limelight

My first job in Chicago was at the Limelight when it just opened in 1985. I had just started attending the Art Institute and I wasn't even 21 yet. Peter Gatien was there to hire people and there was this long line down the block. Everyone else in line looked pretty normal and I felt a bit out of place with what I was wearing. I had these blue and green plaid pants rolled up with boots and suspenders and my shirt was an old French paratrooper snow shirt (?) that had an 8" collar. I had the collar tucked down and pinned together with a seahorse. I wish I had a picture of that. Peter Gatien took one look at me and said I was hired.

I worked there a few months and it was rough with school. Breakfasts with crew or after parties that went from 5AM - 1PM. You feel like a zombie after a while. One of my teachers threw an eraser at my head when I fell asleep in her 9AM class. Later, when I knew her better and she knew who I was dating from school (and would later marry), she thought it was perfect. I was fired for walking out with a beer which basically everyone there did. We all took beers and went and smoked somewhere and talked and then took the train home. Somehow I was singled out that night. No great loss there.