blowup tribute video from ava berlin on Vimeo
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we don’t really know what to say. we have received literally hundreds and hundreds of messages and it has been almost overwhelming- so, so, so much love. thank you to jonathan for this tribute video and thank you to jazper for this incredible letter- these represent the feelings so many of you have expressed and we are deeply touched.
all we can say is we love you all and miss you so much.
xox,
jeffrey + ava
letter from jazper
received march 4 at 5:15 pm
Most things in life, after the fact, fade from your memory into some sort of a hazy blur, but even still I don’t think I can ever forget my first time at Blow Up—a sentiment I am sure is shared by many, if not most. It was April 18, 2008 and a spur of the moment decision led my friends and I on a drive out to San Francisco, wearing outfits we had bought at least a week earlier, to what was your third year anniversary; a night unforgettable. And soon enough, there we were, waiting impatiently in line, already hearing the bass pumping, the crowd moving, and the floor shaking. Our anticipation to get inside and see what all the noise was about grew with each step closer to the Rickshaw doors. Inside, we were greeted by a larger-than-life sculpture of Jeffrey, sculpted entirely out of ice, feature for feature, and a tall, angelic, blonde beauty capturing everything on camera. The nights festivities included a Jelly Donut rapping, a shirtless man from Milwaukee having body convulsions on the floor, words foaming at the mouth, and even a soon to-be bride being given lap dance after lap dance, onstage, from complete strangers. In retrospect, it was one of my favorites, and I’ll never forget it. Just like every night at the Rickshaw, everything was loud, sweaty, and insane. It was on the dance floor under the lights, sneaking on stage next to Richie, and standing on that piano against the red velvet curtains (my favorite place really), that we felt a thrill like we could get nowhere else. It was this feeling, and the constant surprises, everything, that had my friends and I coming back to Blow Up night after night, because here we felt like we were young, and living.
Little did any of us know that this single night would be our initiation into a club scene, that before Blow Up, none of us knew anything about. Because of Blow Up my iTunes library is filled to the brim, my closet has an ever-growing collection of things bought just to wear clubbing, and I’ve made countless friends that to this day I still hold dear. Most notably however, these past two years have been a defining part of my youth and the lives of my friends and I as we know it; and I cannot thank you, Ava and Jeffrey, enough for all the work you’ve put into running a club as successful and popular as Blow Up, and for all the behind-the-scenes work I probably could never conceive of that went into putting together each night.
When I first heard that Blow Up was over, I of course was saddened by the news, and a rush of nostalgia came over me remembering nights like my first, and desperately piecing together the others. But what is most important is that you two always gave it your all, consistently delivered; and this is what will show and what will matter in the long run. To have delivered San Francisco with such amazing parties time and again, and kept it going strong ’til its last, what you two have created is truly remarkable, and will never be forgotten. And though I am sad, I know that there are more things in store for you two and for San Francisco via Club 1994 and whatever other projects you two geniuses have floating around your heads; that, with being on the cusp of 21, I too will be able to revel in. The wait is (and has been) killing me.
By this time maybe my words sound trite, but I just wanted to say thank you Ava and Jeffrey. You don’t know how much of an influence (good and bad, ha), you two have been in my life, and I wish both of you my best.
LONG LIVE BLOW UP SF!
Jazper
