Paul Revere by The Beastie Boys

Washbag was a favorite Big Game Week tradition.  Washbag stands for the Washington Square Bar & Grill in San Francisco.  The Cal Band would descend on the restaurant in Straw Hat attire.  We spread out throughout the entire restaurant, an already fully packed house, lining up the stairs, amongst the patrons, against the bar.  We played a variety of Cal favorites as well as some rock n roll hits.  It was always a lot of fun.  The party continued as we lined up in the street outside the restaurant and continued our concert.  There was usually (ok always) free booze involved in this event, usually from dining patrons who were so caught up in the excitement, they would start slipping us their glasses of wine or beer.   In 1998, either some of the drinking-age bandsmen or perhaps some of the patrons dashed across the street to a corner store and the next thing you know, a dolly full of cases of beer is being wheeled our way. 

Fun Club - June, 2001

The party continued on the bus ride home, beers in hand.  Bryan H. stood up in the front of the bus, microphone in hand, and proceeded to sing/rap the entire Beastie Boys classic, Paul Revere.  He had it down, from the lyrics, to the accents, to the intonation.  It rocked and everyone enjoyed it so much.  I remember looking around the bus and everyone was smiling, clapping to the beat, totally in the moment.  I didn't know Bryan very well at this point.  I knew him mostly as Kathy R's boyfriend, but after this, he became Kathy's cool, enviable boyfriend.  It turned out, Bryan was cool without trying and even better, he was so friendly and it was the easiest thing in the world to like Bryan.  I got to know him a lot better in the years following college when he and Kathy would come over to my house for dinner (or vice versa) or when we would meet up in the city for drinks, dancing, and Fun Club.  Bryan was 100% fun, full of life, adventure, and positivity.  He will be missed, but will live on in my memory whenever I hear Paul Revere.