The first time I saw the Rebel Spell...

Just posted this on Facebook:

What was the first time you saw the Rebel Spell? (I realize some of you go back with Todd Serious longer than that, so you can tell a different story if you want). Me, I was going to see DOA and the Furies at Richards on Richards, I think in 2007. I was excited to see DOA with Rampage, for the first time, and tho' I had seen Chris Arnett with a version of the Shades, I had never seen the Furies (whom I had written about). I had never heard of the Rebel Spell. I fell in love with what they were doing instantly and was blown away that they were selling Days of Rage for ONLY FIVE BUCKS, which was a great idea, a great deal, and a totally righteous thing to do morslly. Made me want to write about them, too. That album had just come out, but it was this song, off their first album, that sunk the hook - especially the lyrics, which are very easy to appreciate in the clip below. Hearing it live sent chills up my spine. It still weirds me out that Todd died on my birthday.

That's all I have time for - I gotta get on with birthday stuff! - but hey, Todd, how you doing? Is any part of you, contrary to your intuitions, still conscious, still aware? I kinda wish you had died some other day (or not at all), but you pretty much guaranteed that I won't forget about you this way, though it's usually like, an hour or two into my being the birthday boy that I remember. Thanks for trying so hard to live a good life, man, and for inspiring others, too.