Music Community Gathers to Celebrate Life of Surfer

As dawn was beginning to break over the Java Sea, a throng of people were gathered in unity half way around the world to celebrate the life of a man they’d come to know as a teacher, a musician, a friend. They talked about Dan Bobis in the present tense and still had hope for good news.

Sadly it never came.

On Wednesday night, Bobis’ friends held a fundraiser at O’Carroll’s Recovery Room in Mineola to commemorate the life of the 32-year-old math teacher and coach at Long Beach High School, who had been missing since Sunday while surfing off the Indonesian coast while on vacation with his wife, Rachel.

Authorities and volunteers had been scouring the area where he went missing for days, trying to locate Bobis’ body, which was recovered Thursday after being found by local fishermen, 20 miles from where he’d last been seen.

Bobis, a former teacher in New Hyde Park, was also well known as the drummer for the hardcore punk outfit Cipher, which has legions of loyal fans around the country.

The gathering bought together friends, former students, and even parents whose lives had been touched somehow by Dan.

Recovery Room owner Jerry O’Carroll was quick to get the word out about the fundraiser. “I was asked if I could put something together, so I started making calls and inviting musicians to come down and join us,” he said.

Matt Walbroehl, who runs the open mike night at the Recovery Room along with Tom Marron, first met Bobis at Sound Zones Unlimited, a recording studio in Oceanside, where he helped record one of Cipher’s albums 12 years ago.

Walbroehl helped organized the fundraiser to support his friend’s family and to continue the recovery operation.

“Danny is amazing,” he said, still holding out hope at the time. “We’re basically trying to get some money together so they can continue the search efforts.” 

Jacinta O’Mahoney and Billy Coleman of the band “Two’s Too Many” opened the night playing a mix of Irish standards and rock classics. Throughout the night, many other performers came up to the outside stage and performed for the crowd. A raffle was held with many prize item donated by various organizations.

Cipher lead singer Maurice Mitchell was happy, but not surprised at the large turnout.

“I want people to know that this event is going on and there are events going on all week, which is just a testament to the type of person that Danny was and is, the type of influence that he’s had and the lives he has touched,” the front man said.

Inseparable since middle school, Mitchell was even best man at Bobis’s wedding.

“I think Dan would be shocked by this turnout tonight, and would be humbled and excited,” he said. “He was such a caring, happy-go-lucky guy, always smiling, always having a good time, so this is probably the best way to give our support to Danny, by coming together as a community. I think Danny would be really happy and encouraged by this.”