r/turnstile • u/TwentySeventh • 8h ago
Image Turnstile ACL weekend 2 on film and a vulnerable story
When I was a young boy the first music genre that really grabbed me was alternative rock and grunge in the mid 90's. My brother Clay gifted me my first electric guitar (Fender Bullet) and I began teaching myself using tablature on the internet. By 8th grade (99-2000), I was obsessed with blink-182 and formed a pop punk band with my friends Chase and Nick. We named ourselves Soma after a club in San Diego where Blink played their first show. My dad used to love to encourage me to play the guitar for him and gifted me a Tom DeLonge signature Stratocaster. We played a couple birthday parties and one real gig at The White Rabbit in San Antonio.
The summer after 8th grade, my dad died from a heart attack while we were running to catch a flight in the Atlanta airport. Almost immediately I was struggling with drug addiction and depression. I pawned my guitars and stoped playing music entirely. Over the last few years I have very deliberately been trying to heal that 14 year old. I saw Turnstile open for Blink a few years ago when Tom rejoined the band and they really grabbed my attention. Then the newest album came out (along with the breathtaking visual album). I was so moved by the music and visuals and had a profound sense that 14 year old Rahm was experiencing something mind-blowing.
I had no plans of doing ACL this year, but last week | decided I wanted to go see Turnstile again for the teenage me. My friend Alicia had a free Friday pass which she generously gifted me. I had a surgical plan: go in an hour before their set, bring a camera, do it for little Rahm and leave. When I arrived to the stage I was able to walk right up about 5 people from the rail. What ensued was more than I could have ever hoped for. I moshed, I cried, l made new friends and shared vulnerably. The shirt I wore was drenched, my shoes were muddy. By the end of the show I was sobbing in gratitude for giving that Rahm this experience. I hugged myself, I hugged him, and he felt safe. This is a long journey of feeling safe enough to open my heart again.
I shot these on a Contax T3 with Portra 800 and HP5. I love y'all 🤟
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u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 8h ago
This is beautiful man. This is why all the arguments over what genre they are and how different they sound from when they started are moot. If the music makes people feel as amazing as this, that's the whole point.