I'd like to write, to all of my friends who came, to my family,
to the bands, to Alex's Bar, and --of course-- to my beautiful
and talented girlfriend, Ms. Lindsay Dennis. Big props go to
Jason Bukolt, for creating the above flyer, to Kyle Crouse, for
being the lead organizer, to Pete Williams for his general help,
to Justin Gourley and Fernando Guerrero for photographing the
whole affair...and again, to everyone else, thanks for giving me
the best night of my life.
I've been collecting photos from that night, and have almost 500
of them at this point. I'd be glad to send you the link to see
them all (just email me at jeffdahlin@yahoo.com) but I wanted to
choose a few of the best ones and display them here, with
commentary. I've got video too, and if I get around to it I'll
post the best clips up as well.
It was a night I'll remember for the rest of my life, and that's
because you were all there.
Jeff
painstakingly re-created the masterpiece from 'The Royal
Tenenbaums' and presented it to me on my birthday. It turned out
splendidly, I might add. It now hangs in my living room as the
centerpiece of my small but growing art collection. Nice one
Cornelius!
Trevor didn't sweat it. He took some blankets and slept on the
halfpipe in the garage. The next night, I offered him the couch,
but Trevor said no thanks, he slept great on the ramp and wanted
to bed down there again.
both of my girlfriends. After my Dad shot the photo of Lindsay,
Michelle, and me, he insisted that he get in a shot with the two
of them as well. I think Michelle is probably squeezing his ass
with her left hand. That's why he's smiling so big.
playing. They kicked the night off right, setting the perfect
vibe for the party. They even played a song I requested, an
original of theirs called 'The Guns of Lincoln Hieghts', which
you can check out on their Myspace page by clicking here.
could squeeze 250 people in if we had to. I have to think we got
pretty close. Our total bar tab that night was $4620. That
proves, without a doubt, that our gang of friends could keep a
bar open and thriving even if they never had any other customers.
Because we're all total drunks.
It's pretty cool to be on stage and look down to see EVERYONE in
the place is your friend, cheering for you.
band back in '97 and used to play a lot of shows. Sometimes
they'd invite me to help out with bass guitar and vocal duties.
Skanadia is, hands down, the most non-serious band you'll ever
see, and usually we'll wear pretty ridiculous costumes. This
time around, the outfits ranged from a chicken costume, a beer
bottle, the Jolly Green Giant, a banana, a creepy child molester,
and a 1920's railroad tycoon.
Trevor joined us onstage for a spirited version of his signature
song, "I Like Chicken", dressed as an egg. It was one of my
favourite moments of the night.
especially seemed to like it when Lindsay came up on stage to
sing a cover of Danzig's 'Mother'.
band I play in...
closest friends came up onstage to help sing a cover of the
Bouncing Souls' tune 'Manthem'. Back when I played in punk bands
in high school, Matt Penkert always said he was going to rush up
on stage with a pumpkin on his head. 15 years later, he actually
did it! This was another favourite moment of the night, singing
on stage with my very best pals.
topped with photo of me wearing a thong at Venice Beach. Pete
then proudly displayed a slideshow of some photos I had done as a
favor to Fernando. Pete's mission was to portray me as super
gay, and I think he succeeded.
onstage birthday spanking. I don't know if you've ever been
held down and slapped in the ass by large black men before (I
bet Justin Gourley has paid for that), but this was another
first for me.
believe that I was even able to book them for this party (thanks
to Doug Mitchell and the crew at our label, Crimescene Records).
Jesse and the rest of the 'Lites put on an incredible show, one
that had every single person in the place singing along with
their fists in the air. I was finally offstage, with a drink in
each hand, dancing with my girl and all of my friends.
was pretty surreal.
happy, drunk, and sweaty. I hosted an after-party at my house
and we celebrated properly. Trevor slept on the ramp again.
It was an amazing night. Thanks again to everyone for coming
(big props to Ty and Jane for flying out from Denver, to Blake
for coming out from Tucson, and the whole rest of the
Scottsdale/Tempe crew for making it).
Take care, everyone, and Fuck Bukolt!
