bye brad

it was awful to hear that brad cassidy passed away. i didn't know brad the best, but what i saw from our few meetings was a nice guy who could talk to just about anyone about anything. he was extremely knowledgeable about punk rock and indeed all music in general. my first real memory of brad was from 2005 when he came to chicago with a gigantic crew from st. louis to go to chicago fest. mookie and i hosted about 10-15 people from st. louis, k.c. and lawrence in our tiny apartment. after the second night of the fest, everyone returned to our apartment and a rather large party ensued. i remember talking to brad about the new kylesa record that had just come out. our conversation was cut short when he had to run to the bathroom. he had a lot to drink that night and had to go throw up. "excuse me, i have to vomit," he said with a smile, politely heading towards the bathroom. i remember going into check on him and finding him lounging peacefully in our bathtub. "hey man, i'm sorry about throwing up. i cleaned it," he said, taking a large swig from a bottle of whiskey, "so anyway, that new record is okay, but i tend to listen to a lot of the older stuff..." we proceeded to have an extremely interesting conversation about 80's hardcore and punk rock, how brad used to play in destroy, and then finally about his daughter. brad was a conversationalist, that's one thing i know for certain, he could glide across subjects smoother than anyone i know. some people just have that trait. i do not, which is why i found this guy laying in my bathtub with vomit all over him so interesting. he was kind of timeless in a way. our bathroom chat was cut short when someone had to take a shit or make out or something, but i'll always think of that time when i think of brad. he was a good guy, a smart guy, and he will be missed.