The O-Files: Nick Opp, Sigourney Beaver & The Magic of The Odyssey

We’re back in The O-Files—and this one is pure nostalgia, chaos, and a little bit of glitter-covered history.

I’m sitting down with Nick Opp, former Odyssey bar manager during my most formative (and slightly feral) years, to revisit the bar that somehow became everything. We get into how he went from first-time baby gay walking through those doors… to running the place during its final era—and what it actually felt like to be part of something that big, that messy, and that meaningful.

We talk nightlife before phones, the music that defined a generation, the energy you truly can’t recreate, and that final night that everyone still carries with them. Plus, Nick’s life after The Odyssey—murals, nostalgia tees, AI music experiments, and the return of his drag persona Sigourney Beaver (yes, born on that stage).

This one is about memory, community, and the spaces that shape you long after they’re gone.

If you were there, you already know. If you weren’t… welcome to the myth. ✨  

Check out Nic's song BRENDA here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zolSm-wg90&list=PLNzBreGWlO0tCx0t_aTzRiA4DGKvhKSvm

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Hi everyone, welcome back to my show, The Superficial Spirit. Today we are back, not to regular scheduled programming, but we've been talking about aliens for three weeks, and now we are back to the Ophiles. So for those of you who have been waiting for the next episode, welcome. We're here. As you know, the Odyssey was a very special and very chaotic little universe that somehow shaped a lot of us, especially me, into the people we are. We carry it with us wherever we go. And I've been really eager to take a trip down memory lane. So this is another one of those episodes. And today I am joined by the first person, second person who's been on the O Files that I personally remember and was a bar manager there during my most formative, slightly feral years. Um, since then he's been working as an artist, creating large-scale murals while also keeping a sense of local history alive through his nostalgia tea project, which is t-shirts with like old businesses from the Sunshine Coast that are no longer in business, which is a really cool idea. And full circle moment stepping into drag. Not for the first time, but like kind of for the first time, because Sigourney Beaver was a persona that made their debut at the Odyssey and is now coming back like what 20 years later. So Nick Opp, welcome to the show, honey. Hi. Yay, how are you? I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

It's so nice to see you.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Thank you for like agreeing to do this so quickly. Because I I mean, when I found you on Facebook, I think the last time we messaged was like at least 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Oh my god, so long ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah. So I appreciate you hopping on. Um and before we dive into the Odyssey, I just want everybody to know that Nick sent me a link to his new song. Um so it first of all, are we calling it your new song or do you have like a persona that this is coming from?

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Yeah. So I I mean, I I've been doing uh amateur music production for for a little bit. I mean, I grew up very, very musically, um, which I mean is I started playing piano when I was four and was like kind of a a piano prodigy of sorts. Um and so I kind of grew up with music and music in my brain. I've been doing production for a while and have gone under the name, which is a uh very inside joke, but uh DJ Paycheck to Paycheck. And so I linked it in the in the YouTube, but um basically I'm going under sticky and screaming productions.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Okay, love it. Um, so for everybody who doesn't know, obviously you haven't listened to the song, I can link it um when the episode comes out. It's is it called Brenda or not Brenda?

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Yeah, it's called Brenda Humanis.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, okay. So why don't why don't you talk to me about the song, how you made it, and then I'll I'll have some questions about that afterwards.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah, sure. I I mean I've been fascinated by AI music, and I know that people are very, very polarized by it, obviously. Um, I I mean I can get into the reasons that I'm fascinated about it, but it's I'm I'm a big tech guy. One of my projects during COVID was um kind of learning to code Python and all that nerdy. I became such a nerd during during COVID. Um, and so with that, with that tech aspect and my music background, I I thought it was like a really interesting arena to explore. Um so I mean, yeah, there's there's many things to you know, generate AI music, obviously. Um, there's a couple online and I've been running a couple locally, but I decided to start experimenting with it and feed it really, really obscure prompts, like about being gay and just like the most hilarious things, just to see how far I could push it, pretty much. And so I started creating this um AI album that'll, you know, be out soon. Uh no date, but um, yeah, just to kind of kind of envelop that like gay world and and something so obscure and something so silly, you know, that it couldn't be confused for, I mean, I think the production's good, but I really wanted to do something that was a little bit on the silly side that somebody would be like, Did somebody actually record that? Is that AI? You know, kind of thing, but still be honest about the fact that it's AI music.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

I've seen a lot of posts recently where people have been finding new music, loving it, and then finding out that it's AI.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

And similar to you, like, I mean, my inspirations have never been like, you know, highbrow art. You know, I'm I'm into Club Kids, yeah, famous for being famous, Brittany. I was always okay with the manufactured part of music. And I think in some ways, AI, not that music has been AI for a long time, but there's a lot of similarities between manufactured pop music and what AI is. The difference is people are being able to create it themselves. So with the song that you sent me, I like it. It's good. Like the the lyrics are so funny. And I feel like if this came out and I didn't know it was AI, I mean, it would probably show up in my algorithm. I would probably save it. Um and I'm okay with that. Like, I I personally don't have a problem with it. I also have not been a traditional musician. Like, I was always a lyricist. I I do now know how to write like basic music on a keyboard and then take it to a producer. What I've experienced um with AI is like when I first found out about it, first thing I did, bitch, I try and clone my voice. Because I'm like, if I can just fucking pump out these songs with my voice, I'm okay. Because I will just be open about it, I'll be shameless about it, and people can do. Um it didn't work as well. I think there's not enough like data on my voice. Like when I sent it, I don't know, it didn't sound enough like me. I'll try that, I'll try that again soon.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I got a couple programs you could try out.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Okay, yes, okay, good. Let's do that after this. Um, but I feel like it's lowered the bar and it's made it more accessible because I have ideas, I don't always have the budget to like fully collaborate with people. And it's really nice to be like, I have an idea and want to hear what it sounds like. Um you can take that, I did this with my new song as a concept and then share it with a producer and consider the AI a demo and build off of that, or you can release it directly. Um, Kara Cunningham, formerly Chris Crocker, has been pumping out these albums. They're so funny, similar to what Brenda is. It's like it's not supposed to be serious, it's supposed to be fun and catchy, and she's doing it shamelessly. And I feel like there is a space for it, but people are fucking they're pressed about it for sure.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

And and the whole thing is like, what is the norm of music production in the industry? It's like it's like a conglomerate and somebody, you know, huge to having all the power and and the artists having very little power. I mean, like, I'm now I'm by no means a Swifty, but my heart goes out to what she had to go through and what she had to do and re-record her own music to make it her own. So, are we will it really saying that like the baseline of artistry is for somebody to not own their own music and for to be able to fight for its rights? So, I mean, at least this way, uh, people could argue that it's a tool that's automating, but I mean, I'm getting in there, I'm fixing things, it's my concepts. I have very, very complicated prompts on there. I'm gonna be totally honest about the fact that it's AI. Like, you're not gonna have to go searching for it so that it doesn't take away from the artistry of like people who don't use AI. But at the same time, like, are we really saying that we're ruining something that is so holy? Because like right now the system seems incredibly broken and selfish to me. So I think that it's just like this thing that every time something new comes along in the landscape that we demonize it. I mean, the electric guitar probably did the same thing. Um, the the whole the whole fight with Metallica and Napster, like that was that was a joke now. So, like, you know, we're always scared of new things taking away from the artists, and the music industry always adapts. So I don't think that it's going to take away from real artists. I think that it's crucial to be honest about what it is in respect to real artists, but otherwise, I think it's just a new tool that we're gonna have to adapt. And this always happens. This is cyclical.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Totally. I mean, remember when electronic music came out or like auto-tune, and people were like, that's not a real voice, that's not real music. How can you have a song with no instruments? And now it's like, do they even have instruments in studios anymore? Like, probably Gaga, probably friggin' um okay, I shouldn't say that. People obviously bring mu um instruments to the studio, but it's been happening for so long. The the manufactured piece of it, the electronic piece of it, and if you think about the world's biggest artist, like Taylor Swift, this is this is not what we should be comparing. Like, that should not be the benchmark. I think people who are like into their musical musical career for decades, it's gonna be disruptive. And I would be pissed off too if it's like, what the fuck? Like, I used to get paid a lot of money to help people produce music. Now they can do it on their iPhone. I spent my life perfecting a craft. I understand the agitation, but it doesn't change the fact that it's here. And I think people who have had musical ideas and wanted to be able to participate, but couldn't because maybe it's something they came to older in their life or like like past the point of like really perfecting a craft or whatever, it's gonna make it more accessible. I feel like there I keep thinking about greeting cards and how something like Sanu is a great way to like go in and make a prompt for your best friend for their birthday that's like super silly and they'll listen to it a few times and then sort of like disappears. And then there's people who are going to take it seriously and they're going to like find a new way to create music that hasn't been done. And I do encourage people, if you're open to it, to play around with prompts because it's easy to say, write me a song about my snake living in Burnaby and I'm gay and I like Brittany Spears. They'll do that. But if you want something that is specific and really clear to an idea, you have to do it over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

So absolutely. I was just pulling up one of my prompts, like just to see, like, and you have to know stuff like high-energy dance pop banger with four on the floor kick, bright side change synths, and pulsing saw leads, driving a crowded club feel, punchy electronic drum, snappy claps, and thick sub bass, lock into a relentless groove, you know, like stuff like that. You need to learn some of the jargon. You need to do your research. I mean, we all know that AI slop is a huge epidemic. Like it's terrible, but in order to not make it AI slop, you have to do your research still. And for people that are in the industry, it's like you need to adapt. That happens with different industries at different times. And right now, I think the statistic is like out of the entire world, people actually using it to code or even just to vibe code is like 2% of the world's population. Oh yeah. You're still at the beginning of it, and you can still get the leverage in order to use this to your advantage. So if you're gonna hold on and be a traditionalist, like you're going to fade away. Like that's just a fact.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Well, you have to think about like the people who are like 10 or like 15 and they're just starting to like build their creative taste or or like musical taste. I I think that the first of all, we can't be too precious about how we define art. Because I think when it comes to AI, if people see something, hear something, and it causes an emotional reaction, I think that that's what art is. It stirs a human spirit, it it does something to you, and I think that can be done with AI. And I think it's dystopian, I think it's weird, I think it's surreal, but ultimately people will gravitate to things that make them feel good or or validate their not good feelings like anger and agitation. So it is here, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

It is, and like it's easier to tap into that. That I mean, really, when we're coming down to it, if you take K-pop for an example, I mean, K-pop is one of the most uh like widely uh digested genres in the industry, and it's literally a mathematical equation. Like it has been proven that it is just science. They did their research, they did their A-B testing, and they said this is gonna be the format for every song. So I really, really don't see the difference between that and writing a song with AI. Like, there's there's very little difference. That's a very, very gray line. And if we're gonna go that far in the actual music industry and not embrace AI music to a certain extent, then that's just hypocritical to me.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Also, what about all of the artists over like in history that have gone to court over um what's it called? Where you're copying someone's music, copyright infringement. Yeah, how if Madonna and friggin' um Gaga, when Gaga came out and they had that um Born This Way and um whatever song it was by Gaga that they were a material girl or something not material girl. Come on, girls, do you believe in like express yourself? Express yourself, yeah. So um you have people creatively who are submersed in pop culture, being bombarded by these songs, by these movies, and then they themselves as artists create something. Even without AI, bitch, you're gonna you're gonna see references and um ideas and pulled lyrics, sounds from things that you've heard. Yeah, and and real artists do that.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

I know that AI is obviously trained on a data set, so they're trained on like a whole bunch of real artists and stuff like that. But what is the difference between using that and somebody who grows up with music like I did, who ingested all the music and is essentially as a human being trained off that data set. And not only that, but like let's think about when sampling came out. Like when sampling came out, people were quote unquote illegally until the justice system got involved, directly using the music of previous artists. And AI music is not doing that, it's it's taking influences of that. So I see that as kind of less of a copyright infringement than sampling, which is is still done like at you know, all the time, all the time. All of nothing's new, all of our music is reused, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

So I I really don't see the harm in training off of a data set in order to to influence your music if you're just doing that with your brain as a human.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Yeah. Brittany's like Hit Me Baby One More Time and Oops, I Did Again are like the same song with different lyrics. And it's like, and I people would come for her. I mean, pop has always been like under scrutiny, but again, I would encourage people to really think about what pop music has been for the last few decades and how slowly but surely we've been eliminating lots of jobs. Not that it's good. I'm a realist. I'm like, it's here, so stop complaining, adapt, be angry, move on. Um, I was gonna say something else about the AI music and Britney. Um oh, I read this article that was really interesting where they said at some point somebody will do something with AI and art that we haven't experienced yet. And we keep thinking about oh, AIs are gonna write movie scripts, AI is going to write albums. There is going to be something else that we don't know. Like we can't conceptualize, it's gonna be some other medium. And when that happens, I think there'll be a shifting shift in perspective consciousness where we we can see it as the tool that it is, and we're still learning. And I am surprised, like I also work in tech as my day job. How many people don't use AI? Like it's such a big part of the conference in Calgary, bitch, they don't even have Chat GPT on their phones. Like there's so many people that aren't using it. So yeah, we're in the infancy.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

I I totally agree. I mean, I have four LLMs on my phone that I go between, depending on what I want. Um, you made a really good point before about not knowing, you know, what was gonna happen with tools. I mean, that's that's just a fact. We don't know what we don't know until we know it. And that's just human existence in general. But as far as like, I mean, that we have such a long way to go. Is AI gonna write movie scripts? Well, right now it's terrible. Um, is AI going to write songs straight up without being AI slop? I don't know. I think it does a pretty good job, but you know, there's still things like in in Suno and stuff like that. There's those ghost harmonizations in the background that make it feel like it's vibrating and all of this like extra input to get rid of in post-production, which I've been having a really fun time trying to eliminate because it's so distracting. But then at the same time, like you think about like the emotional aspect, like I said before, it's it's really easy to be able to tap into the joy and to make a really fun dance song, but I don't know an AI music that's made me cry, you know? So like there's such a big ways to go. And sometimes I think it can only, I mean, I might be being ignorant, maybe it can go as far as it wants, but I mean, there's something about somebody writing music about heartbreak and about being sad that that invokes some kind of different vibe and different kind of sonic thing that happens with your body, human to human, that I just I haven't seen anywhere even close. So we have such a long way to go, and to be so fearful of it right now is is just seems so hypocritical and so so traditionalist, you know.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Yeah, I'm I are you watching the comeback, the latest season of the comeback?

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Just started. Just started.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

So there's a scene. The whole thing about this season is that um Valerie Cherish has been hired on an AI-only script writing thing. And there's a scene where the AI is pumping out these scripts and like it's okay. Like they're doing the scenes and some of it's working, and this joke just keeps not landing. And so she's talking to Pauly D, who comes back, and he's like, The re it's not that the joke isn't funny, it's that AI doesn't understand nuance and what a person is, like the body language and what they're looking like on their face. So I think for a while it's gonna be really obvious when something is just a prompt versus when something has intent behind it. And hopefully we can tell the difference. I think for the time being we can. And if at some point the AI fucking makes you cry, then I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Yeah, and and honestly, like we're not gonna know when it happens, if it happens, but that's up to the individual person who's making it too. I mean, people are always gonna use technology for nefarious purposes and for things that take away from other people, but for the most part, I mean, I have a delusional sense in humanity where I think the best of everybody. So I know it's really hard right now in order to do it, but if I don't have that, I think I'll just go crazy. So I I mean, we'll see. We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Yeah, I I've been realizing that I am I am kind of a nihilist, and I didn't know this about myself until like last year. But I like I I have like nihilistic thoughts, but then I think I'm optimistic in the way that I act and the way that I bring myself to the world. But yeah, man, life is hard. We gotta do things that make us happy. The the planet is dying, our leaders are corrupt. All of that womp womp. Like, let's let's listen to Brenda and Real Housewives of Area.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

Let's let's stream Brenda a couple times and forget about the world. Is that really like the biggest thing we have to squash right now? Like, come on.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

We've been talking for 20 minutes and haven't mentioned the O. So let's talk about the O. Yes. Um, so what when I think about the O, you're definitely somebody who stands out in my mind. I mean, most clearly playing like mom and dad against you and Will getting their tickets. Like, I mean, like Will would give me five, and I'd be like, Will didn't give me any, and then you would give me a few and all night just bouncing around.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Oh my god. I have to say though, like honestly, like I we all know you you guys were were the club kids without being like you know, like I said, nefarious purposes, you guys didn't have any. Like it wasn't like you were stealing from anybody, it wasn't like you were making anybody feel bad. You guys were always such a uh I I dare to say breath of fresh air because there was no fresh air. But you guys were always so it was always kind of a funny thing, you know. You guys would come in and play your bit, almost felt like, but it was just you being you, and then it would be like, I don't have any drink tickets. And then I would, you know, get on the thing and ask Will, and he'd be like, No, I already gave them to him, and then you know, you'd laugh and walk away. But you guys were always so fun to be around, and you guys brought such a an atmosphere of of joy, like you. Couldn't see you on the dance floor without wanting to join in. You know, there was there was a nice thing about it.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

It's so nice to hear that because I feel like it was so chaotic and you feel like chaotic as hell and like messy, but it's nice to hear that generally people were having a good time. Because I mean I would get a hard time for being a mess and doing drugs and blah blah blah. But yeah, I look back at that time in nightlife. It definitely did get dark after that. But I feel like it was is there a buzzing? Do you hear that? Is that aliens? Okay. Um, they're here, they heard us.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Yeah, Palladians have arrived.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah, it's nice to hear that that was the positive experience that you had because that's what I was feeling. But like take me back to your memory of the oh, how did it come into your life? How did you get involved?

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Oh, that's that's actually a really funny story. So I I my ex is from my ex Tim is from Australia. And so we were kind of back and forth between Canada and Australia for a long time. And after we had gotten married after a couple years, we ended up going to Australia for Christmas for um to spend time with his family. And while I was there, I mean, we were supposed to go for two weeks, and I think Tim was getting ready to go. Hi, Tim Simpson, if you're listening to this, love you. Um, he's such a great guy. Um, but we were kind of getting ready to go back, and I had this thought in my head, like, maybe I'm gonna stay a bit longer. Like, how do you say that to your partner kind of thing? So I just did and ended up staying there for I don't know, a month and a half or something like that. Just such a, I'm such a different person now. But, anyways, at the tail end of me being there, I actually got a message on, I believe it was Facebook from Will. And uh he said, Hey, we are looking for an assistant manager. I didn't know the, you know, what had gone down. I don't want to say drama, but some stuff had gone down where the previous assistant manager had gotten let go. And so I said, Yeah, let's talk about it. And so we had a quick um like video interview, and he said, you know, if you want the job, they seem to really like you. And so that's what kicked my butt to fly back to Canada and had an interview, I think two days after I had landed back in Canada and had started like three days after that, or something like that. So, I mean, Will and I had known each other for a very, very, very long time, and he knew that I was, you know, I don't want to say responsible. I was, I was responsible then. I truly was. Like that wasn't that wasn't a messy period in my life or anything like that. So um it it was it it turned into something that I would have never thought it was, because the Odyssey was the first gay bar I ever went to. Like when I was 19. I walked into the Odyssey, I was with my friend Kate, I think, and we were driving on Davy, and she said, Hey, do you want to go to a gay bar? It was like 11:30, and I had come out not that long before, and I was like, Oh my god, I don't know, like just springing it on me. And I remember walking in there, and I believe it was New Year's, and I believe this is why it was happening. I don't think this happened all the time, but I walked through the front door, and of course, just taking in the lights, taking in the atmosphere, taking in the music and everything that was like the you know, sweaty Odyssey on a Friday night or whatever it was, and remember looking across to where the shower I learned was when there was uh no shower there, or maybe they were propped up on the stoop. But I remember seeing Joan and she was standing there, like this huge presence of a person that is even five feet above what they should be, and just be, I had never been around a drag queen in my life. And Joan has an open bottle of bubbles, and there is a crowd of people under her with their mouths open, and she's pouring bubbles into their mouth. And I just remember being like, Kate, where are we right now? And like little did I know, like six years later, seven years later, something like that, that I would be managing the damn place. It was it was really it was surreal, very surreal.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

I so Joan comes up in every conversation, so waiting for her to come on the damn show. Um I I I for some reason I'm surprised that you hadn't you like you had just come out, but I guess that was so that was like seven years before I met you then.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Yeah, oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:27

So go ahead, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

No, I was gonna say the the other thing is like, I mean, I became very, very familiar with the Odyssey after that because I had lived, um, I was living on Seymour and Davy, so I was like literally, I could roll to the Odyssey, um, and would meet my friends Corwin and Louie there and everything like that, like all the time, just on a whim. Um, but that's also when Tim and I got married, like, we wanted to have our after party, and every all of us went in our tucks and our nice things, and we walked into the Odyssey, and Dale was like, Oh, did you guys get married? And just like let us in for free and everything. So, like, by the time I had gotten married, like two years after that, or something like that, three years, like I was familiar enough, let's just say, with the bouncers that Dale was like, Hi, honey, are you married? Like, and just coming in. So it was just like it was such a nice family atmosphere. I had no qualms about accepting that job. I knew it was gonna be crazy. And like I knew it was gonna be crazy the first day I started there, and Dale walked in, as he did every single night at like whatever it was, 8 p.m. and said, Good morning, everyone. You know, that was the line every single time. And you knew that Dale had arrived when he wished you a good morning at 8 p.m. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

I I can hear Dale's voice in your head, hi honey. Um I remember when I was first getting like working my way into the O, and I would be drunk, and he was like, I don't come to your work and give you a hard time, honey. Like just so sassy. Um, I do like, I wonder what it would be like to work there because it was like I it was a time in nightlife before not before rules, but it was before like people had camera phones, but it was before we filmed everything. Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

It was mostly mostly like a digital camera that your friend had in her purse kind of thing, like truly.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Exactly. Exactly. Do you remember Vicki Tong? Who would like take pictures of everything?

SPEAKER_00 28:29

Oh my god, yes. And it was so funny, is some of the only pictures I have from oh, so yeah, I entered Odyssey Man of the Year, is that what it was called? Uh for the poster, the poster thing. I remember entering that, and and and Vicki just like some of the only pictures I have of me that night is is from that camera.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

So yeah, I was just like, you would wake up the next day and there would be like a million pictures. And there's that joke now about millennials, how we would go out, um, take a million photos, not look at them, just upload them. Maybe we looked good, maybe we looked bad, maybe we were doing drugs, and it was like, who cares? This is great.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

I mean, honestly, if you go back, I should really, really weed through those, but if you go back, there's some very questionable stuff on there. And just as millennials were just like, that that happened, you know, like that just just leave it. What's the embarrassment? That was literally probably close to 12. Well, it was 20 years ago now, you know. Like, I'm not going to go through and be like, this didn't happen and this didn't happen. I think the very fact that we photo dumped itself is just telling of the time and telling of our history. So, I mean, kind of editing that is editing our history. That's terrible.

SPEAKER_01 29:40

I know that people are like, Facebook is dead and blah blah blah. And I've had a few friends who deleted it. I don't know why they would do that because like my whole life since I was early 20s is there, and I don't have fucking physics. I mean, I have some physical pictures on my wall, but not really. That's my whole life.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

What are you gonna do with all of those pictures, right? Like it it's I would want those for myself if I ended up deleting my Facebook for some reason that is you know unbeknownst to me right now. But what and then what? And then where do they live? Like we go through technology like water now, you know, those things can so easily be eliminated. I know that I've had files just switching laptops or switching phones that have gone missing, and that would just be that would be devastating to me. Yeah, it was like that with Instagram for a little while too. I would always make an Instagram post, like if something was happening, and Instagram kind of became the photo book of my life that I could kind of look through and be like, I was there, I was there, I was there. And you know, I'm I still have that. It's not like I post to either of these things anymore, but just having that accessible, I think, is really important to remembering who I was, where I was, because I look through some of that and I'm like, who is who's that? Where was I? Like, I still have no idea. So like the amount of stuff that I've forgotten, I can't even imagine.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

I can imagine when we're 50, 60, 70, and it's like we're like, oh, that's so cringe! Like, I can't believe I'm on Facebook. At some point, bitch, you're gonna be really fucking glad that those memories are somewhere because you might not remember or whatever. Um, so what year are we talking about when you were the manager?

SPEAKER_00 31:19

What year am I talking about? Oh my god. Um, so let's see, 2001, 2003, and then seven years later. I'm probab we're probably talking about 2010, 2010, 2000, somewhere between 2009 and 2011, 2011. Um, and I was the manager there for the last year that it was open. I think I had I had made, yeah, I know, what a time to actually be the manager. I think I had made my exit maybe three weeks before the final day, only because I we all knew it was coming to a close, and I got a job, and Will was like, that's fine, I'll just grind for three weeks, kind of thing. But I was also at the very last night the Odyssey was open, which is just like it's in it's inexplicable. Like you talk about that night and no words can describe that night. I I remember being there with my ex at the time and like sitting there, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

We went downstairs, honey. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

And I remember us being there and standing with Ray, I think, and we were like watching that slideshow that they had. Um, and I remember watching the slideshow and seeing my face on that slideshow and just bursting into tears, and not even really at the moment. You know, when you're in your early 20s, you don't really have a mind-body connection with your emotions like you do when you're in your 40s. But at the time, I was like, why am I getting so emotional about this? And it was because I just realized after being so encompassed in what was the Odyssey and working there, that I was just part of something that was way bigger and something that was historical. And I think it all hit me all at once there. And I was just like, I was an inconsolable mess for a little bit, just seeing and feeling the honor of being on screen with all of these people who have made our history in Vancouver, you know, and even just to be just a small part of that and just a drop in the puddle was so it meant so, so, so much to me all of a sudden. And that was why it was such a mess. I didn't even realize it, you know. And I think about that now. I I look back on it and think about that. I got to be part of the history and not even as like a spotlight look-at-me thing, just as a uh that is something that will never be replicated and something that I will honor for the rest of my life, truly.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Yes, yes. You hit it on the head, and everybody brings up the last night. I re so I'm a big Courtney Love fan, and the same night as the O, Courtney Love was performing in Seattle, and my friend was like, We have to go, we had never seen her live. And I'm like, I can't fucking miss the last night of the O. She was so like depressed about it and couldn't understand why the bar was more important. And again, even though she was there at the time, I could not understand the importance. And I think not that straight people can't have this experience of having a community and in nightlife at the same time, but there's something about the history of a place being started in like the 70s, 80s, 90s when being gay was not as accepted as it is now. You hear people like Robin, who was on last time talking about how they needed it, and when that ended, in a lot of ways, young queer people now don't need those spaces necessarily, especially gay guys. We we are further ahead than trans folks are. But we can go to a straight bar generally speaking, not all the time, we can have a good time, but there was a time where you couldn't, and that's why the Odyssey means so much. And I the reason why I do these episodes is like if we don't somehow capture them, it will go away. And the last night was so it's like it was so many things. It was like the drinking, and like people were like ripping, and I don't mean the drinking, but like the way that it was like a free-for-all. It was just offline, there was no rules, honey. And it was like smoking, drugs, we were like ripping things off the wall. It was like when you see movies about gay people, there's a lot of gay men there in their prime when they're happy and celebratory, and it's so pure joy. That's what it was.

SPEAKER_00 35:31

It was pure joy, and all of the destruction was was not, it wasn't chaotic, rebellious destruction. It was like this thing is coming down that was built, and I get to be a part of this last thing and it coming down. And and just speaking of the free-for-all, I will never forget me and Tim and our friend uh Mark MKW were like hanging out near um the stairs to upstairs where the cooler was for the beer. And I just remember being like, I know where the cooler is. And I was like, why don't I just check if it's unlocked? And like I went over there. There was no lock on the cooler, got three, ended up getting three coronas, something you can't twist off. And I ended up at the end of the night with a boxer's fracture from trying to get the caps off of the off of the beer. I was bagging them against the um against the counter, and my hand was so swollen by the end of the night. I went to the doctor, he was like, You have a boxer's fracture. Did you punch somebody? And I was like, No, I was I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, it's just like here, here's some free beers.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

I'll I'll do better next time and get twist offs. That um I had the code for the upstairs. I would go up. So one time, I don't know if I've told this story. Derek, Derek and I, the bar was closing, we didn't want it to be done. So we like crawled, like we were going up and in.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

I was there that night. You were yes, I was managing that night that you guys ended up in the little cubby hole thing. Oh, Trey, I remember, I remember being like, these guys have to get out.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Did we did you guys stay there the night? We were there for a long time. And yeah, we were, I don't know why we ended up leaving, but we were like, should we just sleep here? You you guys must have come and gotten us, but we were like it, there was like a rafter. Like we were, yeah, we kept going up and up, and like yeah, thinking back now, like a bar closing and us being in a cubby hole. That was also like I had lost my keys, probably up there, and Derek like scaled the building to get into our apartment. So dangerous, without like on the outside of a building.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Yeah. Okay, you think that's bad. You listen to this. So speaking of of the people not leaving, so one of the uh one of the funniest things that's ever happened in my life, let alone one of the funniest Odyssey stories, if not the funniest, is I I was uh so I was closing a bar, and as you do with the bar every single night, you have a couple things that you need to do the checklist for, like make sure that everything is swept, just set the alarms, lock the doors, and all that. So I had done what I thought I needed to do, and I was my ex was living in Kitsalano at the time, so and this is before Uber. So I got into a cab, went all the way to Kitsalano, got into his place, he kind of woke up, I crawled into bed, and then all of a sudden my phone started buzzing. And we're talking about like it's 4 30 in the morning by this time. So I pick up the phone and it's Will. And he's like, Where are you? And I was like, I'm in Kitsalano at Tyler's. Why? And he was like, Because the alarms are going off at the Odyssey right now, and the police are on their way. And I was like, Oh my God. And then there was like a silence, and I realized that, like, bitch, he lived downtown, and I know it was my responsibility, but he wanted me to get back in a cab from Kitsalano, like, teach me a lesson kind of thing. Like, absolutely fine, probably the right thing to do. I was pissed off at the time, but I get it. So I put my clothes back on 4:30 in the morning. I get back into a cab, go all the way downtown, and in the alleyway, there's police absolutely everywhere. And I was like, hi, I'm I'm the manager, I have the keys. And they were like, Okay, thinking somebody had broken in, or I don't know, something like that. So I open the padlock, I I take the lock off, and the minute I do, the doors burst open in an explosion, and Stevie falls out of the doors onto the sidewalk. And I'm like, oh my god, Stevie! And she was like, I can't believe you trapped me in there. And we were like going back and forth. The police were like, What the hell is going on? Bitch had passed out on one of the on one of the toilets, and I had not done one of the things on my checklist, and that is check the bathroom stalls, check the bathroom stalls. I did not do that. So we have Stevie still screaming and walking down the alleyway, and I'm yelling, Stevie, are you able to get home? And she was like, I'll be fine. And I look at all the police, and the police were like, Okay, I guess we go. And I locked it back up. But the X I will never forget the terrifying explosion of those giant metal doors flinging open and having Stevie on the ground in front of me, basically crying. Oh my god. One of my core memories, if not the core memories, is insane.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

I feel like I don't know if I would be upset if I got locked in. It would depend if I had things to keep me going and if I was on my own. Well, I I I guess it's like you lock it from the outside.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

Yeah, I guess it's lock it from the outside, you set the alarm as soon as there was motion detection. It went off. Like could she hear it?

SPEAKER_01 40:59

I guess the alarm in the Odyssey was like really, really loud.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Very loud. Yeah. So she woke up on the, I'm sure there's not motion detection in the toilet, but she must have come out of the stall, not heard a thing going on. Came out of the bathroom, saw that it was empty, and as she's processing this, all of a sudden these giant alarms go off and she starts flipping out after a night of drinking. I mean, I think I would do the same too, but let me tell you, that was the first and fucking last time that I did not check the bathroom stalls before I left.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Wow, that is insane. I can't wait for her to hear this. I can't wait for her to hear this either.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Hi, Stevie. Um wow.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

I um one thing that I am always curious about is what people remember about the music at the time. Because if you think about walking into a club, whatever was popular at the time in terms of music sets the tone. It really tells you what was happening culturally in pop culture, what people were wearing, what we were like singing along to. So, what do you remember about that time?

SPEAKER_00 42:04

You know what I feel like the theme song was for me was Let Me Think About It. What is what is this Ada something? Do you remember that song with the horns? Okay. It's um yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that is the song for some reason that becomes like the theme song in my mind, and I don't know why, but if you think about that genre at the time, it was kind of like a um like a ministry of sound um kind of vibe. And I mean, Drew and Mike always did great jobs of the music, and MKW was was there quite often too. Um, and he has such good taste in music, so it it was it was definitely the popular stuff at the time and stuff that people wanted to dance to, but there was also stuff like that wasn't necessarily on the top 40 radio that became popular because it was at the Odyssey, you know. And I'm not saying it wasn't popular in other things, but we also had less avenues to discover new music, and the radio really was kind of the thing that led all of the music. So when something came up that wasn't on the radio, that was so good, you know, Drew or Mike or whoever had no problem playing it, and from then it became kind of a little bit of a gay theme, and probably in other cities as well, but because they were they were exploring other music besides top 40, which was definitely there, but I mean it was it was a really nice blend, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:35

I um there's such a good point about the radio. I also often think about like the music that influenced me that I'm obsessed with wasn't really a choice, it was like that's what I saw.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

Absolutely. It was it was it was put on you. So it was a good thing it was good. Was it though?

SPEAKER_01 43:54

Like if if we had like I remember like when I think of the Odyssey. I think of like Kesha and like Scream and like bad romance. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

And there was that top 40 stuff, but then there was no problem. Like I said, there was that there was that genre that was almost like British dance that was those ministry of sound albums that had like you know things like Benny Banasi and stuff on it, um, or like duck sauce, like Barbara Streisand, you know, like that kind of thing. Barbara Streisand. Barbara Streisand um that weren't necessarily like they were popular, but they weren't like the first 40 things you would hear on the radio. So I really appreciated that that they did that. I mean, when it really comes down to it, it was popular pop music, but it was right also correct for the atmosphere. I mean, if it's not broke, don't fix it. You could go there seven days a week and probably hear some of the same songs, and you were still just so excited to be on the dance floor and to be at the Odyssey in front of everybody and with everybody and dancing, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:56

So I have not had a dance floor experience like that since then. I think part it's part of being young, like in your 20s, and you just feel so free. But I keep telling people I would go out more if I knew they were gonna play my songs, not my songs, but like I'm just gonna email them to them before, like you gotta hear this Brana song. Exactly. Um, but yeah, it was just like you we were so in the moment of the moment, so it makes sense. The other thing I am curious about your perspective is I feel like nightlife, at least from the outside, I don't go about that much, has turned really sex focused. There seems to be a lot more dark rooms and dance parties, but in the guise of sex parties, not like full, full sex parties, but you know, a lot of younger queer people, I think because of prep maybe have just really leaned into slack culture. I don't remember that about nightlife back then. Like when I think about like going to the Odyssey, maybe some people were hooking up in the bathroom, but it was very vanilla. And when I talked to like Robin and them from like the generation before us or before, it was more cruising. Because again, it was like an oppression, they were they didn't have as many places, and I feel like me, us were in that in-between where we weren't oppressed, but we hadn't, I guess, gotten to the full liberation of like super super post AIDS crisis, pre-prep, pep, so many ways to keep us.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

That was pre-prep for sure.

SPEAKER_01 46:30

Yeah, what do you remember about like hookup culture back then?

SPEAKER_00 46:34

Yeah, no, I I honestly I don't remember it being like a and again, it could have been, um, but also I didn't go to the um what is it? Is it the black eagle in fantastic? I don't know, that's Toronto. The pump jack. I didn't go to the pump jack then, you know. Like I was I was young and I wasn't, you know, I wasn't part of bear culture or leather culture, anything like that. So I'm sure that probably maybe existed for people that, but as far as the Odyssey is concerned, I don't know. I remember doing questionable things on the dance floor, but like you said, it was very it was yeah, it was very vanilla, right? Like it was like anybody would kind of do on a dance floor at the time, whether you're straight or gay. Um, I I can't really speak to too much about like club culture and dance culture now. I honestly have no idea. Um, but I can see it makes sense what you said about being, you know, like post-prep and things like that that people uh can and on it honestly, kudos to them. Like, I I I don't know whether we missed out or whether it just was what it was, because it was, you know, it was also pre-apps, and I feel like apps like grindr and stuff like that, the hookup culture became faster and more accessible and more like ingrained into your mind. So I think that for the most part, we were just there to have a good time, yeah. And that wasn't really in the forefront, right?

SPEAKER_01 48:00

I actually think, too, now that you bring up Grindr, we were also in the early phases of that, too. So very early phases to like finding hookups in that way, and again, the younger people now grew up with it, so they're going back to like like sex in real time with people you don't know. But I guess yeah, we were in the middle, so I never considered that. I'm I'm realizing it in real time. I certainly was not thinking about it. I just wanted to be popular, I wanted to be famous, I didn't care about guys at all. At all. My boy, my boyfriends, my friends at the time really wanted boyfriends, and I just it wasn't in my mind. Like I was my priorities were so not that.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

I mean, I was married, you know. Like I was I was I was married by the time I was 22. Like I was I was a young child bride, anyways. And honestly, like for the most part, like on the time period that we're talking about, I was working, and you know, there's some some things had happened with the previous assistant manager that I was privy to, and I didn't want to risk my job. I really liked my job, I appreciated where I was, I liked the people that I was discovering and people that I was socializing with. And it was more of like that cultural like realization that I was a little bit part of something bigger, or you know, talking with Paul and Jay and Stevie and all of those people after the bar, all of the people who were allowed onto you know the patio after hours, and and realizing that there was so much to like take in from that. And on top of it, like twice a night, I was giving change to the bartenders, I was giving them roll of quarters, I was like, you know, kicking people out. It wasn't like I I was I was pretty serious about my job. Good point.

SPEAKER_01 49:42

Yes, you were. Um, and I do remember that. Like you guys had to keep it together because as loose as it was, if you guys didn't, dear God, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 49:54

I honestly it it was an exercise in patience for sometimes, uh but I can absolutely verify that, whether it was you guys or whether it was really anybody. Like it is an exercise in patience to be part of a nightclub. And I remember like I remember even being at the back door with the with the the the bouncer, the um door guy. I forget his name right now, actually.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

Um backdoor?

SPEAKER_00 50:18

Yeah, short guy.

SPEAKER_01 50:21

Oh, put a pin in it, we'll find out.

SPEAKER_00 50:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I remember being with him and during like a um like a less than busy time, him being like, Well, what are you gonna do if you ever have to kick somebody out? And I was like, What do you mean? Like physically? Like I had never you know gone into like martial arts or like anything like that. And he had, and so he was like, Well, do you want to learn a couple things? And I was like, Yeah, okay. So over the course of like three nights, we learned, like he said, if somebody pushes you with this hand, this is what you do, and then it goes behind their arm, and just like all of these moves and stuff like that. And I thought, I'm never gonna have to use these. And then, not even joking, two weeks later, I had this guy that was completely incoherent, and he started getting a little like I came up to him and I was like, Hey, buddy, you gotta go. Because there is one thing that the Odyssey did not put up with, and that was like, if people are falling down, they have to go. Like, they're not it, it truly is, and I don't remember anything except like Will being like, Okay, that guy's gotta go, that guy's gotta go, just to keep the atmosphere positive, I guess, because people like that aren't in their right mind. They're they're going to react. And this guy did react, and he went to push me. And all of a sudden, just out of instinct, after like three days of being at the back, all of a sudden I had him in like a head thing, and his arms were behind his head. And I remember you always lean back so that they're on their tippy toes, so that they don't have like a steady ground. And I remember going through the back patio and kicking out out out the um out the back entrance and people that I knew looking and being like, what the hell is going on with Nick right now? Like, I didn't even surprise myself, and they were like, Okay, I guess don't mess with him. And I was like, you know, it's fine, everybody keep working, we're good.

SPEAKER_01 52:08

I never remember seeing things like that.

SPEAKER_00 52:10

It was such a uh It happens so few and far between, honestly. Like the the energy and the atmosphere was so positive that it didn't really lend itself to that. It wasn't like a degenerate place in in the way that would get in the way of anybody else's fun. It was degenerate for the sake of being fun. And if you cross the line, you gotta go. Like that's just a point.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

What do you remember about Straight Girls coming?

SPEAKER_00 52:35

Um, I need to be PC. Um, I remember them trying to get in the back door and that not happening.

SPEAKER_01 52:44

Oh, were they not allowed in the back door?

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Well, I mean, it was a looking back on it, it was a pretty questionable kind of policy, but it was men only in the back door. Right. It was. It was. And looking back on that, I'm like, that would not fly now.

SPEAKER_01 53:04

Well, but listen, listen, listen. This is a place that was made for gay men when we had nowhere else to go. It's it's you can't look at it through the lens of 2026 because you can't it wasn't, I mean, I guess it was like sexist in practicality. But we we all of our best friends were women, and they did come in when they were women, I am sure of it.

SPEAKER_00 53:28

They they just had to go through the front door, and the reason was, and again, I'm not defending it or I'm not pro it. I'm not, I'm gonna be Switzerland on this just for the sake of being kind of a little bit, you know, neutral. But and I do have my opinions about it, I just won't share. But um, you know, you could go through the front door, and we constantly had them talking to each other at the front and the back just to make sure that three bachelorette parties weren't showing up and taking over the population of the bar and then having regulars or people that were part of the community, or you know, all of the at one of the doors not able to come in. So it was like, I'm letting this group in, and then I won't let a whole bunch of people in. And they were kind of categorizing who they were letting in just to make sure that we were being fair to our community, because we all know, I mean, celebrities is a great example. We all know that clubs can be I don't want to say taken over in a negative sense because everybody deserves to have space. But when that space is reserved for safety concerns and somewhere that you want to feel belong, as that's something that certain groups of people can't relate to. And so they're not doing it maliciously, but making sure that there's a great balance so that our community can really indulge in a place that they they uh can call their own, I think was especially a fair thing at the time.

SPEAKER_01 55:02

Yeah, I don't think people realize what it was like to have people come to the gay bar as a novelty and sort of see the guys in their briefs, like the go-go dancers, especially on a Thursday, right? Totally, and the twinks and like just like the stereotypical things that they think about when they see a gay bar and coming and being like, oh my god, I love it. And it's yeah, they think they're there to add acceptance, or it's like we're cool with it. But yes, it would just it was just a little like them coming to the zoo.

SPEAKER_00 55:37

It it was like it, you you honestly you started to feel a little bit like an animal behind the cage, like for for entertainment purposes, and like I said, everybody deserves to have space. Um it's not their fault they don't know the history right away. I'm trying to be careful with my words, but um, but knowing knowing where that thing is coming from, and it it comes down to experience and age group as well, because the I mean the age group we're talking about is is not necessarily 40-year-old people, you know, it it was mostly 20-year-old, like a group of 20-year-old women that were coming in and being like, I love every gay person. It's like, okay, well, that in itself is a lot of people. I love gay. I love gay. And I was like, but I I I understand why it was done, and I wouldn't fly now, and it doesn't need to fly now as much. You know, the landscape has changed. People don't, I'm not gonna say everybody, but in general, I think the sheer mass of people that need safe spaces like that is less and less, and and this generation is really a little bit more incorporated with sexuality and things like that. And everybody is still in danger in certain atmospheres, especially trans people, especially trans people of color, uh, you know, uh, but I I think that it doesn't, it wouldn't have to fly right now. There's not as much of a need for it. And then it it was, so I'm understanding why it was like that.

SPEAKER_01 57:06

We have more context now. Like the the rise of social media has made it easier to understand why things are the way they are. Um and like, yeah, I mean, celebrities, you're right. It's a good it was it is a good example back then of what what was possible if you didn't have some boundaries. And now you have like Charlie, XCX, who like is like, I was at a gay bar doing coke in the bathroom, and then the sky was getting railed, and she knows what gay culture is. So when she goes to the bar, a gay bar, she's like, she's stepping into our world and she's she's meeting us where we are. It's not like popcorn, but without without social media, I think, in the visibility and the conversation. I mean, just social consciousness has changed. We're just like for like the whole time I was in like during my heyday, everybody on a poster was like a white twink or like a white person.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

1000%, yes.

SPEAKER_01 58:00

The whole world I felt was catered to me, like me personally. Blonde, young, twink, it all the pop stars look like me. Yeah, but like I saw myself represented everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 58:12

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 58:13

I can imagine what it would have been like to be like, you know, not that.

SPEAKER_00 58:18

Not that, anything not that, and that was like that was in every aspect of culture. That wasn't just like the gay bars, it was just like it was it was a thing of the time. Speaking of pop stars, remember when Gaga showed up?

SPEAKER_01 58:30

Do I remember when Gaga showed up? Odyssey God, yes, I do. So Drew came on. We talked about this and how it was like a Wednesday night, it was not expected, there was not a lot of people in the bar.

SPEAKER_00 58:43

No, um, I remember I got there. I'd like I said, I was living on Seymour and DV. I was there in a heartbeat because she had just come out with Just Dance.

SPEAKER_01 58:51

Yeah, it was like Just Dance Poker Face. She was on the rise, she was on the rise.

SPEAKER_00 58:56

Yeah, and she was at I think she played Richards on Richards, if I'm not missing.

SPEAKER_01 59:01

I think it was Commodore. She had just done Richards on Richards, and then Commodore, like within okay.

SPEAKER_00 59:07

So I remember going to Richards on Richards and seeing her, and there was like a spot of people there, and it was just so incredible. Like, yeah, just and and then shortly afterwards, somebody was like, Gaga, is at the Odyssey, and it didn't have the weight that it does now. I was like, Oh, that girl I keep seeing, totally, yeah, yeah. Uh, she was so she was so kind and so nice to everybody, and she was a great example of understanding even back then, understanding where she was and why she was there and what was going on. And sure, she was doing it for self-promotion, but she was also very respectful of like the space and and the people and everything, really.

SPEAKER_01 59:44

She was she was, yeah. I mean, from day one, she was all about the gays. Um, people were like, Madonna was first, but I I mean, whatever. I didn't grow up with Madonna in the same way we grew up with Gaga, but yeah, I do remember that she was very approachable. She was like her, it was a lavender wig, the teacup. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:02

The teacup era, yeah. Just just the thinking about that now, and just thinking of being in the vicinity. Like, I was like three people, three short people away from I didn't actually talk to her, I didn't converse with her, but just being like, Oh, the wig is right there, I could reach out and touch it. Like, that's that's pretty that's pretty cool. And actually, yeah, a wig and uh and just kind of like testament to what the Odyssey was. I mean, she didn't go to any other bar, it was the Odyssey that she went to, and there's a reason, you know, and whether it was conscious or not, and whether it was vibes from the universe, like it, it's not a it's not a coincidence that it was the Odyssey. That's what I said.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:43

No, you wouldn't be able to do that now. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:45

No God, no.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:47

Um, before we wrap up, I want to hear about Segordi Beaver coming back, honey.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:51

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:52

Tell me about this. What's happening?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:54

So it was it was kind of it was forced on me and it was an accident, but I'm actually really enjoying myself. So I live on the Sunshine Coast in BC here, and um, when I moved away 10 years ago, there was no gay scene. There was no this is a small place, it's beautiful, but it's small. Um, when I came back home, all there was a drag troop and it was incredible, pine and sandy, and they ended up kind of carving out this niche in the Sunshine Coast that I didn't know the Sunshine Coast was ready for. And I mean, it's testament to a small town that it's mostly drag kings, you know, because there's still kind of a little bit of a, you know, uh a thing about it. So I'm one of the only drag queens. Um like one of two, maybe. Um, but and and I had performed with them once. Um, we do this, we've done this event before that we did last year that we're actually doing the last Saturday in May again. Um, it's called Dirtbag Drag, and it is a trashy good times, and basically we have a punk rock band that is it Bloody Benny. No, no, no, no, no. Um our punk rock band is our friends SFH, and um, they play the music and then we sing to or we lip sync to a live band, and it's all punk versions of the songs. So I'll be doing sports car by Tate McRae, punk version, um, which is actually really good. But we just started rehearsals because it does take some rehearsing to do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:24

That is a really cool concept. It is not easy to stand out with everybody having like a drag brunch and stuff now.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree. We had never seen it before. My friend Faye, um, who has a uh a company called um uh coastal hosts, um, when I came back, they were doing like uh like bingo nights and they were doing name that tune and just a whole bunch of stuff that we didn't have on the coast before. And there was actually things for people our age to do. So now every every Pride Sigourney helps host the bingo. Um, we're doing dirtbag drag coming up, and the first time dirtbag drag came around, my friend Kurt was like, so uh we're uh that's really funny. I didn't even put the connection, but I did do a whole song the first time. It was it was the first track from the album. What's it called? Um Celebrity Scan, no Violet. Oh, that album. Yeah, that album Violet by Hole, and he was like, So, this is the song we have prepared. Do you want to do it? And I all that was going through my brain is like, this is my hometown. And for me to get into drag, like, could be either absolutely disastrous for my psyche or it could be full-on therapy, and it ended up being the latter, and it was so well received. Um, that I've done a couple of shows since then, and I I mean, I'm by no means a professional drag queen, but Sigourney Beaver definitely has a style, and she I need to see, send me pictures. Yeah, I'll send some pictures. I I just I guess I didn't realize I was such a theater nerd growing up. Um, I didn't realize how much I missed performing. Do I like doing drag? I it's a pain in the ass, as far as I'm concerned, but I love being up in front of everybody, you know, like and I love being able to see the joy on people's face, especially in the small town that I grew up in that didn't have a gay scene or even say the word gay. And now to to be up there helping out that scene, it it's it's uh therapeutic at best. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:23

Well, congratulations for the thing. I um I Evan and I were considering Sunshine Coast. We live on Burnaby Mountain now, but I think we'll end up up there at some point.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:34

It's beautiful, and there's a whole bunch more going on to actually do than when I was a kid or even 10 years ago when I moved to the States. Um, and we can thank you know coastal hosts for that. Um, and just these these people that found a niche and they were gay and they wanted to be gay in public, and you know, it kind of worked out. So good.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

It's all Sigorny Beaver, Born at the Odyssey. The Odyssey spirit lives on. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:00

I did Dragon Dog Days Are Over by uh I remember that was the first time I heard Florence in the Machine.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:05

I was like, Who is it?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:06

I remember you saying I remember walking up to you and Tommy were sitting on the pole, like where the pole was, the stripper pole. Um, and you guys were sitting there. I remember walking up to you guys, and I remember Tommy going, Where did your penis go? And then I remember afterwards coming off the stage, and you'd be like, What was that song? And I was like, It's Florence and the Machine. Yeah, I do remember that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:30

The dawn of Florence and the Machine. So just remember people at some point, yeah, they were a brand new hot band.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:37

They were a hot band with a hot track. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:40

Thank you for coming, Nick. I thank you, Peter. It's been really fun. Yeah, you're gonna like this episode, and I'll have to come to the Sunshine Coast to see you the drive show.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:48

Please, please do. If not this time, then I'll I'll keep you in the loop. Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:52

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:54

Maxwell, Maxwell.