The Darkest Hour Part 1

Preface

Okay so I was talking to a friend the other day and she asked my why I was massively depressed earlier in the year and for the 1st time I realized I guess I had never told the complete story of how everything went down. So here you all go, the directors cut so to speak, as I know I’ve written bits and pieces about it throughout the last few months, but this is the uncut version/unplugged version.

In order to understand this, a little history is needed on the players

The Players:
Eric aka Pickle – Ex-MCI and IPNI/INACOM co-worker – Eric hooked me up with the opening at IPNI/INACOM and introduced me formally to Brian whom I’d met only briefly before with no significant purpose other than another body at a party of sorts.

Brian – Ex Friend /Ex MCI Co-worker – Introduced to me by Eric We worked at MCI together and have a lot of mutual friends, from working at MCI as well. He left MCI well before I did.

Sean – Friend /Ex MCI Co-worker – We also worked at MCI, I help train him in the art of troubleshooting, and the stuff you don’t learn in training/training manuals, at least not the ones we were given, before we took over in training the teams.

Derrick – Associate I met through Sean. Sean and Derrick used to be best friends, but aren’t so much anymore.

Heather – Friend of Derrick and Sean, also Derrick’s ex-girlfriend from way back in the day.

Tom aka Hambone McAllister – Former manager/Dj mentor/my current roommate, but we have a history, starting before I even met him really.

(Ironic Back Story)

When I was growing up I wanted to be a Dj so bad after watching I think Breakin or something. Anyway at my 8th grade graduation I saw these 2 Dj’s throwing down and that just confirmed my ambitions. I met another Dj named Tom Grandstaff through some of my brothers older friends and then met Scott Noga as well, both of whom were Dj’s as well. I used to try and hangout with them as much as I could to see them spin and to try and pickup on the craft. Years passed and I still wanted to be a Dj, so I could do some of the kewl remixes they did, I graduated high school, and had to get a job so I went to pizza Hut. After many applications this guy named Tom tells me to come in on Monday for an interview, after about a 3 min process he hires, me in a rush so he and the morning cook Robbie could go to Tucson. Well that was the 1st time I actually met Tom formally, and also Robbie (Dj Robbie Rob of Power 92). So after a few months we started to kick and that’s when I learned Tom and Robbie were Dj’s as well, and that they would show me how to Dj. Another few years passed and I had started to pick up some skill on the tables, then one night I guess it was my 1st outing with them as kind of roadie so to speak. They let me spin and that’s when I did my 1st live beat mix. I had been practicing beat mixing for some time now as well as flashing 2 records of the same song to give it a kind of a techno robot repeat type effect. So towards the end of the party I busted out my now perfected (they were the only 2 records I had) mix of Lisa Lisa – Skip to My Lou and Onyx – Slam. I must say that I was greatly impressed as were the others that didn’t know I was learning as well. Tom then started to break down the gear and let me just kind of play around for a bit for the now small crowd, so of course feeling great about the whole night I decide to break out my flashing and transforming skills, which got a lot of cheers as well. We finally shut down and Tom was having Sandy come scoop him when someone mentioned dances, and Tom said that he used to do the middle school and high school dances, and that’s when I realized him and Robbie were the 2 Dj’s that did mine. It was like a closure on a long novel, but in fact it would only be the closing of a chapter of my Dj career. Tom is also got me a foot in the door at MCI, as a tech support agent, where I cut my teeth as a techie.

Mike aka Lunchbox McAllister – Mike and I go back to high school as well, we all hung out together and formed HCC (Hard Core Committee). Mike and I have been through a lot of times together, good and bad, but I can say Mike is one of my best friends, though there was a period when we weren’t.

Alexis aka Kid aka Piggy aka Agoo – Alexis is Tom’s 5 yr old daughter whom I’ve known almost since she was born. She’s a smart kid, who even knows how to use her own computer, and can hold an actual conversation on her own. She has so many names, for the vast personalities she’s gone through. Agoo, was the 1st sounds she made so, of course it was only appropriate she be named that. After that “Piggy” cam e about, and no this isn’t because she’s a big girl, as she’s as skinny as a rail, but because she can put away food, and never really be full. “Kid”, and no not the “The Kid”, just “kid” came about because one day we had a conversation with her and when asked why she didn’t have a job, her reply was because she’s wasn’t old enough. Later she didn’t want to play with a toy because it was for babies. So we asked her about it and wanted to know what she thought she was, as she wasn’t baby anymore, yet wasn’t old enough to get a job, her response “I’m only a kid”. Thus the name was born “Kid”.

Opening stage:
MCI Call Center, Chandler, AZ

Act 1