Sadly, Eugene passed in The Station Nightclub Fire
When Eugene ''Geno'' Avilez of Burlington was driving with his friends Derek Gray and Scott R. Dunbar to the Great White concert at The Station nightclub last week, the CD player in his car broke. So the trio chatted the entire way down to West Warwick, R.I., about music and all the concerts they had been to.
Now Dunbar is left to tell his friends' story. He survived the fire at the night club Feb. 20 that killed 97 people. But Avilez, 21, and Gray, 22, both died in the blaze.
"We had a lot of good memories going down to that concert that night," said Dunbar, 24. "We got to talk."
Dunbar said he met Avilez and Gray, who were best friends and fellow 1999 graduates of Burlington High School, at 1980s hard rock club concerts. The three became regulars.
"We would go to club shows. They were my concert buddies, and I don't have them anymore," Dunbar said. "[That] past Sunday we had gone to see [hard rock band] King's X in Chantilly's [in Manchester, N.H.]. We had a blast that night, too. We played pool. Geno was a 100 percent genuine person."
Dunbar said the three were passionate about the '80s hard rock scene and would try to go to as many shows as they could. They were big fans of the band Great White.
"We were the ones that were always in the front row singing to the words of every song," he said. "They were my heavy metal buddies."
Dunbar said Avilez had been working at the Starbucks coffee house in Woburn.
Dunbar said he has talked to Avilez's family to offer his condolences. "It's been really tough," Dunbar said. "They were fun loving and absolutely the best people. I thank God that I was able to become friends with both of them."
Meanwhile, Rita Pizzi, who lives across the street from the Avilez family on Brookfield Road, said she remembers Avilez being close to his family.
"I would see him cutting the yard," Pizzi said. "He was a hard worker for his mom. He would be on the roof in the hot summer with his grandfather, doing roofing work."
Written By: KATHELEEN CONTI
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
Gino...rock 'n' roll was his passion
Eugene Avilez had big dreams, and was trying to make all of them come true. A full-time student, Gino still found time to take guitar lessons, hold a job, attend a lot of concerts, mow the lawn regularly, and repair his mom's roof.
Gino, 21, was reserved, yet he dreamed of becoming a rock star and traveling the globe.
"The last time he was here, he was playing his guitar. I was really impressed," says his dad, Higinio. "He would ask me, 'Do you remember that song?' and then play a bit of it, and it would sound right." He was taking electric-guitar lessons because he was intent on starting his own band.
Gino brought the same dedication to his studies. He graduated from Burlington (Mass.) High School in 1999. At graduation, classmate and close friend Derek Gray told Higinio that Gino was the force keeping him in school, motivating him to get his diploma.
For the past year, Gino had continued his studies at RETS Technical Center in Boston. "He was a quiet and very hard-working student, very dedicated," says Don Harris, the school's director. Gino was slated to complete the program in July as a certified electronics technician, prepared for a job repairing equipment for nearly any industry.
He balanced school with work at Starbucks in Woburn. During high school, he worked as an attendant at a Texaco station in Burlington, and as a clerk at Dale Pharmacy in Burlington. His supervisor at the pharmacy described him as a "very outwardly nice young man."
When he finished at RETS in July, he planned to take a trip with his father to his dad's native country of Belize. "He wanted to go back there and visit everybody and just trace his roots," Higinio said.
He had other plans, too: he was supposed to be the best man in Derek Gray's Sept. 24 wedding.
The pair were "like night and day, but they were still best friends," says their friend Lauren DiPierna. They were united in part by their shared passion for rock 'n' roll. They attended concerts nearly every week and went to hear Great White at The Station together. Neither Gino nor Derek escaped the fire.
Written By: Jessica Resnick-Ault
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
When Eugene ''Geno'' Avilez of Burlington was driving with his friends Derek Gray and Scott R. Dunbar to the Great White concert at The Station nightclub last week, the CD player in his car broke. So the trio chatted the entire way down to West Warwick, R.I., about music and all the concerts they had been to.
Now Dunbar is left to tell his friends' story. He survived the fire at the night club Feb. 20 that killed 97 people. But Avilez, 21, and Gray, 22, both died in the blaze.
"We had a lot of good memories going down to that concert that night," said Dunbar, 24. "We got to talk."
Dunbar said he met Avilez and Gray, who were best friends and fellow 1999 graduates of Burlington High School, at 1980s hard rock club concerts. The three became regulars.
"We would go to club shows. They were my concert buddies, and I don't have them anymore," Dunbar said. "[That] past Sunday we had gone to see [hard rock band] King's X in Chantilly's [in Manchester, N.H.]. We had a blast that night, too. We played pool. Geno was a 100 percent genuine person."
Dunbar said the three were passionate about the '80s hard rock scene and would try to go to as many shows as they could. They were big fans of the band Great White.
"We were the ones that were always in the front row singing to the words of every song," he said. "They were my heavy metal buddies."
Dunbar said Avilez had been working at the Starbucks coffee house in Woburn.
Dunbar said he has talked to Avilez's family to offer his condolences. "It's been really tough," Dunbar said. "They were fun loving and absolutely the best people. I thank God that I was able to become friends with both of them."
Meanwhile, Rita Pizzi, who lives across the street from the Avilez family on Brookfield Road, said she remembers Avilez being close to his family.
"I would see him cutting the yard," Pizzi said. "He was a hard worker for his mom. He would be on the roof in the hot summer with his grandfather, doing roofing work."
Written By: KATHELEEN CONTI
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
Gino...rock 'n' roll was his passion
Eugene Avilez had big dreams, and was trying to make all of them come true. A full-time student, Gino still found time to take guitar lessons, hold a job, attend a lot of concerts, mow the lawn regularly, and repair his mom's roof.
Gino, 21, was reserved, yet he dreamed of becoming a rock star and traveling the globe.
"The last time he was here, he was playing his guitar. I was really impressed," says his dad, Higinio. "He would ask me, 'Do you remember that song?' and then play a bit of it, and it would sound right." He was taking electric-guitar lessons because he was intent on starting his own band.
Gino brought the same dedication to his studies. He graduated from Burlington (Mass.) High School in 1999. At graduation, classmate and close friend Derek Gray told Higinio that Gino was the force keeping him in school, motivating him to get his diploma.
For the past year, Gino had continued his studies at RETS Technical Center in Boston. "He was a quiet and very hard-working student, very dedicated," says Don Harris, the school's director. Gino was slated to complete the program in July as a certified electronics technician, prepared for a job repairing equipment for nearly any industry.
He balanced school with work at Starbucks in Woburn. During high school, he worked as an attendant at a Texaco station in Burlington, and as a clerk at Dale Pharmacy in Burlington. His supervisor at the pharmacy described him as a "very outwardly nice young man."
When he finished at RETS in July, he planned to take a trip with his father to his dad's native country of Belize. "He wanted to go back there and visit everybody and just trace his roots," Higinio said.
He had other plans, too: he was supposed to be the best man in Derek Gray's Sept. 24 wedding.
The pair were "like night and day, but they were still best friends," says their friend Lauren DiPierna. They were united in part by their shared passion for rock 'n' roll. They attended concerts nearly every week and went to hear Great White at The Station together. Neither Gino nor Derek escaped the fire.
Written By: Jessica Resnick-Ault
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
Sadly, Eugene passed in The Station Nightclub Fire
When Eugene ''Geno'' Avilez of Burlington was driving with his friends Derek Gray and Scott R. Dunbar to the Great White concert at The Station nightclub last week, the CD player in his car broke. So the trio chatted the entire way down to West Warwick, R.I., about music and all the concerts they had been to.
Now Dunbar is left to tell his friends' story. He survived the fire at the night club Feb. 20 that killed 97 people. But Avilez, 21, and Gray, 22, both died in the blaze.
"We had a lot of good memories going down to that concert that night," said Dunbar, 24. "We got to talk."
Dunbar said he met Avilez and Gray, who were best friends and fellow 1999 graduates of Burlington High School, at 1980s hard rock club concerts. The three became regulars.
"We would go to club shows. They were my concert buddies, and I don't have them anymore," Dunbar said. "[That] past Sunday we had gone to see [hard rock band] King's X in Chantilly's [in Manchester, N.H.]. We had a blast that night, too. We played pool. Geno was a 100 percent genuine person."
Dunbar said the three were passionate about the '80s hard rock scene and would try to go to as many shows as they could. They were big fans of the band Great White.
"We were the ones that were always in the front row singing to the words of every song," he said. "They were my heavy metal buddies."
Dunbar said Avilez had been working at the Starbucks coffee house in Woburn.
Dunbar said he has talked to Avilez's family to offer his condolences. "It's been really tough," Dunbar said. "They were fun loving and absolutely the best people. I thank God that I was able to become friends with both of them."
Meanwhile, Rita Pizzi, who lives across the street from the Avilez family on Brookfield Road, said she remembers Avilez being close to his family.
"I would see him cutting the yard," Pizzi said. "He was a hard worker for his mom. He would be on the roof in the hot summer with his grandfather, doing roofing work."
Written By: KATHELEEN CONTI
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
Gino...rock 'n' roll was his passion
Eugene Avilez had big dreams, and was trying to make all of them come true. A full-time student, Gino still found time to take guitar lessons, hold a job, attend a lot of concerts, mow the lawn regularly, and repair his mom's roof.
Gino, 21, was reserved, yet he dreamed of becoming a rock star and traveling the globe.
"The last time he was here, he was playing his guitar. I was really impressed," says his dad, Higinio. "He would ask me, 'Do you remember that song?' and then play a bit of it, and it would sound right." He was taking electric-guitar lessons because he was intent on starting his own band.
Gino brought the same dedication to his studies. He graduated from Burlington (Mass.) High School in 1999. At graduation, classmate and close friend Derek Gray told Higinio that Gino was the force keeping him in school, motivating him to get his diploma.
For the past year, Gino had continued his studies at RETS Technical Center in Boston. "He was a quiet and very hard-working student, very dedicated," says Don Harris, the school's director. Gino was slated to complete the program in July as a certified electronics technician, prepared for a job repairing equipment for nearly any industry.
He balanced school with work at Starbucks in Woburn. During high school, he worked as an attendant at a Texaco station in Burlington, and as a clerk at Dale Pharmacy in Burlington. His supervisor at the pharmacy described him as a "very outwardly nice young man."
When he finished at RETS in July, he planned to take a trip with his father to his dad's native country of Belize. "He wanted to go back there and visit everybody and just trace his roots," Higinio said.
He had other plans, too: he was supposed to be the best man in Derek Gray's Sept. 24 wedding.
The pair were "like night and day, but they were still best friends," says their friend Lauren DiPierna. They were united in part by their shared passion for rock 'n' roll. They attended concerts nearly every week and went to hear Great White at The Station together. Neither Gino nor Derek escaped the fire.
Written By: Jessica Resnick-Ault
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
When Eugene ''Geno'' Avilez of Burlington was driving with his friends Derek Gray and Scott R. Dunbar to the Great White concert at The Station nightclub last week, the CD player in his car broke. So the trio chatted the entire way down to West Warwick, R.I., about music and all the concerts they had been to.
Now Dunbar is left to tell his friends' story. He survived the fire at the night club Feb. 20 that killed 97 people. But Avilez, 21, and Gray, 22, both died in the blaze.
"We had a lot of good memories going down to that concert that night," said Dunbar, 24. "We got to talk."
Dunbar said he met Avilez and Gray, who were best friends and fellow 1999 graduates of Burlington High School, at 1980s hard rock club concerts. The three became regulars.
"We would go to club shows. They were my concert buddies, and I don't have them anymore," Dunbar said. "[That] past Sunday we had gone to see [hard rock band] King's X in Chantilly's [in Manchester, N.H.]. We had a blast that night, too. We played pool. Geno was a 100 percent genuine person."
Dunbar said the three were passionate about the '80s hard rock scene and would try to go to as many shows as they could. They were big fans of the band Great White.
"We were the ones that were always in the front row singing to the words of every song," he said. "They were my heavy metal buddies."
Dunbar said Avilez had been working at the Starbucks coffee house in Woburn.
Dunbar said he has talked to Avilez's family to offer his condolences. "It's been really tough," Dunbar said. "They were fun loving and absolutely the best people. I thank God that I was able to become friends with both of them."
Meanwhile, Rita Pizzi, who lives across the street from the Avilez family on Brookfield Road, said she remembers Avilez being close to his family.
"I would see him cutting the yard," Pizzi said. "He was a hard worker for his mom. He would be on the roof in the hot summer with his grandfather, doing roofing work."
Written By: KATHELEEN CONTI
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
Gino...rock 'n' roll was his passion
Eugene Avilez had big dreams, and was trying to make all of them come true. A full-time student, Gino still found time to take guitar lessons, hold a job, attend a lot of concerts, mow the lawn regularly, and repair his mom's roof.
Gino, 21, was reserved, yet he dreamed of becoming a rock star and traveling the globe.
"The last time he was here, he was playing his guitar. I was really impressed," says his dad, Higinio. "He would ask me, 'Do you remember that song?' and then play a bit of it, and it would sound right." He was taking electric-guitar lessons because he was intent on starting his own band.
Gino brought the same dedication to his studies. He graduated from Burlington (Mass.) High School in 1999. At graduation, classmate and close friend Derek Gray told Higinio that Gino was the force keeping him in school, motivating him to get his diploma.
For the past year, Gino had continued his studies at RETS Technical Center in Boston. "He was a quiet and very hard-working student, very dedicated," says Don Harris, the school's director. Gino was slated to complete the program in July as a certified electronics technician, prepared for a job repairing equipment for nearly any industry.
He balanced school with work at Starbucks in Woburn. During high school, he worked as an attendant at a Texaco station in Burlington, and as a clerk at Dale Pharmacy in Burlington. His supervisor at the pharmacy described him as a "very outwardly nice young man."
When he finished at RETS in July, he planned to take a trip with his father to his dad's native country of Belize. "He wanted to go back there and visit everybody and just trace his roots," Higinio said.
He had other plans, too: he was supposed to be the best man in Derek Gray's Sept. 24 wedding.
The pair were "like night and day, but they were still best friends," says their friend Lauren DiPierna. They were united in part by their shared passion for rock 'n' roll. They attended concerts nearly every week and went to hear Great White at The Station together. Neither Gino nor Derek escaped the fire.
Written By: Jessica Resnick-Ault
+*+ Many Thanks +*+
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