2002-10-29 | THE UNATHOURIZED BIOGRAPHY OF LARS (PART I)

Lars was an odd man.

But he was great.

Everybody loved him.

He made everybody feel comfortable.

Even if there were two people who hated each other with a passion, they could still agree that Lars was just a great fuckin' guy.

What do I remember about him....?

There are so many things that I will probably forget. A lot is fading, because it's been so long since anyone has seen the s.o.b.

I remember him getting me into all these great bands.

It was the summer of '92. Just before our senior year of high school. We started trading cds to each other. I had been a fan of rap music since the early days, and therefore my collection was made up largely of rap cds. I was just starting to get into rock music again. So Lars wanted to borrow all of my rap cds, and I wanted to borrow all his rock stuff. The last time I was into rock was during the hair band days. I was really into Twisted Sister, and Kix, and Stryper.....stuff like that. I was soon to find out that things sure had changed.

I had a Christian friend who convinced me some time along the way that anything with loud guitars in it was satanic, so i got scared and threw away all my old rock tapes.

But luckily, a few years later, I started getting less influenced by the senseless idiots who tried to tell me what to listen to in my younger days, and started forming my own opinions. And I also started to surround myself with people that had a brain. And more importantly an ear for great music.

First there was Darett who made a tape for me with a lot of stuff from Metallica's "Black Album", and from Guns N' Roses "Use Your Illusion" (I & II). He also threw in a little Skid Row. I was hooked to the guitar sounds once again. I would never turn back.

Then there were the two skater guys, Alika and Jason, who a couple years earlier had decided I wasn't cool enough anymore, but then changed their minds when we got older. Alika let me borrow his Minor Threat, Green Day (pre-Dookie, of course), Descendents, and Dinosaur Jr. albums. I couldn't believe my ears. I almost peed my pants.

THEN THERE WAS NIRVANA

Now, I was a marginal fan of Smells Like Teen Spirit. I liked it. It wasn't like the most amazing thing I had ever heard, but it was pretty cool. Nothing really grabbed me about the band at first. I thought they dressed horribly, and quite frankly, I just kind of thought they'd be a one hit wonder flash in the pan.

Lars knew different. He insisted that I borrow his copy of Nevermind. Pretty fucking awesome. Again, nothing earth shattering right away, but little by little, I was becoming addicted. Unfortuanately, I don't think I came to a full understanding of the impact of Nirvana until far after they had come to Hawaii for their lone concert there (at Pinks Garage). Ironically, the first concert was Pearl Jam, a few months after Nirvana had come and gone. Pearl Jam, of course, was not cool to like if you were a big fan of Nirvana, but I didn't care. Actually, I still didn't know any better. I knew a lot for a newcomer, but I didn't actually know Pearl Jams music that well. Of course I pretended to. I didn't really know any of the songs except for the 2 hit video songs, Evenflow and Alive. I didn't like a lot of the other songs 'til later. I just pretended to know all about them. I would've much preferred to see Nirvana, but at that point I guess I thought Pearl Jam would be the closest replacement of that lost dream. It was a pretty great concert anyway. I actually got more into them way after the Ten album was bought a jillion times over.

So when I started getting into Nirvana, the songs that really opened my eyes were Lithium, and Lounge Act. And by the time I was into them enough to want to own everything that they had ever appeared on (which at one point I pretty much did), I actually preferred a lot of their earlier songs to the new ones, but I loved it all.

They were MY band.

By that time I was obsessed with everything Nirvana. I had all the magazines, I recorded all of their television appearances, I loved the way they dressed, I loved their attitudes... I loved it all. I was consumed.

I just couldn't believe I missed their concert. I try not to think about it. No sense dwelling on it.

Other concerts I barely missed (some because I didn't have a ride, and some because I was two months too late on music knowledge.): Janes Addictions last show at the Blaisdell Arena. Sublime at Nimitz Hall. An early Smashing Pumpkins show at Pinks Garage. (probably?) Beastie Boys & Run Dmc (what was supposed to be my first show!) 1986 at the Blaisdell Arena. Beastie Boys at Turtle Bay in 1995(?) A bunch of Metallica concerts at Blaisdell Arena, back when they were really good, and before I knew anything. Soundgardens last concert. (i think? or at least one of them) Devo at Universtiy of Hawaii in 1980(?)..I couldn't do much about that one. I was like 5 years old. Ministry at Richardson Field in 1993(?) Anticon at some hole in the wall in 2001....thanks to poor advertising!!!!...etc.

So I'll always owe Lars for allowing me to gain a better, and deeper understanding of Nirvana, and other bands. In the long run, I think I introduced him to a lot of stuff, too.

And many thanks to Alika & Jason for countless influences.

So Lars was great. He had weird hobbies, as well. He had a potato chip collection. You know those potato chips that look like things, or famous people?

About 6 years ago he gave me a chip that resembled Conan O'Brien for my birthday. It was one of the best presents I've ever received. He wouldn't budge on the Kurt Cobain one. He did let me keep the Grohl, though. He wanted at least 20 bucks for the Cobain. Back then it seemed like a lot of money. In some ways it still does.

Radio Free Hawaii was in full effect back then, and it shaped a lot of our lives. It's amazing how something as unimportant as a radio station can have such an impact on a group of people, but Radio Free was a testament to just that.

Lars and I tried to be djs there for awhile, but it was a popular job request back then, and sadly, they seemed content with their sometimes generic djs, who would later sell out when the demise of Radio Free was imminent, and they proceeded to move on to the Top 40 stations, which are in abundance in Hawaii. In Hawaii, 90 percent of the stations are either Hawaiian music or Top 40. And the "Alternative" station isn't all that alternative. They just recently put a classic rock station on the air, after about a 6 year void. They had a decent alternative station competing for a while, but it was too good to last. The majority of people in Hawaii have some of the worst taste in music, and pop culture in general that I've ever experienced. Not that I've been to a lot of places, but I can't imagine it getting much worse then that place.

Radio Free Hawaii was such a good station, that it was a reason to make you stay in Hawaii. And I'm not exaggerating. When I was having trouble with my girlfriend in Las Vegas, one of the defining factors for deciding to move back to Hawaii was "hey... Radio Free Hawaii is still on the air....why not?" Sadly that was short lived.

Fucking commercial politics. I can't go into detail, because I'd never stop. It's just one of those things that you have to ignore, or it'll drive you crazy.

Kind of like when your little neices and nephews are singing along with a Barney video.

But worse.

Ok. Maybe not.

But the long term wounds are difficult to cover up.

They keep talking about bringing it back, but they can't seem to get the funds together.

I'm almost afraid of them bringing it back, because the people who are there now, are people who weren't there for the first wave, but just heard about it from their much cooler older brothers or sisters, and I'm worried that the station would be infested with non-stop Emo. But the music on that station is voted for by the people, so if you want to complain, you can change it yourself. If you try. But here I am again, speculating about an uncertain future. What a waste.

It's time to talk more about the past again.....

(to be continued)

- premature ejaculation | tantra +