As spooky season reaches a fever pitch, KXT has collected some horror stories from the homegrown music community to give us a fright just in time for Halloween. From stalkers to being trapped in an elevator, these horror stories may just haunt you.
A stalker story from Will Rakkar, frontman of Dallas indie rock band Phantomelo:
“While we were touring the Midwest we had a stop in Lawrence KS, where I befriended a lady who bought our [band merch] shirt. The next day we played in Tulsa, where she showed up again. I was delighted thinking that we’d gained a super fan, and she bought another shirt. The next night she was showed up in OKC where she bought a shirt and I began to realize she had tunnel vision. Attempts by my bandmates to sway her attention away from me were fruitless. She watched every movement I made; a flicker of anger crossed her face any time I talked to someone else.
I began to realize there might be another more insidious component at play here. I was a little rattled. The last day of our tour was in Dallas. She showed up again and this time I was frightened. She spoke about marriage and that Lawrence was not too far from Dallas. Feeling uncomfortable and realizing she was watching me again, I hid backstage and the boys thought if they wheeled me across the street to a bar (hidden in an amp case), I could calm down. I played the show and went home. The next day there was a friend request on Facebook and suddenly a knock at the door—she had figured out where I lived! I didn’t answer, I called the police and shouted through the glass, ‘they’re on their way!’ She disappeared. I haven’t heard from her since other than an occasional friend request on Facebook. She was creepy she sent an erotic novel to me that she wrote as well.”
Trapped in an elevator on tour with Charlie DeBolt, drums/vox in Denton band Upsetting
“In the summer of 2018, Upsetting played in Shreveport as part of the Everything I’ve Done So Far album release tour. We stayed in a room at the Margaritaville in town after [Upsetting member] Caleb’s mom helped us get a good deal on it, and shortly after putting our bags down in our room we scurried to the elevator hoping to explore the casino a little before planning to meet up with Caleb’s mom for a pre-show dinner (she decided to drive up for the show).
“So the three members of Upsetting (this was before Drew was in the band), our two crew members (Erin Devany + Garrett Smith), and 4 other hotel guests hop into the elevator to head down to the lobby; I think we were on the 4th or 5th floor. The door dings closed & we get maybe 1 or 2 floors down before it abruptly shakes before coming to a complete stop. We look around nervously, as do the other guests. Everyone’s not sure what’s happening. As we continue to wait things out, we start joking about getting stuck and missing the show. It’s also packed enough to where our body heat was definitely starting to build up, which combined with the tight quarters made for a tense situation once 30 minutes passed. An hour goes by, and we haven’t heard anything from outside of the doors. A lady in the elevator with us is noticeably shaking at this point, and I can tell Caleb and Kevin are starting to get anxious. I think somewhere around 90 minutes into the ordeal, we finally hear some firefighters on the other side of the door assuring us there’s a maintenance crew working on the situation (I think the fire department was called in as a precaution). We wait another 20-30 minutes before the elevator finally revs up again, finally descending to the ground floor. All 9 of us so desperately wanted to see / embrace / never leave again.
We ended up missing dinner with Caleb’s mom, but as a small consolation the hotel gave us a comp’d meal for the 5 people in our group that we cashed in at the most expensive restaurant we could track down in the casino—a Thai spot that specialized in seafood dishes. We all ordered an appetizer + an entree each, and the drinkers all requested the best $25 cocktails we’ve ever imbibed. I think bill came close to $300. Would I do it again? Doubtful. Was it worth it? Maybe.”
Dallas music photographer / journalist Jason Janik butts heads with Weezer’s manager
“I was writing for a little monthly music magazine called Harder Beat. We tried to get set up for a ‘secret show’ Weezer was going to play at a small club in Deep Ellum. This was during the hiatus between Pinkerton and the Green Album, so ANY show by Rivers Cuomo [frontman of Weezer] and company was bound to be special.
Linda, the editor-in-chief, contacted the band’s publicist and was told they wouldn’t be giving any press access. I was bummed, but Linda said, ‘We get this from publicists sometimes. Just go down there during sound check and ask the tour manager. They’ll usually give us a pass.’ So, I go down there and head in through the back. I find the tour manager sitting at a desk doing work. I explained my situation and crossed my fingers that he’d be handing me a photo pass. He looked at me for a moment, quiet and emotionless. He looked like an extra from Fight Club, and I think he had a Cockney accent. He was dressed like an extra from a Guy Ritchie movie. Suddenly, he bursts into a nuclear mushroom cloud of swear words. I can’t recall if he stood up or not, but his verbal beating seemed Shaquille O’Neal-sized. ‘Who the eff told you we’d effing give you a pass?!?’ And then, I sort of zoned out as the words got worse from there.
The surreal part was that, as I stood there being torn apart, this waifish little guy strolled between us, picked up a pile of mail and then strolled back through the 150db berating as a radio quietly played NPR. It didn’t even register his face. I realized it was Rivers in his cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses! So, yeah… super embarrassing and a bit of a horror story to leave the venue with my tail tucked between my legs. The silver lining is that Weezer did a small tour a short time later and played Austin. I did get set up for that show, and it was the first time anyone in Texas got to hear songs like ‘Hash Pipe’ and ‘Island in the Sun.’ I got to hear these awesome new songs before they were released on the radio or on the upcoming Green Album, and I got some amazing photos of the band!”
Booking agent Matthew Kurzman witnesses Bobby Sparks’ manager tackle a drunk man
“The craziest moment I’ve had booking live music was in 2019. I had booked Bobby Sparks to perform on the patio in front of a restaurant in Uptown Dallas. And in the middle of his performance, a drunk patron came into the restaurant and attempted to play his keyboard. And I was able to shove the guy out of the patio, but stupidly I shoved him into the restaurant rather than in the other direction out into the street.
So eventually, when he had to leave, he was gonna cross our path again.And when he did just a few minutes later, he tried to jump me. And Bobby’s former tour manager was able to tackle him before he could attack me. And the tour manager held him down while somebody called the police, who hauled him away. At which point, the whole audience applauded. Crazy night, but a fun story to tell.”
Jessica Waffles is a freelance photographer/videographer and regular contributor to KXT. Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
