Show Memories

by Atreya Holman

One of my favourite memories is actually a tradition we had after every show was over. When our production company Stay True first started, we were throwing shows monthly at a Chinese restaurant turned venue/karaoke bar after hours. It had one of those stereotypical huge signs you could see from the freeway and a massive building shaped like traditional Chinese palaces. It even had a huge fountain in the middle of the floor space in front of the stage. But hey, it was free to throw a show there and they would even give you a cut of the bar sales if you did well. I worked the door at every single show we threw, so I never got to have much fun until we inevitably left and went to Denny's after cleanup. There's a saying I remember hearing: You don't go to Denny's, you END UP at Denny's. That's possibly the most accurate statement in existence. All of our friends willing to stay and help clean up, as well as anyone else who wanted to come, went straight from the venue to the busiest Denny's in Ventura, California at about 2am. We were loud, obnoxious, and probably the wait staff's worst nightmare, but we were always appreciative. If I had a dollar for every time someone fell asleep in the food, I might not have any more student loan debt. We always had just as much fun drunkenly yelling at each other in a diner as we did at the show itself. The scene is more than just shows and music, it's a connection.