Confession Time: Ever since the 7th grade, I have wanted to be a pop star. In the 90s this took the form of Hunter Sunday.
As Hunter, I wrote and recorded some music, did some photo shoots and performed around San Francisco.
My favorite and final gig was at the “Halloween in the Castro” street festival. To prepare, I rented a gorilla suit without the face mask, bought a plastic orange jack o lantern and purchased several bags of candy. The event was staged at the South East corner of Market, Noe and 16th Streets. I showed up about an hour before my 11pm “curtain”, changed into my costume, filled my jack o lantern with candy and gave my music to the sound engineer. I was all set.
What I didn’t expect was the crowd. The performers were hanging out behind the stage and had no sense of the audience.
(Note 1 to Reader: To get a feel for the experience, start playing the music now)
(Note 2 to Reader: No player? Try http://www.kehle.com/2009/08/12/will-you-be-there/ )
When my music started, I remember climbing the stairs to the stage and looking out at a sea of people. Every single street for as far as I could see was packed with human beings. I was exhilarated. I began throwing candy into the crowd and shouting “Trick or Treat!”. Much to my amazement, in spite of the late hour, children started coming out from this sea of adults to grab the candy. And they were so happy! So excited! I don’t think I have ever made so many people so happy with such a simple act. I was a wonderful gift to me and was a great way to end my adventures as Hunter Sunday.
PS. I want to thank the engineers at SGI who made a workstation that read DAT tapes and had a great digital audio editor. This event not have happened without your equipment. And special thanks to Kerry Jaggers for making sure the live performance sounded good and finally to Fred Drake for recording my tracks at the Rancho De La Luna. Love you guys!
