A follower of the Mode for over 20 years...

"I can still remember seeing the video to 'Never Let Me Down Again' for the first time way back in 1987.  There was this odd little television program I'd discovered called 'New Grooves with Meg Griffin' (not to be confused with the character on 'Family Guy'), and on this show they played videos by all these wonderful artists I'd never heard before - bands like the Cure, the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, Love and Rockets, Sisters of Mercy, the Mission UK, etc.

Well, on one fateful fall night, they showed the video for Depeche Mode's 'Never Let Me Down Again.'  I was hooked.  I had seen (and enjoyed) the video for 'People Are People' a few years before, but this was something new - darker and more bizarre.  Why were they running around this big wheat field?  Why was one of them carrying  a megaphone?  What exactly did the main guy mean when he sang 'As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers?'  The music was fantastic, the lyrics were intriguing, and I found myself hooked.  I had videotaped the episode, and played that video again and again, much to my parent's annoyance.

For Christmas, I received a cassette tape of Music for the Masses as one of my stocking stuffers.  At that point, my collection began, and I soon found myself buying every Depeche Mode cassette that I could.  In 1988, I moved on to buying the domestic 12" singles on vinyl, then found out that they had all these other single releases on imported vinyl ... Throw in the fact that I got started in the DJ industry that year, and you'll understand why any hope of a 'normal' high school existence was pretty much doomed.

In 1989, Depeche Mode released 'Personal Jesus' about a month before I started DJing my own shows.  The next year brought us the spectacular 'Enjoy the Silence' and Violator, the album many fans regard as Depeche Mode's finest work (though I'm personally a bit more partial to Black Celebration).

Since that point, I've been lucky enough to see Depeche Mode perform in concert six times (1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2001, and 2005), and I've somehow become one of the most thorough Depeche Mode collectors in this part of the country.  I don't DJ as much as I did in my younger years, and I have other obsessions to worry about these days (like a son)... but I still buy every new Mode single and scramble to obtain every rare new remix that I can - especially on vinyl.  :)

It is a distinct honour to be able to present this special 'Depeche Mode night' at one of my favourite places in Tulsa, the Gypsy Coffee House."

By the way...  If you want to learn more about me, feel free to visit my main website here.  You can also find me on MySpace here or on Twitter here.

[Favourite Depeche Mode songs:  "Never Let Me Down Again," "Stripped," "Ice Machine," "Walking in My Shoes," "Black Celebration."]