You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who loves AC/DC as much as this man. For years, his animated AC/DC window light has shook SE 37th Ave all night long. He also occasionally hangs out on the corner dressed as a catholic schoolboy just like Angus Young. When I first saw him burst out of his home in his Angus-duds, I assumed he was a musician in a cover band or something, but no, he's just a simple man who loves loves loves AC/DC.
One evening on my bike ride home from the dayshift, I overheard some killer guitar riffs squealing out of a red, AC/DC decal adorned pick-up truck parked on SE 37th and Washington. As I cruised by, I glanced through the windshield and saw the super fan head-banging in the driver's seat, dressed to the nines in his schoolboy costume, belting out "Back in Black" at the top of his lungs. Captivated by this full-on rockathon, I pedaled up to the driver-side window and interrupted his communion with the gods. I asked him if he would pose for a photograph and he lit up and the AC/DC floodgates opened!
Carl turned down the tunes and regaled me with tales of seeing AC/DC live in concert eleven times! He repeated the compliments he received on his schoolboy uniform. He remembered a time some hapless bouncer almost let him backstage after a show one night. He wistfully recalled all the hot chicks who took a picture with him because they thought he was actually the legendary guitarist in the flesh. The man is a star by association.
"But why AC/DC," I interrupted, "Why not Zeppelin or The Who"?
"Because AC/DC is the only band from my youth that I can still stand," he replied, following up with rave reviews of their latest albums. "Did you see them last time they played the Tacoma Dome? They still got it man, they still know how to put on a great show". He recounted several more experiences that included topless girls, rocking out, and posing for pictures. As he reminisced, a warm glow softened his eyes; to Carl, AC/DC are the end-all-be-all of music, in his mind the Hammer of Thor itself buckles to the beat of "Highway to Hell". In some ways his obsession is laughable, but his commitment to them is forever and that's actually pretty admirable. You wouldn't just be hard-pressed finding a bigger super fan, but you'd be hard-pressed finding a current band that elicits that kind of devotion. In a world without rock stars, all power to the doppelgangers! Long live the super fan!
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