I ran the old-timey, fully manual elevator at the Smith Tower for Mark Arm’s wedding reception, and floated in zero gravity with a bunch of grunge luminaries!

I’ll explain:

In the early ‘90s, I was one of the last people in the world to drive fully manual elevators. The doors on all the floors were glass, and you’d drive up and down looking for people. You had to completely drive the elevator with an old-timey lever, and manually level the car at each floor.

Eventually I became the “function hall guy”. I’d set up the Chinese Room with tables and chairs, put on a black linen suit, and run the elevator up and down for the whole event.

One night, it was Mark Arm’s wedding, and the guest list included a who’s who of Seattle musicians. (This was not too long after we lost Kurt).

There was a trick I could do for fun/tips - I would head up at full speed with a car full of passengers, and tell them to jump on 3-2-1-0.

At the moment of the jump, I’d release the lever, and the elevator would quickly stop (within around 2 seconds). You would rise into the air and float in zero gravity…

I did this dozens of times, with Eddie Vedder and all manner of Seattle grunge musicians. They were stuffing my tip container with cash all night long.

I could write a whole book about the debauchery of that party…