I’m in drama, as in the theatre performing arts kind, and I’m a techie, meaning I don’t act on stage, I do all of the backstage things (lighting, fly, makeup, costume, sound, etc.) Well, I was having the Cast and Crew Party at my house on May 19th, closing night, and I thought it would be really quite cool is the band would come and play.
Now, mind you I told Nick, back in ohh.. Octoberish, about the party, so the band knew well ahead of time. Here comes opening night, May 11, and I’m talking to Evan and he decides that he’s not sure if the band was going to be able to play on the 19th due to a performance they were playing the same day in Ranchita. Well, to cut a long story short, I was all flustered that night, due to Evan, and I almost hit a car driving to get hair dye, and poked quite a few people in the eye with eyeliner, (I was doing make-up for tech in that show).
Either way, the band did end up playing in Ranchita, but Evan actually kept his word and they showed up when I asked them to (as in on time, surprising, even though Evan got them lost on the way to my house and had to call his dad.) And, even though they were all relatively wasted before getting there, (Nick was totally stoned,) they drank more, (and not just the beer they brought and bought after getting there, but mine as well,) played hard, (got the cops called on them, not the first time,) and better than they ever had before.
The show itself was awesome. Evan had this weird song he started singing when they were doing a sound check. It was quite humorous, ask Lori, she’ll tell you. It was the ‘Check’ song.. LoL. They opened with ‘Mesmerize’, and it was honestly one of the greatest things ever. The entire band was flipping out due to how great it sounded. It’s weird I guess, but my backyard seems to have really good acoustics.. Interesting. Either way, after ‘Mesmerize’ they went into the rest of the old stuff and then the new stuff like ‘Enemy’ and ‘In the Red’. I fell in love with it all immediately, and so did everyone else who was there.
Ohh, but before they started playing the new stuff, they played ‘One More For The Revolution’. Now, I guess, Evan’s dad Bill has a thing for that song, because from what I heard, when that song came on, he flew outside to listen to it. Then, he and I were swaying and rocking out singing the lyrics to it as they played it. It was great. Everyone who was in my backyard thought we were nuts, and Evan was giving us this weird look, along with all of my friends. LoL. Yay for Bill. (Bill! I love you so and I always will.. LoL.)
Danni showed up, and there was this whole story about Danni before this entire show. She partially was the reason that they showed up to begin with. You see, Danni had this thing for Nick. She still sorta does, but she’s over it because she’s going out with the emo kid, (Kevin Klauber). So, she had me tell Nick that she’s strip for the band if they showed up. Well, when she got there, I was trying to tell Evan she was there, and I was saying “Danni is here” and he was like “Denny?” and I said “Danni” and she said “Denny” and it went back and forth like this for five minutes or so. Somewhere during this all, Kevin White, lead singer of London’s Falling, was like “Denny’s? Denny’s! I want some Denny’s!” Finally, I told Evan “Danielle is here, but everyone calls her Danni”, and he was like “Oh!” It was hilarious.
Evan decided to play ‘Melancholy’ for Danni, and was like “This is for Danielle, even though everyone calls her Danni. Not Denny. It’s ‘Melancholy’, for if you ever get depressed.” It was all kinda ironic because Danni gets depressed.. But, long story. She’s not a psycho manic-depressive, and she’s not going to go and kill herself, so don’t worry. She’s happy just as much, so it’s a nice balance. Gotta love everyone!!
Somewhere just before Danni showed up and ‘Melancholy’ began, the cops showed up. Hard to imagine. It was like 11:45PM, and there’s over a hundred people in my backyard, and this live band. Very good times. I talked to them a little, and my father did, as well as my cousin who’s like ex-CIA guy, and that got them all riled up. Funny times. But, the cops decided that they could finish they’re song, and went back to rocking out on my front porch. After ‘Melancholy’, I told Evan they had to go off due to the fact the cops were there, but my dad nodded him on, and he was like “We’re going to play one more song.” I tried to object, but he was like “No. We have to play one more song.” He passed this weird look on to me, so I let him go for it.
“We dedicate this song to the Oceanside P.D.” That was what he said as they began. I wasn’t really paying too much attention to most of the show. No, not that it was bad, but I was in this daze. The best band ever, in my backyard, with they’re friends, and all of these people. It was just great. I was taking so many photos I ultimately ran to of film. How sad. But, when they started playing the lat song.. Time froze, and it was just Evan and myself. I don’t know if I had ever told him up to that point how much I loved ‘Spectrum’, but here he was playing it. There’s something about that song. Something, so.. I don’t know. It’s the way it goes together, the light cymbal in the beginning, the way it sounds, the way Evan and Nick meld together, the lyrics..
The whole party stopped, in my head. There wasn’t anything left. ‘Spectrum’, Evan and myself. That was it. That song was all I heard. And, his weird mannerisms and voice influxuations. That was it. I still had my camera in hand, luckily. And, all I could hear were the lyrics. “A parallel that stares right back at me”.. that line *screams*, and then there was “My vision paints your desert blue”, which Evan has a thing for. But, the way he sounds when he sings “Eons away”, that was a trip in itself. Either way, I took the most perfect picture of him singing “Recite the waning song”; it’s on his picture page. He says it with this enunciation or inflection, whatever you want to call it. It’s great
In all honesty, that was probably one of the best shows in existence. Up to that point of course, because the TwentyOneRest show at the Epicentre on March 29th totally wins over every show. (Except Billy Joe when he’s getting off on stage.. Long story.) But, they are so much better live. So much feeling and emotion, so much that you can’t capture on a simple plastic disk. It sounds strange I’m sure, but honestly, they were that good, and still are.. Or could be if they kept their act together. (HINT HINT) Doesn’t matter though, they never listen. But, RxDrama was the best band, and closed with the best song they ever created.. ‘Spectrum’. But, then the cops stopped rocking out on my front porch and shut them down.
The band didn’t leave then, however. They dismantled all of their equipment, and all of my friends decided to leave. Some people were so high they were saying the band was the greatest thing they’d ever heard, others were saying that they ruined the party. Yet, for the most party, everyone wanted to see them play again. Unfortunately though, it never happened, and TwentyOneRest bailed on me to play for the year after that. We’ll see about the next year though, 2003, my senior year, maybe the band will come back. One of the bands at least.
There was one point in time, when I had ten people in my room. Weird. Evan and Sean were sitting on my bed, when Taylor took up a seat as well. Aaron and Nick were sitting on my futon. Aaron was hiding beer bottles behind the futon, and Nick was getting all hot and bothered by these feathers on my wall. Nick also never acknowledged my window was a window. Evan was like, let’s open the window, and Nick said, “It’s a window?” It was great. But, then there was Kevin, sitting my chair, and Schmidt was on the floor. Lori was on the floor sitting against the dresser, and Bill Schacht was standing in the doorway trying to make some sense of it all. Taylor moved to the floor and I walked in. Evan and Sean decided they wanted to change my answering machine, so I let them, and it’s still the way they recorded it back then.
The message is slightly confusing, but it starts with Sean and then goes to Evan. They alternate talking, and Sean always speaks of TwentyOneRest, and then Evan speaks of RxDrama. It went like this: “This is TwentyOneRest” “And, RxDrama” “Check us out on our website at TwentyOneRest.com” “And, check out RxDrama.com” “You can listen to local, local music” “It’s rockin’ and movin’. Well, this is uh, leave a message. Yea, and just uh, smoke bowls” Then, Sean goes into singing this strange little song, and the message ends. The message is still on my answering machine. And, it’s probably going to be there until one of them changes it again. I don’t have the heart to change it. Call and listen to it sometime at 760 941 5001. J
After that, we all ended up heading back to the living room, and that’s where the group shots got shot. On the couch that is. Shortly thereafter, the group progressed outside to finish packing up, and they all progressed to leaving. Almost everyone was drunk, and I let Schmidt and Aaron drive. But, Joey and Trevor drove, two other vehicles, but they weren’t drunk. Oh well. My psych teacher to this day gets mad at me for letting the more wasted party drive home. Oh well. How could I possibly say anything? I didn’t even know them that well.. Of course I still really don’t now.. Joey, Kevin, Nick and Evan left together. Matt and Trevor left together. Aaron and Sean left together. I don’t know who Taylor left with, or if he drove himself. And, Schmidt left by himself.
Lori and I decided to walk Schmidt to his truck, to make sure he got there, and plus he parked around the corner. Somehow or another, as everyone else was leaving, he managed to stay in my house, and was the only one left. So, Lori and I walked Schmidt around the corner, and he was all flirting with Lori. She jokingly pushed him, and since he was totally plastered he fell off the curb. He got so mad that he threw one of the two beers he was holding at her, and since it was full, it would’ve hurt lie a mother. It didn’t hit her luckily, but it hit the sidewalk and ultimately ruptured, spewing beer everywhere.
We kept walking up the street, and Schmidt opens the door of this white truck. He gets in, and sits down, and starts busting up laughing. Arching a brow, I just stared at him confused. He proceeds to tell us that this wasn’t really his truck, and gets out and we go to his truck. Yay for my overtly trusting neighbors. LoL. We walked up the street a little more, and he gets in his truck, and we said our goodbyes and what not. Starting the truck he rolls down the window, and drove away, but in the process he started yelling at us about being “Fucking sluts. Fuck you. Fuck..” And, from there on he was driving away, burning rubber for the effect, so neither of us really caught what it was he was saying after that. He was drunk, so I forgave him. J
But, that was the story of the night. My mother pulled off Schmidt’s pants because she knew they would fall due to the fact he was sagging them, and he wasn’t wearing a belt. It was funny. Forgot to mention that. Oh, and Sean earlier opened a beer in my room, and dork that he is, didn’t put his mouth over it when it started foaming, so I had beer all over my floor. LoL. That was great. And, there were three Pacifico bottles behind my futon, courtesy of Aaron. I had Sam Adams bottles, Pacifico bottles, Budweiser cans, Natural Ice cans, Coors bottles, Rolling Rock bottles, and Heineken bottles strewn about my house and outside. How we ended up with that many varieties of beer, I’ll never know. I just drink tequila. Beer doesn’t go over well. Whatever. Yay for the band. It was a mess. LoL.