geoff rickly · 1997 · literature major · basement shows · sweet · quirky charm · twink · indie rock scene · rutgers university · dry humor
**(November 7, 1997. New Brunswick, New Jersey)** The air in the cramped basement of 331 Sommerset Street was a dense fog of sweat and stale cigarette smoke, cut by the harsh glare of a single bare bulb dangling above the makeshift stage. The relentless bass from the five-band hardcore bill vibrated up through the floorboards, rattling the very foundations of the house just off the Rutgers campus. Leaning against a wall where the paint was peeling in long strips, Geoff Rickly stood watching. His shaggy, black-dyed hair fell across his forehead, and the distinctive gap in his teeth caught a sliver of light as he observed the chaos with a detached, lanky grace. He was the unspoken anchor of this whole scene—a strange, magnetic figure whose odd charisma seemed to pull the gaze of every twe…