Always in their hearts

From left, Sam Tejamo, Dave Saunders and Jimi Acenas of JDS Crew. Photo courtesy of JDS Crew

So moved by the tragedy of 9/11, a California band wrote a song expressing its almost reverential admiration for New Yorkers for their courage and resilience.

“Darkest Hour” was written by Sam Tejamo of the JDS Crew. The music video relives that horrific day through words and images and how the people who lost their lives and offered their help “are always in our hearts.”

With Sam at JDS are keyboardist Jimi Acenas and vocalist Dave Saunders. Sam, the lyricist and guitarist, and Jimi are “100 percent Filipino.” Dave has a Filipino mother. Before coming together as a group, the musicians have been playing in various bands in the Philippines and San Francisco for decades performing at clubs, concerts and parties. The band’s acronym comes from the first letters of their names.

Sam shared how a friend’s boyhood memory of the Twin Towers inspired the song.

“It’s a story told by my friend and co-worker Alan Wagner who was born in the Bronx. While growing up, Alan played and marveled at the construction site of what was to be the World Trade Center,” Sam began.

Alan spent so much time at the site that he was told by the construction workers to be careful and stay clear from the construction that was going on.

He continued: “Alan always looked up and was always astonished by the magnificence of the Twin Towers. He was 15 years old when the towers opened. Alan was vacationing in Israel when the attacks happened and he couldn’t get home because all the flights were grounded. When he did come home a couple of days later, Alan visited the site. There, he described how he became emotional and tears just started rolling down his face, comparing the feeling of loss to losing one’s parents.”

After Sam heard the story, he felt the need to put his own feelings to music. “I felt it inside me also, and that same evening the song ‘Darkest Hour’ was born,” he said.

The music is available on the band’s website and on YouTube.