Syd and me (Ellis Park, Bergen)
My eighteenth birthday. The whole band went to Bergen to play the Solstice Bells festival, which conveniently fell during the second week of Haven's and my winter break.
The most important lesson we learned? There's a reason people winter in Texorami and summer in Bergen. We froze our asses off.
Haven took this picture at Ellis Park. According to local lore, the lake is supposed to be the home of a water nymph who lures young boys to their deaths with her singing. We'd originally planned to get a picture of all the guys wading out into the water, but it was just too fucking cold. So we said our oohs and aahs, Haven snapped a couple of pictures, and then we all sprinted to the nearest coffeehouse and played cards 'til soundcheck.
Syd and me (St. Simon's Day festival, Texorami)
We'd pulled all-nighters the two days before, getting the damn Furrowed Brew float ready for the parade, and then we'd played an aggressive set on the main stage. I was ready to fall over. Syd, though, was still going strong. We stayed to hear the rest of the bands, but I fell asleep sometime during Bitchslap's set, a feat previously believed impossible. Haven got this picture a few minutes before I conked out.
Syd (The Blue Room, Seaside)
We'd driven out to Seaside, just the two of us, to check out the Blue Room as a possible venue for our summer tour. We'd heard it was a hip club, but we didn't know how classy it'd be. We had to go buy nice clothes just so we could get in. Syd picked out this red beaded dress for me and a dark suit for himself -- we could've passed for gangster and moll -- and we made it past the rope unimpeded, even though Syd hadn't bothered to shave. It didn't occur to me 'til later that the bouncer probably thought I was my mother.
And he wasn't the only one: some loser papparazzo snapped a picture of us dancing and sent it to the tabbies, who wrote up a story about "Brij's Seaside fling." I got a call from my mum about a week later, asking me if I was sleeping with my drummer. I wouldn't give her an answer, which was probably enough of an answer for her.
The tabbie picture was pretty good, but I like this one, which I snapped with the camera I'd brought to get pictures of the venue, even better.
Soren (Tallis Music Festival, Sienna Falls)
Haven (Adler School of Music, Texorami)
Gish (Briel house, Texorami)
Papa (Starshine Diner, Texorami)
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Syd (studio shot, Texorami)
This picture and the next one were both taken during a photo shoot for our first album. I liked them so much that I swiped the originals after we'd scanned them. This is the one we ended up using in the liner notes. It's got the same vibe that our live shows did when he was in the band.
The first time Gish came to stay with me -- she must've been six at the time -- I had these two pictures framed on the bookshelf beside the futon where she was sleeping. She asked me, "Why doesn't this boy ever wear a shirt?" I didn't bother telling her that he never wore underwear, either.
Syd (studio shot, Texorami)
Syd (Baker Park, Texorami)
This was Syd's last full weekend in Texorami, though of course I didn't know it at the time. It was one of those perfect crisp autumn days that are so rare in Texorami -- just cool enough for long sleeves, but not raining. We'd gone out flying that morning, and then on the way home we stopped by the park to play with other people's dogs. Syd and this aggressive little frisbee dog got into a wrestling match that had me laughing my ass off.
I said, "This is such a perfect day, I wish I had my camera," and Syd handed me one, with that little half-smile that he always got when he did something impossible.
This picture still makes me cry.