My dearest friend of almost 64 years died. Friends since 4th grade.
Skip and I discovered rock n roll together in the early 60’s.
He was the instrument that forced me to take music seriously. It was his idea to go to England and seek our fame and fortune in 1974.
He was a brilliant molecular biologist…and a prolific published writer.
He leaves a wife but no children. He has three siblings.
I got no air in my lungs.
I want to write a fitting tribute, at some point, but not now. The family did not post an obituary for him so there is nothing about his life to find online.
What a great pal.
Allen ‘Skipper’ Howlett
Photo: 1973 ‘Zelmo Mutz and the Enrique Twins.’ Me far left. Skip far right.
Photo of the Howlett brothers in 2020. Skip is far left:
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
My deepest sympathies.
“Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but in thankfulness that he was.” – Hebrew Proverb
Awful news. Energy and light sent.
I’m sorry for your loss, Katman. Never easy losing loved ones.
Prayers and thoughts for Skip, his family and friends like you Phil.
So sorry for your loss my botl. My condolences.
sorry for your loss , May God bless his soul , prayers to you, him and all his loved ones
Loss and the accompanying grief is always hard, it can be even more so during the holiday season when we celebrate with family and friends. You are fortunate to have had such a friend, many never do.
Sorry to hear…. always sucks to lose a friend.
Thank you everyone…
It was sudden. He kept his illness a secret.
There was no one in my life I knew longer. I knew my mother for 18 years. I knew my father for 53 years.
Shit is traveling through my brain at light speed. Over 60 years of memories.
It did bring a big dose of reality home.
You get older and you start seeing people disappear in their 50’s.
In their 60’s, it accelerates like crazy.
You hit your 70’s and it seems a miracle. Why did I get to stay on the planet this long?
I introduced Skip to cigars in college. Premiums.
And whenever I saw him, we enjoyed a good cigar.
But Skip had a deep dark secret…
He liked to smoke Avanti cigars.
The smell of the licorice was overwhelming and it usually ended with me having gag reflexes while he laughed.
We grew up together and we raised each other.
I can’t believe he is gone.
Sorry for your loss Phil, it never gets any easier losing close friends or family. One of the burdens of getting to outlive many of them I suppose. Skip looked like a cool dude, I look forward to stories with him the future, should there be any. May he Rest In Peace.
Phil
I am sorry for your loss
You and Your Friend, as well as his family,,will be in my prayers…
Phil, so sorry for your loss. You have many wonderful memories to remind you of all the good times. Peace be with him and you.
Peter
Thank you, Pete.
Phil
Hello Phil, My condolences for the loss of your friend.
Was wondering what the band with Skip and Tim sounded like.
I discovered your cigar page while searching for Tim Krenzien years back.
In 1980 I met Tim at Tischler’s rehearsal lockout in Santa Ana when he came out to sit in with my band.
We immediately hit it off and joined forces.
In 1980 I met you and Butch Patrick at Sound Sorcery in Long Beach to record a demo and Tim was then recruited to play the Devil in Butch’s video “Whatever happened to Eddie” (the little kid on Mockingbird Lane”)
I don’t suppose you have any knowledge of Krenzien’s whereabouts?
I still enjoy listening to Curved Air and your cigar page. Hope you have remained safe and well.
Hi Davie,
Talk about a ride in Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine…
As far as what music we played, no memory at all. Nearly 50 years ago.
Everyone was a good player and we had the same love of music.
Tim has a Linkedin page.
I’ve messaged him over the years but I never hear back.
I know that this year he checked out my Linkedin page…but he never responded.
Absolutely no idea why he won’t communicate…but I tell you, I’ve found that when I’ve reached out to old friends over the last 5 years, I rarely get a response. I guess people just moved on with their lives.
I don’t remember ever pissing anyone off. Tim was a tremendous guy. I’ve known him since 1972.
Tim is a very kind and generous man. We played a lot of music together.
He really accelerated my ability to improvise during the early days of jazz fusion. Helped me get the Curved Air gig.
I think he is still living in the same house in Anaheim.
My wife Charlotte has nothing but fond memories of Tim. She says he has the ability to calm anyone.
He was like a British gentleman when you came to visit.
I am unfortunately perplexed as why he is a solitary man.
He is a couple years older than me. And since I am a month away from turning 72, he is old as dirt.
Maybe he is not well.
How did your demo turn out?
Phil