In the mid 2000’s, I was serving Chinese food at Charlie Chow’s, with my buddy Jeff Hacker.  He was making a name for himself as a DJ, mostly at house parties, while I was making experimental videos.  His fanbase grew so wide, he took over Thursday nights at The Trapp Door, a popular gay nightclub.  It became the busiest night in the city, bringing in hundreds of people.  

He asked me to record his nights, for promotion, to which I gladly agreed.  After work, I’d catch the light rail train down to the venue, and document the events until my batteries ran out (or I got too involved with the party).  We were all living a life of extremes, telling the consequences to fuck off for just one more day.  I have so many memories from that period – unforgettable, for better or worse.  

I personally knew damn near everyone in the audience you see dancing on camera.  They weren’t just random people.  They were my friends.  And this video is a celebration of the time we had together.  

I find some satisfaction in knowing that I recorded them in the prime of their life. Regardless of what they were going through, in those moments they looked happy, and excited to be alive.   

Eventually the wave broke.  The tide shifted.  The scene changed.  The club owners drug addiction left people unpaid.  The situation got ugly.  Jeff needed a fresh start, and took up residence at a new club, across town.  I didn’t shoot any material there, and removed myself from the scene.  I met my future ex-wife shortly after that, while rolling sushi, and moved to a cabin in the mountains, to clear my head and reinvent myself.

When I revisited the original, grainy release of this concert, it consisted entirely of footage of the band.  I decided to rework it completely, and include as many images of those wild nights as I could.  Now it’s a culmination of years of experiences, and an end to an era, set to an incredible performance by UltraViolet Sound.  

After the band dissolved, Sarah Hudson and Brad Ackley would go their separate ways and both become Grammy winning artists in their own right.