Continuing Tributes

I've been remiss in posting some files, so here's is an overdue roundup of "Pat News."

• Tobi Bader, a friend from Germany, created a pdf last fall, which all who loved Pat and question suicide should see. It is a searching and artistic triumph. You should be able to click on each of the pictures to enlarge them and read the text. For those who would like the full size pdf, which is even more beautiful, email me at: mlrimer@earthlink.net.

• At about the same time as Tobi's "Autumn," Libby designed a t-shirt in honor of her and Pat's birthday, October 29th. Germanophiles like Pat will recognize the background. But if you don't, you'll have to go to Berlin and pose in front of the Reischstag like Pat did, uncomplaining but clearly tired, for his grandparents (my father and Anne) after he'd been up most of the night clubbing. I think Tibor and Joe had something to do with that.

Lib with Pat's shirt

Pat and vorm Reischstag spring 2004 before lunch in the dome with his grandfather and Anne.

• Pat had the honor of being memorialized on Helpguide.com, a mental health awareness site created by friends of my father, Mr. and Dr. Robert Siegle. Their daughter Morgan also committed suicide and they have been dedicated ever since to mental health awareness. It's an impressive site with up-to-date research and medical articles. You can visit Pat's memorial at: http://www.helpguide.org/memorials.htm

• And finally, in honor of Pat and other students who worry about being different for any reason, I started a Safe Place program (actually, it's more a state of mind) at my school. My friend Nora Robbins designed the poster,

and I addressed the school with remarks, which I'll include shortly. For the most part the response was terrific. Many teachers and students appreciated the point that most gay students are afraid of school because it's still acceptable to discriminate against them and that they should be treated as courteously and respectfully as anyone else no matter what your beliefs.

Pat's mom

“Twenty-Three”

Andrew and DJ at Amoeba, March 12, 2009

Andrew (aka MC Lars) wanted to include the mp3 file along with some of his thoughts in writing it, but Mike Love (creator of this blog) and I were unable to upload it, so here is the link again if you haven't yet heard Pat's song:

http://mclars.com/mp3s/albums/2009%20-%20tgrk/08%20Twenty-Three.mp3

Libby, Lindsay (Lib’s girlfriend), and I had the amazing luck to see Andrew and DJ (another Pat friend from Stanford) perform it at Amoeba Records on Haight St. in San Francisco in March. As sad as we were about Pat, Andrew and DJ were a total lift. Every song was fabulous, even to an aging mother whose penchant for loud music has waned. Not this time. “Post-punk laptop rap” is my new favorite. Check out Andrew’s web site for his tour schedule:

http://mclars.com/news.php

I’d love to see him in Berlin. Pat’s clubs would be a perfect venue.
Most importantly, check out Andrew’s article in the San Francisco Chronicle March 9, 2009. He talks openly about “Twenty-three” and his music in general:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/09/DD8U16B5RI.DTL

Andrew is no lightweight opportunist as the term rap might imply. His version is “hip-hop that’s not afraid to be smart.” If a kid “wants to read Hamlet afterward, then that’s a bonus.”

From hip-hop to Hamlet? It’s true. He makes the connection. Check it out. A movie of the Amoeba performance, which I hope to post, will be forthcoming in May.

Pat's mom


Andrew on “Twenty-Three”

"It was a moving experience to record this track and I still feel sad every time I go back and listen to it. For me it's the end of the second verse that resonates when I listen to the song again, remembering when I saw Pat's room and his freshman yearbook. I wrote and rewrote the song many times over the past year. That I was able to find a way to express how everything made me feel but also be musically engaging was rewarding and has helped me heal... and I hope it will serve the same for others. Pat was an awesome friend and roommate."