First, the picture attached above was the ONLY picture I could find of the hippy-off-the-grid Jamie Hadzima that was on my social media. I’ll share other printed film pics when I can track them down back in Georgia. The picture is of Jamie volunteering with some friends and family in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.

Jamie and I met in Athens, GA around 2002 or so. His sense of humor and enthusiasm for music were the first things about the fella that struck me as “special.” He was playing music with a few mutual friends and we instantly hit it off. We began playing together often and his passion was contagious. For a few months, we lived together in a big house near downtown Athens where we played music every day. Jamie was living very minimalistically at the time, with most of his time and energy going into making music. I do not think he even owned a bed for several years in Athens; if I recall correctly, he instead used a sleeping bag for most of that time. It seemed like Jamie was always writing and working on material. After coming home from class at UGA, Jamie would have 3 new songs or ideas… EVERY DAY. We finally put a band together with some other friends and called it “Leru.” We played a ton of Jamie’s material, as it seemed his creativity had no limits. We were lucky enough to record some of those songs and hopefully I can track down some recordings to share. Jamie was honest, intelligent, charming, and extremely hilarious. Jamie and I spent a lot of time on a river that runs through North Georgia, exploring, kayaking, relaxing, and playing music. On one such trip to the river, we arrived too late and were unable to rent kayaks. Instead of returning to Athens, Jamie suggested that we just swim and hang out. Jamie then decided that it would be funny to hide beneath the water as other kayakers floated by, and burst out of the water when they came near. He would cover himself in silt while under the water and arise from the depths looking like Swamp Thing as the kayakers got close. People were genuinely terrified. Adults and children would scream and almost fall out of their kayaks. He scared one little girl so much that he felt the need to clean himself off and comfort her by showing that he was, in fact, not an actual river monster.
As many of you now know, our band Leru went on to record several platinum albums and countless hits that topped the charts worldwide.
Not long after his surgery, Jamie flew down to Florida to attend my wedding and reunited with several friends from his past.
I honestly can’t do any justice to the impact Jamie had on those around him. I do recall someone saying that Jamie had “eyes that could see straight into your soul,” and I think there is a great deal of truth to that statement. He could change the mood of an entire room with his presence. He knew what buttons to push in people to make them smile, laugh, or think differently. Jamie reminded us all to not take ourselves too seriously and that we are all in this together, so we might as well laugh our way through it all. In Jamie’s song, “If Everything” he wrote, “We are all one life connected, making you a part of I.” I guess my intention in sharing that is to encourage us all to recognize the importance of our connections with others and remember that Jamie will live on in each of us. Remembering that does not take away the hurt from this loss, but it does remind me of what is truly important. RIP, buddy. You will be missed.

Posted by Ryan Horn