I'm so sorry about Danny. It's really hard and surreal. I think about him every day. Danny was such an important force in my life. He really shaped a lot of things for me during those formative years. Danny introduced me to so many important artistic influences. When we were together there would be these very beautiful and dramatic shifts from extremely absurd, grotesque, and shocking humor to Danny's warmth from the extremely loving big heart he had. He was such a sweetheart. He also wasn't afraid to show a sensitivity and emotions that most people would try to mask.
I remember once we went to a Blackhawks game right around this time of year for his birthday. It may have actually been on his birthday. On the drive there Danny played The Smiths and he sang along to them beautifully. We would also go to karaoke at this place and the owners of the bar were obsessed with Danny and his mohawk and Danny would put on these beautiful performances. He was a great performer!
Danny was really ahead of his time too. We would watch cartoons and press the pause button to admire interesting freeze frames. Now 15 years later it is a thing on the internet where people post bizarre and sort of abstract or hilarious freeze frames from old cartoons.
I go to certain places and I cry as I recall memories. What was once a Burger King in Evanston on the Northwestern campus, Odd Obsession Video (across the street from Steppenwolf Theatre), and The Metra. I first met Danny on the Metra and we would have these very profound and often hilarious experiences while headed to and from school. Danny really helped me navigate the weirdness of high school and those teenage years.
The first time I went to your place in Evanston and Danny introduced me to you, Jan, he told me (in front of you) that I could remember your name from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. "Dammit Janet!" he said. To this day I say "Dammit Janet" on reflex when I drop my phone or something with a very fond memory of this.
It was also incredible watching over time things evolve as the internet entered our lives. Here's Danny with a smartphone! He would send me really hilarious things that were often controversial and shocking where I would feel like gosh I can't have this on my phone but I'd be on the floor laughing. He was so dynamic. The absurdity ran very deep into something extremely complex and nuanced that the average person wouldn't really be able to understand. Perhaps challenging for many but in a way that stimulated growth. He was brilliant.
I last saw Danny about one year prior to his departure to the date at the Roxy Theater. We saw some insane Italian movie from the 1970s — I believe it was called Tis Pity She a Whore. We were laughing at the fact that the film print was so old it was just a splatter streak of pink. Danny was also joking about Steve Guttenberg but also going on about how awesome Steve Guttenberg is. We were talking about making a movie together after that and I think that would have been really hilarious. Danny was an incredible artist.
Thank you for bringing Danny into our lives. I love Danny so much. I believe in the woowoo stuff that science rejects. I know he is still with us.
Vinny de Giulio (Chicago)