Living in the Song
We honor the late Blackberry Smoke drummer Brit Turner the only way we know how: with a blackberry-topped lemon ricotta cake.
I met Brit Turner, the bearded rhythm brother of Blackberry Smoke at a meet-and-greet. I’m not great at these VIP experiences. Despite interviewing people for a living, I find these events awkward encounters where neither party knows what to say — except for my husband, Shawn.
We met Brit Turner and the rest of the band after a show in Waukegan, Illinois.
Tapping into his deep hopper of music history and natural skill to connect with others, Shawn brought Brit back to his metal roots with inquiries about his former ‘80s band Nihilist. The gently spoken drummer smiled and opened up about honing his thrash chops before returning home to Southern Rock.
Those few precious minutes of connection take on a new meaning now that Brit is gone. After experiencing him behind the kit 11 times, Shawn and I just saw our 12th Blackberry Smoke show, this time without the band’s charming cofounder, and the boys brought it in his memory.
The boys of Blackberry Smoke remember their brother Brit on the drumhead.
However, he’s not all-the-way gone, is he? Musicians are immortalized in their music. And that’s where we can always find them, remember them, hear them, like Brit: living in the song.
Shawn and I have officially seen Blackberry Smoke a dozen times. This last one in Bowler, Wisconsin, was bittersweet after the band continued on after the death of drummer and cofounder Brit Turner.
Lemon Ricotta Cake: Blackberry Style
Everyone mourns differently. I choose to pour my emotions into baked goods. The best way I thought to memorialize Brit Turner was to whip up a drumhead of a cake.
A gift from Angie, another drummer watched over me as I whipped up a memorial lemon ricotta cake with a side of blackberries.
I used King Arthur’s recipe for lemon ricotta cake, which I appropriately accompanied with blackberries.
And here’s a little song for your baking playlist. RIP, Brit Turner.
