AutoRYography - Hallowe'en '98

1998 was a pivotal year for me.

That fall, after having just started my own fan club and not knowing what I had gotten myself into, was when I dressed up (or down really) in my most controversial Hallowe'en costume ever.  It resulted in me getting strange looks, curious half-smiles, stern talkings to, and a even a few fingers pointed in my face.

I painted my upper body half black with a zipper down the middle of my chest.  And I only wore pants because I didn't want to be arrested that night.

It was a bit of an odd reference and homage to Steven Tyler in Aerosmith's "Livin' On The Edge" video.  That video was already eight years old by this point, and was certainly not in anyone's mind but mine.

...there's something wrong with THIS GUY today...

Livin' On The Edge

By mid-98 I was a HUGE Aerosmith fan.  I secretly wanted to be just like Steven Tyler.  I grew my hair long, started wearing leopard print clothing and... well, okay I guess it wasn't that big of a secret.  This Hallowe'en costume may have been a step too far, but I digress - I still, to this day, think it was fucking awesome.

And really, you weren't me back then and never saw the looks on the peoples' faces.  That was worth it all.

My high school was on the other side of town, and I had to be bussed there.  Usually I'd get up around 6:30 am to get ready for school on a normal day.  I had to be up at 5:30 that morning to get this costume ready.  The painting part was pretty painstaking.  It took a long time to do, and I had to be careful not to rub against anything.

I had never painted my body before, and didn't even know what body paint was.  I was certainly no expert in this field.  I had purchased a dozen or so tubes of black face paint from the dollar store to make this transformation happen, and it took all of them to finish the paint job.  And really, there's no photos of my back, but it got pretty choppy looking towards my spine.

So then I got on the school bus, wearing a big black trench coat as I so often did back in those days.  My friends could tell that something was up.  Since I had applied the paint with my finger, I could really only make the zipper look so good.  Some people on the bus thought I was being crude or bold or even racist by being half black.

Wrestlemania VI

When I got into school and took my jacket off, a couple people thought my costume was "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in Wrestlemania VI.  This was, of course, 1998 and the WWF was at the height of its all-time popularity.  Oh well.  Mostly, the kids at school didn't know what to make of me that day.  Everyone kept their distance, obviously to not have any black paint rub off on them. But more and more I was greeted with comments about race, prejudice, and how cool it was that I was making a statement about how we were all the same on the inside.

When I would explain that I was dressed as Steven Tyler in "Livin' On The Edge" I'd just get blank stares from people.

"What do you think you're doing, walking around here with no shirt on," asked my first period English teacher.  She was a bitch by nature, overly preach about the ways of feminism, and didn't understand art even though she prided herself on being artistic.  I hated her so much I eventually dropped her class.  "This is my Hallowe'en costume," I replied as if to insinuate that she didn't realize that it was, in fact, October 31st.

"And why did you feel the need to come to my class like this today?"
"If it would make you feel better I'd be more than willing to leave."  So I spent the rest of first period in the Theater Complete room, rambling about nothing, and visiting the art classes down the hall.

That night was the high school dance and I didn't miss it for the world.  I was never one for going to these dances before.  I thought they were pretty hokey.  But I had a sweet costume that had everyone talking.  There was even a costume contest, which I didn't win but I'm glad to say the guys from my school dressed up as the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" video did.  Me and the other Theater Complete kids found ourselves wandering outside for a couple quick beers before calling it a night.

The famous naked photo of me came from that night too.  I had convinced some friends (who naturally don't want to be named and I don't friggin' blame them) to snap a quick picture of me totally nude and covering myself, just like the opening of the "Edge" video that I was mirroring.  That photo wound up in Ryan Fan Club Newsletter #3. 

L2R: Stephen (the first ever Ryan-Fan who signed up) ... me....  Brendon dressed as Hercules

When I got home that night, around midnight, I had to get that black shit off my body.  There was no way I was going to sleep with that on and have it wind up all over my sheets.   So I took a shower to scrub it off.  This was probably the longest shower I have ever had, and I've had some darn good shower sex of the years, and I used nearly an entire new bar of Ivory soap.  I learned something that night:

Hot water + black paint + white bath tub = grey bath tub.

Boy, did I get in a lot of shit from my parents the next day.  In all honesty, I had the water so hot in that shower and combined with the few beer I'd had and the cool October air on my mostly naked body... well, I puked up a storm before bed.  I refuse to blame the booze for that one.  You never blame the booze.

So, is there a legacy for this?  I'm sure the Ryanites and Ryanettes from those early days remember this well, and when I bring out the photo for new Ryan-Fans they give me those same looks I experienced in 1998.  I love it.

Oh, and "Livin' On The Edge" has become one of my all-time favorite Aerosmith songs.

But I don't try to dress like Steven Tyler anymore.

- ryan