publisher's desk (Belltown's Glory Days Part IV)

Fabulous People I Met at the Speakeasy Cafe:
Where Are They Now?

Like many young 30-somethings in the 1990s I was excited about the rapidly-growing Internet because I was convinced it would revolutionize my life by making me absurdly wealthy. Of course I eventually came to learn that money is over-rated, maybe, because the riches never materialized, but the 'net improved my life in subtler and finer ways, thanks to my association with Belltown's Speakeasy Internet Cafe -- located three hundred feet from my apartment -- and the fantastic folks I met there.

In June of 1995 The Speakeasy opened at the corner of 2nd and Bell, just downstairs from Belltown's historic 211 Billiards Club. Their legendary opening night party was attended by Krist Novoselic -- still covered in stardust from his days as bass player for one of the world's great rock bands -- and other local superstars. Days later I walked in to introduce myself to the staff and was surprised to see a handsome, well-dressed young man playing jazz riffs on the piano in the lobby. "We're a long way from grungeville," I thought as I observed that the women working behind the counter seemed like the type of well-read, attractive, scene-savvy girls you'd meet at an Ivy League mixer; a sweet change from the surly, overtattooed, ill-educated Seattle ladies I had been contending with since 1990. The Speakeasy was giving away hosting services and email accounts to all kinds of individuals and non-profits, and the good karma was paying off: the world's news media converged on the place almost daily, eager to spread the word about one of the first Internet cafes.

The opening of The Speakeasy hinted at a new era for Seattle hipsters, in which punk rock and heroin would be replaced by civilized conversation, creative collaborations and stock option riches for anyone who could type a few words into the Netscape web browser. You could call it gentrification, and many of my peers did in fact score big enough to become the new gentry; sometimes they even deserved it. It was an exciting time to be a Belltowner, and The Speakeasy was Ground Zero: all kinds of fascinating, energetic people met there and exchanged creative juices over coffee, sometimes -- if I was lucky -- right after smoking pot with me in the alley. And The Speakeasy had beer, too! Things that are too good to be true have a short shelf life, of course, but my memories do not: here's a rundown of just a few of the intriguing, stimulating and maddening folks I came to know at The Speakeasy before it, and Seattle's dotcom glory days, imploded.

Mike & Gretchen Apgar
THEN: Co-founded Speakeasy with $100,000 in loans. NOW: Mike left Speakeasy in 2006 to start his own firm, ookla.com, and he and Gretchen now have two beautiful daughters.
ookla.com

Joel Bachar
THEN: Held a monthly screening of short films called "Independent Exposure" in the back room of The Speakeasy, which they let him use for free. NOW: Fell in love with a wealthy lady and followed her to San Francisco, where he continues to show short films.
microcinema.com

Cassandria Blackmore
THEN: An aspiring artist who worked for a dotcom startup called Hyperbole, which failed. NOW: Married a handsome musician and moved to a house in the woods north of Seattle, where she raises her kids and continues to create and sell her stained-glass inspired artwork.
cassandriablackmore.com

Scott Blum
THEN: Started iMusic.com, the "MTV of the Internet." NOW: Moved to L.A. after selling iMusic to Marc Geiger (of Lollapalooza fame) for big bucks; lives the life of a country gentleman and helps his wife run her New Age website, "The Daily OM." (Disclosure: I worked for iMusic, and Scott paid me generously to do so).
dailyom.com

Max P. Chandler
THEN: Programming wizard and artist. NOW: Programming guru and artist, world traveler, "Painting, making movies, making jingles, making a computer game." His girlfriend is an Israeli pop singer. (Disclosure: I thought Max was so fabulous that I named my son after him!)
maxfieldchandler.net

Staci Dinehart
THEN: Production artist for Microsoft and world traveler. NOW: A successful real estate agent for Keller Williams Realty, and a mom.
stacid.com

Elle D'Orado

Jonathan Hart Eddy
THEN: A brilliant graphic artist and computer wonk, helped start the Stranger and was the brains behind the desktop publishing there (their first two art directors were computer illiterate); worked for Adobe and Wizards of the Coast and also Seth Warshavsky. NOW: Went under the knife to become Johanna Wilder, a full-function female.

Kelly Gilliam
THEN: Apprenticed to the Black Dog Forge (located in the back of The Speakeasy) while still a teenager; Kelly eventually became a fabulous metalsmith with a roster of well-heeled clients. NOW: Kelly quit the Forge in 2006 to pursue a degree in Business Management.

Tim Harris
THEN: New in town, he was starting up a homeless-advocacy newspaper. NOW: The Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project runs "a weekly newspaper (sold by the homeless), an advocacy group, a Homeless Speakers Bureau, and literary workshops."
realchangenews.org

Jim Hogshire
THEN: By 1995 Jim's career as an underground writer specializing in drug advocacy was slowing down as the drugs finally began to kick in, but he was still fabulously entertaining. NOW: As a devout Muslim Anarchist with a conviction for "Attempted Possession of an Improvised Device," Jim has kept a low profile since 9/11, although his book "You Are Going To Prison" was made into a box-office disaster ("Let's Go To Prison") starring Will Arnett.
letsgotoprison.com

Clark Humphrey

Jonathan Jay
THEN: Pioneering Indie Media activist, graphic artist and FUCC Pirate Radio DJ. NOW: Moved to Hawaii with his girlfriend.
jonathan@dakauai.com

12-26-2007 Update: "i now live on Kaua'i, making my living as an Architectural Designer, and my play time hiking, surfing, and doing activist journalism to develop a sustainable Kaua'i. - www.dakaui.com www.islandbreath.org "

xxxxx "Taffy" xxxxxx

xxxx xxxx (edited 1-2-2010)
THEN: The xxxxxxxx computer genius of the original Speakeasy crew by far; he lucked out in hooking up with all these fabulous xxxxxxx. NOW: xxxx is now known as xxxx and is xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.

Chris Osburn
THEN: Mild-mannered Speakeasy computer genius, sliding toward dotcom burnout. NOW: Trying to find meaning as a Metro bus driver, sliding toward blue-collar burnout.
christopher.osburn.name

James "Popeye" Lane
THEN: The most interesting member of the Seattle industrial anarchist noise band known as Tchkung, a band that burned money onstage at a show they charged six dollars to attend; lived in a squat above what is now the Flying Fish, founded FUCC pirate radio, was hired by Pearl Jam to run their traveling pirate radio station. NOW: Built, owned, operated and ultimately sold organic Wi/Fi-internet/juice-gallery/pirate radio station called the Gravityfeed in Berkeley, now sailing to Hawaii with his wife.

Jeff Polage

Archie O'Connor
THEN: Probably the biggest promoter/music scenester of the '90s (along with Dave Meinert), founder of Belltown Records, manager of bands, industry consultant, and lead singer in the band "Dodi" (named after the notorious barmaid at the old Rendezvous). NOW: Works doing Internet-related things for the music industry in New York.

Louie Raffloer
THEN: Founder of The Black Dog Forge. NOW: Still at the Forge designing custom metalwork for clients all over the world, including many rock stars; getting back into photography after a twenty-year hiatus.
blackdogforge.com

David Russell
THEN: Old money Seattle rich kid and an acclaimed classical guitarist, co-founder of The Speakeasy. NOW: He did not get rich on the Internet or see a need to do so.

Jeffrey Sparks

Alex Steffen

Cristien Storm
THEN: Speakeasy employee, guerilla artist and writer; co-founded feminist non-profit Home Alive following the death of her friend Mia Zapata. NOW: Still fabulous, still an artist and writer, still in Seattle and now a counselor in private practice helping people deal with grief and addiction; also training other activists.
cristienstorm.com

Heidi Schreck
THEN: Aspiring actress and Speakeasy employee. NOW: After starring in a Seattle-produced feature film version of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," Heidi moved to the even greener pastures of New York City where she recently starred in the title role of "Major Barbara," as staged by The Theater of a Two-Headed Calf.

Joe Newton
THEN: Drummer for post-punk band Gas Huffer and accomplished artist, Joe was at the Speakeasy to better himself by learning computers and desktop publishing. NOW: Art director for Rolling Stone magazine in New York.

veronica Thompson

On May 18, 2001 my girlfriend Kristin (we are now married) burst into my apartment to tell me the Speakeasy was on fire. I jumped out of the bathtub and we headed up the street with my video camera. Sure enough, the top floor of the place was a melted, smoking mess. Joel Bachar borrowed my camera and filmed the stunned onlookers, footage which I have never watched. It was the painful end of a sweet era.

Undaunted, Speakeasy continued to blossom (they are now valued at over a billion dollars), offering VoIP, DSL and T1 services nationwide. In July of 2005, ten years after the opening of The Speakeasy Cafe, the building which had housed it was finally torn down. It is now a vacant lot awaiting yet more Belltown condos.

-Alex R. Mayer

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