In the early summer of 2005, two years after graduating high school, I moved from Escondido, California to the hot deserts of Phoenix. I had just broken up with my first long time boyfriend and high school sweetheart, and was desperate for change. I had grown up with my mother and stepfather in southern California, but was no stranger to Phoenix. Every summer, I would visit my father and older half brother in Peoria, and even developed friendships with a handful of people over the years.
My half brother, Jason, had managed to get me a job as a dispatcher and office assistant at a small plumbing company that he worked for in Glendale, and my dad gave me a room until I could get on my feet and get a place of my own. It was that summer that I was first introduced to Numbers On Napkins.
I was driving home from work, listening to the only radio station in Phoenix that played new rock and alternative music, when I heard a catchy and melodic pop punk song that I was totally unfamiliar with. As the song ended, the DJ announced that the song was by a local band called Numbers On Napkins, Napkins, and the chorus of the song somehow managed to infest itself into in my brain and repeate for several hours later.
I heard the song again the following morning, and asked my brother if he was familiar with the band, as he was a huge fan of Arizona’s local music scene. He had never heard of the band, and sat down at his computer and proceeded to search for information online. About ten minutes later I heard him say, “Holy shit”, and asked him what he had found. Jason told me that Numbers On Napkins was signed to a small local independent record label called Bad Stain Records, and that the owner of the label was actually a member of the band. It turned out that Jason had several albums from other artists on Bad Stain, and several compilation CD’s as well.
I sat down with him at the computer and peered over his shoulder at the glowing screen. Jason had been a strong supporter of the label when he was a young teen in the valley, and I quickly realized that I had a few albums from the label in my collection as well. As I was reading information on the bands website, I noticed that NON was playing an all ages show the upcoming weekend, just a few days before my 21st birthday. Before I could point that out to my brother, he enthusiastically asked me if I wanted to go with him. I accepted immediately, and he sprinted to the phone and started calling his friends, inviting them to the show as well.
I can’t remember what other bands performed that night, but NON played somewhere in the middle of the evening, and their charismatic, energetic, and very comedic performance made the band stand out. The trio playfully argued with each other on stage after every song, and was in constant interaction with the crowd. NON’s presence was truly magical, and their set was utterly amazing. It was clear to everyone that the band members were having fun, and they wanted the crowd to join them in the memorable experience. It was a night that I vividly remember to this day.
My brother Jason was always into the punk rock scene, and I followed his lead, probably because I always looked up to him. Although I was also a huge fan of the emo, screamo, and post hardcore scene, and that scene was exploding in Arizona at the time. Over the next couple of years, I attended dozens of local shows in the Valley. I fell in love with local bands like Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Greeley Estates, Blessthefall, A Change of Pace, and Digital Summer. I didn’t go to a lot of punk shows over the next few years, unless it was a well known national touring act that I really liked. Whenever I did manage to make it to a punk show, it seemed like Numbers On Napkins was always opening up for the band that I came to see.
Every single time I went to a concert or event that NON was performing at, the band members successfully made the night an experience that was unforgettable, as if they had scorched this memory into the brains of everyone in attendance. The band had added a fourth member, and their fan base had exploded. It didn’t take long for the local scene to take notice, and everyone was talking about the bands wild, booze and drug fueled shows, as well as the members insane antics.
After going to one of NON’s shows with my brother Jason and three of my friends, we were all lucky enough to witness the band members wildly talked about antics in person. At the end of the show, as we made our way to the parking garage were we had parked our car, my friend Melissa stumbled towards a fountain that was located near the entrance of the garage. She asked us all for change so that she could make a wish, and Jason pulled out a handful of change and walked towards her as we heard the sound
of people screaming and yelling from one of the upper levels of the parking garage. I looked up and saw a man running on the second level of the garage, and watched in terror as he jumped off of the second story as he screamed, “You guys all fuck turkey bacon!”
Somehow, the man landed perfectly into the fountain below, an incredible act considering that if he had landed 18 inches in any other direction, he would have hit the concrete edge of the fountain, or the large concrete pillar in the center of the fountain.
Jason and Melissa were covered in water as they both jumped back in shock. Jason immediately went to pull the man out of the fountain, fearing that he was severely injured because the water was only two or three feet deep. As he approached the soaking wet figure, Jason asked him if he was okay. It was at that moment that we all realized that the insane daredevil was the bassist and co-frontman of NON, Chase Stain, who was stripped down to nothing but his boxers, and laughing as he stepped out of the fountain and onto the street.
“Yeah bro, I’m fine,” Stain said with a grin on his face. “Nobody worry, it’s okay, I’m punk rock.” He added.
We all stood there in shock, trying to comprehend what had just happened as we heard a man and woman shouting at Stain, asking him if he was okay, and screaming obscenities while laughing as they instructed him to get his ass back up the the second floor of the garage. I could tell that the man shouting from above was NON’s drummer, Tad Gurthman, and he quickly asked us if Stain was okay.
Stain shouted back at Gurthman and the girl, assuring them that he was okay, telling them not to worry because he was, “Punk Rock.
The tall, thin, and tattooed bass player raised his hand and gave my brother a hi-five, and then he spun around and pointed towards Jason and Melissa and said, “You two lovebirds have a good night”. He then walked towards the entrance of the garage as my friend Kristen shouted at him, “Awesome show!”
Stain turned around and looked at me and my two girlfriends and smiled as he strolled towards our direction, soaking wet, and clearly very intoxicated. “Well, thank you”, Stain replied as he came closer. Stain looked at Kristen in the eyes, and then at me and my friend, then back at Kristen, as he exclaimed, “My god, you girls are all stunningly beautiful.”
As he approached Kristen, he proceeded to put each of his hands around her waist, and pulled her towards him, staring directly into her eyes with a cocky smile. He leaned in and turned his head slightly as if he was going to kiss her, but stopped as his lips were just an inch from hers and whispered something. He then stepped back and removed his hands from her waist and slid his index finder along the side of her cheek as he smiled and started to walk back towards the garage entrance. As he walked away, we asked Kristen what he had said, and she told us that he said, “stunningly beautiful.”
I think Kristen was a bit smitten by Stain’s compliment, and the impulsive stunt left us all with a memory that we would share for the rest of our lives. To this very day, I have no clue how he didn’t break both of his legs, or ankles, or even get a scratch!
The next day, I was so mesmerized by the events from the previous night, that I decided to write my first concert review, and started freelance writing columns and performing interviews for various magazines and websites.
I only saw NON perform a handful of times after that show. I even tried to interview the band twice, but was unsuccessful in my attempts. The last time I saw NON was in 2009, just before meeting my ex-husband. Several years later I asked my brother if the band was still active, and he informed me that they had been on hiatus, and that he didn’t expect NON to return to the scene.
Last year, my brother told me that NON had ended their hiatus, and even released a new album, so I jumped online and ordered a copy. I checked the bands Facebook and official website for any upcoming shows, and was devastated to find out that the band was not touring, or even playing any local shows to promote the release.
