Ash Reed, bassist for Athens punk rock band Guff, remembers the first time he met Jon Guthrie. A group of his friends had entered the bar where he worked with Guthrie and told Reed, “Jon’s one of us.” Although Guthrie was much younger than Reed, Reed never questioned Guthrie’s place in his world.

Guthrie’s death on Oct. 4 left a void in the Athens music community, so it was a natural choice for Guff and the other bands playing a previously- scheduled show at the Caledonia this Friday to donate the proceeds to benefit Guthrie’s family.

Guthrie had become particularly close with the members of Guff and had even played bass with the band while regular bassist Charley Guff was in Alaska for the summer.

Not surprisingly, the members of Guff took Guthrie’s death particularly hard.

“Jon was the kind of friend where you didn’t have to talk to him every day . but sometimes he’d be the only person I’d call,” Reed said.

Reed recalled many experiences he had with Guthrie that made their relationship unique. Reed remembered stopping at a convenience store after a long drive and asking Guthrie to fill up the car. Guthrie, however, only got his driver’s license in the past year, so that skill was beyond him at the time.

“I taught Jon how to pump gas, for Christ’s sake,” he said. “We’ve always had an affinity for each other and we’ve always had a special relationship.”

Not only did Guthrie’s death represent a loss for his friends and the community, but a developing musician was also unable to fulfill his potential.

“From a musical standpoint, Jon was already such an accomplished musician, and he had the potential to accomplish much more,” said Adam Bruce, bassist for Thunderchief, who will also perform on Friday.

Moreover, like many tragedies, the loss of Guthrie united his friends with a sense of common purpose.

“Basically the entire Athens music scene was at his funeral,” Bruce said. “To me, it just drove home the point that we’re all in this together and we’ve got to take care of other.”

“He was one of the things that made the Athens music scene great,” Reed said. “There’s a void now that I think everyone can feel, and I don’t know that it will ever be replaced.”

Despite the void, Guff and Thunderchief press on with their respective goals, each with a new album in the works.