We knew Elizabeth Lessner, she who has brought Columbus my favorite restaurants: Surly Girl Saloon and Dirty Frank’s (to name a few), went way back with RJD2. We asked if she wanted to share anything for the site in prep for tomorrow’s anniversary show and here’s what she wrote:
In the early 90’s, Rj and I became surrogate siblings living out west in San Francisco. On weekend mornings we’d eat breakfast at a place called Spaghetti Western (an early inspiration for Surly Girl Saloon) then go shopping for records on Haight Street or over in Oakland. On nights when we could afford it, we frequented a small, dingy nightclub called Club Deco in San Francisco or a place called Your Mama’s Cafe, a nightclub/coffeehouse in Oakland. We were always on the lookout for DJ Shadow or members of Digital Underground family. The music scene in San Francisco and Oakland at that time was quirky, fun and incredibly accessible.
In those days we both worked a minimum of three jobs at any given time due to the high cost of living and working low wage jobs. Our outlets were record shopping, eating breakfast, dreaming and frequenting our favorite local dives. Since then, I don’t know much has changed for either of us.
Show update: Online presale is sold out but tickets are still available at Magnolia’s and Roots as well as some tix available @ the door.