Rest in Peace, Tristan
Today was a sad day. While watching TV this evening, my cell phone rang. We had just finished dinner earlier and I had left my phone on the dining table and I didn't feel like getting up to answer it. But then Dylan's phone rang and he saw it was Ben calling so he answered the phone. Ben said that our friend, Tristan, had just passed away; Tristan's aunt had called to let Ben know.
I had known Tristan for a couple years or more, having met him through Ben. He was a fellow LA transplant from Kansas - he was from Wichita, and didn't seem to have many fond memories of or any desire to ever move back to our home state. He seemed perfectly happy in LA. He was quite a character, as he was always prone to break out in (very loud!) song, usually one of Tina Turner's, who he idolized. He was opinionated and outspoken, but never pushy or judgmental.
My fondest memory of Tristan is from one night when we were hanging out at The Palms in West Hollywood, it was either his birthday or Ben's birthday. There was a stand-up comedy show going on that we were watching, and Tristan seemed to believe it was an "interactive show," meaning that he was enjoying talking back (some would say heckling) the comedians. Finally, the host said something to the effect of, "if you think you're so funny, maybe you should come up here on stage," and so of course he did. And, to our surprise, he delivered a hilarious impromptu stand up routine. I wondered if he hadn't rehearsed this before either in his mind or in front of a mirror, because he seemed so natural. At the end, everyone applauded as he came back and sat down with us again.
My one regret is that we were never able to work on music together as we had so often discussed. Singing was Tristan's passion, and he had a very good voice. I told him I'd love to write and produce some songs for him, and we had tentatively planned to work together early this year but it just never came to be, and I will always regret that.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 109
"Waking Up With The House On Fire" by Culture Club, cassette tape. I bought this tape in 1988 - I know that because that was the year that Paradise had our one and only parade and I had bought it around that time. I loved the song "Mistake No. 3" which I had found on a 45 somewhere so I bought this album even though I didn't know any of the other songs on it, since they had very quickly faded from popularity in the midwest right before this album - odd, since "Colour By Numbers" was such a huge hit. I like this album, but it does seem rushed and not as great as the two before it.
I had known Tristan for a couple years or more, having met him through Ben. He was a fellow LA transplant from Kansas - he was from Wichita, and didn't seem to have many fond memories of or any desire to ever move back to our home state. He seemed perfectly happy in LA. He was quite a character, as he was always prone to break out in (very loud!) song, usually one of Tina Turner's, who he idolized. He was opinionated and outspoken, but never pushy or judgmental.
My fondest memory of Tristan is from one night when we were hanging out at The Palms in West Hollywood, it was either his birthday or Ben's birthday. There was a stand-up comedy show going on that we were watching, and Tristan seemed to believe it was an "interactive show," meaning that he was enjoying talking back (some would say heckling) the comedians. Finally, the host said something to the effect of, "if you think you're so funny, maybe you should come up here on stage," and so of course he did. And, to our surprise, he delivered a hilarious impromptu stand up routine. I wondered if he hadn't rehearsed this before either in his mind or in front of a mirror, because he seemed so natural. At the end, everyone applauded as he came back and sat down with us again.
My one regret is that we were never able to work on music together as we had so often discussed. Singing was Tristan's passion, and he had a very good voice. I told him I'd love to write and produce some songs for him, and we had tentatively planned to work together early this year but it just never came to be, and I will always regret that.
Hello 2010, goodbye junk!
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 109
"Waking Up With The House On Fire" by Culture Club, cassette tape. I bought this tape in 1988 - I know that because that was the year that Paradise had our one and only parade and I had bought it around that time. I loved the song "Mistake No. 3" which I had found on a 45 somewhere so I bought this album even though I didn't know any of the other songs on it, since they had very quickly faded from popularity in the midwest right before this album - odd, since "Colour By Numbers" was such a huge hit. I like this album, but it does seem rushed and not as great as the two before it.
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