FOR OUR FALLEN SOLDIER

For those who knew, worked with and were friends with Matthew Mason, we at Wild & Woolly Video want to share our thoughts and offer our love and support.

Matt will be missed. He came to Louisville from his home town of Nashville about 10 years ago. He told me that he had heard about the underground music, art and film scene here in Louisville, and this was part of the reason that drove him to us. As part of our team here at Wild & Woolly for several years, he was an invaluable resource of cult film and music knowledge. He believed in what we were doing here, and I'm sure he would want us to keep up the fight to keep Louisville weird.

He loved punk rock, British spy thrillers and comic books. Matt Mason: His name even sounds like a comic book hero. As a drummer in his band, he played because he loved the music. One day a regular customer came in who had seen one of Matt's shows the previous night and said, "Man, Matt Mason was really on fire!" It made me smile. It conjured an image of Matt hitting the drums, sweating and giving his all for an appreciative crowd of like minded punk rock fans.

He wasn't perfect. None of us are. He had a flair for cynicism, but often used it to humorous ends. His razor wit and hysterical cartoons often made their way into the store and into our memories. His strong personality sometimes conflicted with others. He had a tough exterior, and it wasn't always easy to crack the surface, but anybody that spent enough time with him knows (whether or not he wants everyone else to know) that inside he was pure gold.

There was a discontent in him; a discontent for the status quo and for the things that shouldn't be the way they are, but are. He was just like us. He struggled weekly to pay the bills and meet the demands of the working class. It was battle we all fought together with the hands we'd been dealt.

Darren Rappa, who worked with him in the restaurant business even before he came to Wild & Woolly, said yesterday that he had come to think of him like a brother. I think we all felt the same way, even if we all couldn't express it as easily. I, personally, will remember the late nights we closed together, the crazy and sometimes surreal things we experienced during those times and the night we kicked back some beers after work watching Ultra Pulverize at Wicks.

We're going to keep doing what we do here at the store, but this week the Wild & Woolly flag is flying at half mast. On behalf of all of us, we salute the memory of Matt Mason and we hope all our friends and customers take a moment of their time this holiday season to remember our friend. Thank you.