[MEDIA=4]

Subject #4
Damon Locks
Filmed November 30, 2007
Empty Bottle Photo Booth
Chicago, Illinois

Damon Locks, a Silver Spring native, is the dynamic frontman of the genrebusting Chicago trio the Eternals and a former member of the postpunk quartet Trenchmouth, which enjoys an enthusiastic cult following. I met Damon on February 22, 2007 when I played with the Eternals in Pittsburgh. Before his performance, Damon encouraged those present to move closer to the stage. Singers seeking to inspire indifferent crowds routinely take refuge in ubiquitous “Please come closer!” rallying cries, but Damon’s exhortation carried an usual confidence. “Trust me,” Damon said. “If you move up, the show will be better.” The crowd did move closer, and the show was incredible.

A few days later, the Eternals and I played in New Haven, Connecticut. After the show, we slept on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where I knew an ethnomusicology student with available floorspace. To thank my ethnomusicologist friend, Damon sang him the theme song to Krofft Superstars, once a popular children’s television program. During Damon’s performance, my cell phone began ringing, effectively ruining it.