my grip and situated herself proudly in the empty booster seat that belongs to her older brother, Henry, who was at school. She leaned over and peered at the open car door to see if Jonny Z was watching her sit in the big-boy seat. He was. He grinned at her.
Then Jonny Z stood by for almost a half an hour while I tired to coax May out of the booster and into her own car seat. Finally, Jonny Z convinced May that she should get in her own car seat so that she could show him how to buckle up the harness. May fumbled with her seat belt and got the latch to click.
“There!” she triumphantly announced to Jonny Z.
“There!” he said, giving her his trademark, boyish grin. “Perfect!”
As we drove away, May blew a kiss to Jonny Z, a gesture she reserves only for those in her inner circle.
“There!” she said.
Excerpt from The Richmond Times-Dispatch
By JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
An abandoned bike, a pair of sneakers and blood on Richmond's Boulevard Bridge were among the pieces of evidence detectives pored over yesterday as they tried to solve the death of a popular city musician, artist and activist.
The body of Jonathan Raymond Zanin, 26, was found about 4 a.m. beneath the north side of the bridge.
Police were unsure yesterday whether Zanin's death was an accident, suicide or homicide. The pedestrian walkway where his bike and sneakers were found is narrow, and the fence that protects walkers and riders on the outer edge is about 5 feet high.
"We're still actively working to determine not only the cause of death, but the circumstances surrounding his death," said Richmond police spokeswoman Cynthia Price.
She said there was no preliminary indication that Zanin had been robbed, but the investigation is continuing.
Links to things of Jonny Z
Style Weekly Story on Jonny Z
A photo tribute from Nonesuch
Photos of Jonny Z
The Bizarre Market
WRIR will feature a show of Jonny Z’s music, including Tigershark and Castle Danger
An NBC news segment on his death
Tigershark’s MySpace page
YouTube video of Castle Danger with Jonny Z on drums
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
he was truly cool. cool without being, you know, cool. he always worked for what mattered.
Nonesuch and more photos.
Thanks for posting this. It was very touching in the right kind of way. Sweet.
Hey guys. Sorry I can't be there to send Jonny off. So sad and so wrong. The world is less one special person.
I hope the person who wrote A Kiss for Jonny Z will find a way to make sure his parents get it. There is nothing that can comfort them now, but as they slowly learn to how to live in a world without their son, they're going to want to read all the stories, comments, heartbreak, and love that his friends have shared with each other.
Blessings to all of you who have lost a friend.
Post a Comment