I look back on the last 10 years with amazement, a sense of
pride, and no small amount of giddiness.
10 years ago, a group of misfits faced having to find a new
home. It was as if winds were blowing the group, that had grown close at the
Wharf, apart, and trying to scatter us like leaves in
the wind. But that fateful night, we
made a very conscious, emotional, and determined choice to find a way to keep
the group of wonderful, crazy, silly, amazing and talented folks together.
And we did that.
Starfall has endured the past 10 years because we wanted it.
We have built for ourselves an oasis in the desert, so to speak. I know, I know
– there are other clubs that play rock music.
Be we don’t just ‘club’ together.
We have a community, a family. Something that’s a bit more
than the typical music club. We have had an impact on one another’s lives. We
enjoy sharing our music, our humor, our concerns and silly notions. We have a
diverse and rich group of people that we encourage to grow, bringing in
brothers and sisters alike to grow our little community, when we find another
wayward soul that wants to rock out and find a home.
I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I’m happy that, 10
years after that fateful Sunday night in the middle of June 2009, we rolled up
our sleeves, took a hole in the ground offered to us as a refuge, and built it
into Starfall.
You can see a picture of the first Stafall 1.0 here.
This was taken right before opening night. And on our blog,
you can see from the multiple pictures we took and posted that we built on those humble beginnings.
Its been a labor of love, for all of those that were
around back then, and it’s a legacy that everyone shares, whether at the
beginning, or those more recently welcomed into the fold.
We have also lost some of our own, along the way: Kev, Pope,
Caeru, and most recently Cooper.
Rest in peace, my friends.
To all the rest of us: Thank you for 10 great years, everyone.
Thanks especially to Koen Wittfield, for giving us that initial home.
Thanks to Vince and Darla for the use of your basement clubhouse for that week while we built the first Starfall.
Thanks to all the DJs, Hosts, Managers, Assistant Managers, builders, contributors, donors, and other fun folks that I've bullied, drafted, coerced, co-opted, enticed, flim-flamed, bamboozled, conned, perved, hired, encouraged, learned from, leaned on, cried with, laughed with, and hugged for the past 10 years.
Thank you Starfallen for making this a worthwhile place. I have always said, I'm just the traffic cop directing traffic - you are what makes Starfall special and worthwhile.
It’s been a blast. Here’s to 10 more.
Dehrynn Shepherd
Owner/DJ/Elf Himself - Starfall
