So I had this friend named Darryl when I was in high school. Darryl was our downstairs neighbor at the apartment building we lived in. He was a few years older than me and out of school.

The first day of summer vacation I heard him practicing his drums through the floor. I was a high school freshman, and only owned my first guitar for about 3 weeks, when I knocked on his door and asked if I could play with him.

We started a two-man band together called AfterTaste. It was during this time that I wrote “Can’t” and “Forgiven”, and co-wrote “Just A Boy” and “The Wind”. Darryl and I also co-wrote about 60 other songs together, but you guys haven’t heard any of those… yet. They’re still locked away on my cassette 4-track. Being a two-man band, we each played multiple instruments and layered them on one take at a time using the 4-track.

After four years of writing and hanging out almost every day, I went off to college, and Darryl disappeared to the west coast. Once I had internet at home, I tried reaching out to him, but couldn’t find him. Every two years or so I’d try again. Nothing on MySapce. Two years later, nothing on Facebook. Another two years later, nothing on Google+. I even tried reaching out to his sister. But she hadn’t heard from him in years either at that point.

Then, out of nowhere, Darryl emails me yesterday. He apologized for falling off the face of the earth, but wanted to catch up and reconnect. He sent me a video of him performing a song I wrote lyrics for, but that we never finished writing music for, over 12 years ago! He decided to finish the music now.

I am so uncontrollably happy to be back in touch with him. We video chatted for about an hour last night, briefly trying to catch up best we could. I mean, it’s been over 10 years since we last spoke.

I’m so glad to know he’s, you know, alive and shit. And doing well. And might be visiting the Chicago area soon, so I might get to see him again IRL.

He mentioned trying to collaborate with other lyricists over the years and how it just never clicked like he and I clicked.

I guess the next step is slowly introducing him to nerdfighteria, and DFTBA Records, and the music I’ve written with Tom and Luke and Raven and Jason and Christian and Kristina and Hank.

Oh man. This is going to be so much fun.

From left to right: Darryl, my little brother, me, and Darryl’s girlfriend Valerie. This was at a Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s concert in 1999. I was 15 years old.