Nine Inch Nails : Phoenix : 09.19.05

Jeff is in blue.
Justin is in red.
Mario, as always, is in green...


For the NIN show at America West Arena in Phoenix, Super and I of course do a little pre-concert drinking near the arena. We ended up going in a little inebriated, meeting up with JC and doing our usual lap around scoping out the chicks. Super and JC headed down to the floor…Super naturally to the pit…and I end up heading to the second level where some people I knew were sitting - that was the last time I saw Super until after the show. So I hook up with JC on the phone afterwards to find out where Super and he are at…I am told they are already outside and the only sober thinking person - JC - informs me that I should probably hurry out and that there will be a little surprise when I arrive. Not thinking much of it, I exit and search for them among the crowd until I hear a yell for me coming from the other direction. I turn around to see JC standing there with Super, who was sitting on a pillar with a fucked up bandage wrapped around his head and a silly grin on his face. I headed over to try to figure out what the fuck had happened.

Apparently, Super was in the pit and inadvertently took a shot to the noggin somehow. (It was a falling elbow from someone else who had been crowd surfing. Mario said it hit him "perfectly squarely," if there is such a thing.) He continued on through the crowd until people started looking at him weird, while blood was dripping down his face all over himself, only then did he begin to realize that something may be wrong. As he headed up, the security people were trying to convince him that he should take a break and that they should call him an ambulance. Well, Super was having no part of that even after they showed him in a mirror what had happened to his face…hell, he would be missing the rest of the concert and he didn’t really think it looked all that bad to him at the time. So as a sort-of-sorts compromise, the staff wrapped his head up in a mummy-like fashion and sent him back into the crowd.

As I reached them outside, “Hey Chaucer, don’t you work at a hospital close by here…you think you can stitch me up?”

“Sure Super,” slurring my own words, “I can do that shit up real quick before we head to the bars.”

Jeff's memory is an interesting thing, but let me just say, I went in to the concert to watch the opening acts and he and Mario stayed across the street doing their ritual until about 10 minutes before Nine Inch Nails took the stage. The only communication I had with either of them was via text message, which was sporadic at best. I remember being on the barricade during the show, and when the last song came on with only a minute remaining, here comes Super over the top of the crowd, crowd surfing like it was no big deal. He had had enough to drink that night that he was pretty much lost in his own body. I looked at him as security helped him down to the floor, and here was this BIG bandage wrapped around his head. Later, he would deny that he crowd surfed after they wrapped him up. He never admitted to it, which was funny because......well, I must have really been imagining things. With all the water I had been drinking no less.

When we got outside he unwrapped his head and showed me this nice gash about an inch long and a quarter-inch to half-inch wide splitting his eyebrow in two.

Can’t you just superglue that shit closed back at the house? I laughed pretty hysterically, “no Super, I responded, we have to get you to a hospital so you can get stitches.” Jeff arrived a moment later and we took a snapshot of Super's head. Of course, of course, Jeff laughed hysterically too. It was a pretty funny moment for all of us.

No man, fuck that shit, it’s not that bad! I guess I’ll let the pictures do the talking there. Notice the impish grin? He had to sign a waiver for the first aid staff at America West to release him. For some reason, that made him happy.

We were right up the street from St. Joseph's hospital so away we went. I accompanied Mario into the triage area where a nurse stitched him up, leaving Jeff out in the waiting room sitting. Despite all the shenanigans that took place that night, he and I were still able to quote some lines from “Fight Club.” In the movie there is a scene where Edward Norton is sitting in an emergency room setting getting his head stitched up by a nurse as well. Brad Pitt, who is Edward Norton’s alter-ego and appears throughout the entire movie as a man named Tyler Durden, is sitting up in the background on a countertop.

Edward: “Sometimes Tyler spoke for me.”
Brad: “He fell down some stairs.”
Edward: “I fell down some stairs.”

Those were the exact lines Mario and I repeated while he was getting his suture. Another night I'll never forget...


[About to get sewn up and all smiles]


[Taken from Jeff's cellphone. Evidence that even in the waiting area we were goofing off...]


[The first photo taken just outside the venue]

In memory of Mario Frassetto. Took a licking and kept on ticking. For you, Super.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...

The finishing touches are being applied to the Phoenix NIN story, courtesy of Jeff. I just need to put it together and get it up tomorrow. There will probably be multiple font colors to distinguish Jeff from Mario, and myself. I'll be sure to attach a key right in the beginning before you start reading.

Looking at the list of things I want to share, still, it seems like I haven't even put a dent in it. A much more endearing post in regards to my relationship with Mario is on it's way. I call it, "The Tilted Earth." I've had to battle a few sobbing headaches and heartaches to get it finished. Hopefully it will help redeem anything I've shared in a negative connotation. There is a time when some things are better left unsaid, however, I think it's fair to warn everyone that if you cried at Autumn's post, you'll want to bring some kleenex along for mine. Even I can hardly look at it without trembling a bit. I plan to unveil it by Thursday, but if not, by Friday/Saturday. Whatever day it doesn't make it up, keep your eyes peeled for MarioTV Episode 7 to fill the gap.

I wanted to thank Jeff, Autumn, and Warren for their contributions here, as everyone has graciously thanked me as well. I think I speak for all of us when I say that Super would be grateful.

- Justin

Super's Box

For those who don’t know me, I’m not much of a sentimental guy - but for Super, I thought that this one time would be o.k.

This is a piece of the fairing from his bike and the keychain he used – appropriately a Rossi item.

-Jeffy Chaucer

12,357

Twelve thousand three hundred and fifty seven days. When you say it like that it sounds like a pretty long time. In reality, it wasn’t long enough. Of course, that’s just my opinion, and if Mario were here, he might just debate me on that.

One thousand eight hundred and twenty one days. That’s how long I knew Mario. About seven hundred and fifty of those days I was in love with him. Most of those were good days.

There are so many of those days that run through my mind – moments of the days, actually – flashes of a past reality - memories. A conversation, a laugh, a crepe making competition or just standing in the doorway watching Mario and Mars curled up sleeping together.

Mario talked about his arm tattoos, calling them his ‘good side’ and his ‘eeevil side’. The more I think about it, the more appropriate that was. What I want to share with you is the ‘good side’ – the side that was all colorful and flowery. The side he joked he would add a ladybug into for me.





It’s been said before and it will be said again: Mario was a multifaceted guy. There were many sides to him, and I’m not sure that any one person ever saw them all. That being said, I have spent a lot of time debating what and how much to share here. I’ve struggled with what I want to contribute to whoever finds this site and what memories I chose to selfishly hold inside for only him and me to ever know. Realizing that we are google-able and recognizing that I am writing to even those I would chose to ignore, deny and forget, I will still write. But I will preface it by saying: If you prefer to remember Mario how he was to you and for you, don’t read what I post. I don’t give this warning in the same way Justin gave it when he wrote “Hardcore Since ‘74” for Mario. In fact, my warning may be just the opposite of his.

I know that to many, Mario was a wild child, a rebel. A porn-loving, speed craving adrenaline junkie with a shot of loud and crazy thrown in for flavor. Believe me, I saw that. I saw that side when we were out with his friends, in the stories he chose to tell and in the image he projected for people. But that guy wasn’t the guy I lived with at all. I mean, I guess there was a hint of that always present, but it wasn’t who he was to me when we came home at the end of the day.

He had an ability to control his dreams unlike anyone I’ve ever known. In the moments between wake and sleep, he would begin weaving a plot and as he fell into rest, that story would bloom into a dream, sometimes lasting all night. Much of the time, there was flying involved. Sometimes he was a super hero. (Super Mario??? Ah, truly!) I would know before we woke up if it was a flying super hero dream because he would have one arm wrapped around my waist and the other are out Superman-style with his whole body outstretched. One of my favorite things was him waking up – hair amiss and blind as a bat without his contacts – and recounting in vivid color the entire adventure he’d lived in his sleep.

Mario was the guy who would wake up early while I was getting ready for work and go downstairs and make me tea and toast. He’d sit on the toilet or the edge of the tub chatting with me while I rushed through my morning routine. He’d crawl back in bed as I was leaving, always with his buddy Mars by his side (or by his knee, or against his back, or next to his head….). He’d sleep as long as Mars would allow before insisting he wake up. Mario loved that cat and referred to him as his fuzzy alarm clock.



Sundays were the day I’d spend with Mario – the one day neither of us had to work. Lots of times there were races on Sundays and he would wake up at an obscene hour like 4 in the morning to watch the races live. I’d creep down the stairs to see he and Mars lying there together, both sets of eyes tracking Rossi. Mario would have a big bowl of cereal. Mars would have a little bit of milk and sometimes some clams. (This cat was forbidden to have people food, but Mario was always sneaking him things, and I’d pretend not to know about it….) Later, they’d creep back into bed with me and snooze away the morning. To this day, that cat will sit and watch the Speed Channel if I turn it on for him. Maybe he’s waiting for Mario to come home and join him, maybe he’s hoping for some clams.

While we were dating, Mario got back into hockey. He played in an adult league with a pretty wide variety of people on it. There were a few teams that seemed “stacked” with young kids – eighteen to twenty, recently out of high school, fast, sharp and some just plain rude. Mario’s team was a little more “diverse”, but it didn’t help their skill level or reputation any that several team members would show up to play quite drunk. It was summertime and for Mario, every game was a show. He was so excited every week anticipating which of his friends would come see him and I rarely missed a game. There was one team that was particularly stacked with young players. The first time Mario’s team had played against them (and lost pretty miserably), there was one kid who seemed to have it out for Mario. When that team came up on the game schedule again, Mario had a plan. In that league, there was a $20 fine for fighting. He wanted to pin a $20 bill to his jersey and let the guy know, “this is for you!” Well, he didn’t wear the $20, but he did end up having a nice scuffle with the guy and was sitting with his friends and me in the bleachers by mid-game after being ejected. He would always be quite proud of the minutes he spent in the penalty box. Seeing him play hockey was so much fun. Never have I been the type to stand up and yell things at a sporting event until I went to watch him play.

Probably some of my favorite memories with Mario involve food. He was a good cook, and he enjoyed cooking. I suppose that his love for food helped a lot in motivating him. The first time Mario cooked for me was one of our first dates. He told me he was cooking, and, honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Of course he went all out, making vegetarian lasagna all from scratch, salad, bread and even dessert. Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries with whipped cream (that he whipped). Months later we were talking about it and he admitted thinking I was vegetarian and searching for just the right thing to make for me. That’s just how he was – thoughtful and always thinking about what would make me happy.

Mario explained motorcycle grocery shopping to me. Basically, guys on bikes can’t buy much. One of those little hand held baskets is plenty, and you’d better not fill it too full because everything you buy has to fit in your backpack when you’re through. Because of this, Mario was at the grocery store nearly every day. He was never the guy to leave his helmet outside, in fact, he’d usually flip the visor open, but leave the helmet on, wandering through the store, picking up his dinner fixings with only his eyes exposed. I guess that makes it rational, then, that little kids would think he was a Power Ranger. (Yes, I’m serious.) Sometimes they’d run up to him, sometimes they’d just point and stare with their mouths agape. Of course, Mario would humor them – hell, he probably signed autographs. His good deed for the day. Even picking up milk and shampoo was an adventure for him.

I’ve said before that Mario loved me “his way”. I think most people understand what I mean because Mario did everything he did “his way” and solely on his terms. Having Mario in my life made me see things differently, he forced me to relax and urged me to stop worrying - he taught me many simple pleasures.




More than just pictures, these memories are feelings, scents, emotions, tastes and smells. It’s one of the great things about human nature – the things that can take us back to another time. The list of things that make me think of Mario is long. I know that even in my old age, the sound of the right motorcycle engine, the taste of canolli, the smell of certain shampoos, the feeling of curly hair between my fingers will all take me back to a Sunday morning beside him.

Maybe I’ll share more someday, maybe I’ll hoard the rest of my memories forever, but I want you to know that Mario was a big softy, too. One of the most caring and thoughtful people I’ve known. I was proud to know him, proud to love him, and proud to share a piece of his life.

Rest well, babe. I hope they have Italian food, bikes and pretty girls in Heaven.

MarioTV : Episode 6 : Pantera

This episode is sponsored in part by : Mario Frassetto.

I could never fully understand why Mario liked Pantera so much. For him, they just stuck. They were a staple among his collection and someone he spoke of on a semi-regular basis. And then one day he turned me on to a few of their songs before I was off to the gym and that was that. I mean, what did I know about real heavy metal? Not that much. But when you need to release a little tension, Pantera can easily provide the vessel in which to do so. Not to mention the fact that Mario had a lot of respect for people who really rocked out hard - bands who would go out on stage and/or fans that would show up in the crowd and consume every last drop of energy in order to help fuel the performance. Mario could very easily be classified as one of these individuals. That was fun for him.

Super was really bummed out for a spell when guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was shot and killed during a performance with the band "Damageplan" in an Ohio Club. I think for him, bumping in to Vinnie Paul (Dimebag's brother and the drummer of the following bands) at The Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas was that much better because of Pantera's disintegration following the death of Darrell. Considering the fact that he was a fan of Pantera, Damageplan, AND Hellyeah, it must have been sweet.

There was a time about 2 years ago when I went to a pub not too far from where Mario and Jeff lived in Chandler to meet up with a couple girls who were in town for the night (upon recommendation from another friend). Mario came along because I figured at the very least he'd chat them up or we could bail if it was really lame and go somewhere else. That, and the girl I was meeting up with was a little flighty - I didn't really want to go in the first place because she hardly ever followed through on plans (from what I was told). She was down from Portland so I figured what the heck, I'll sit down for a bit. Thannnnnnnk goodness that Mario was there too, because the conversation was going nowhere quick - and a member of their group was a HUGE Pantera fan (he had a big tattoo on his shoulder) - from the exact moment Pantera got thrown out onto the table Mario and him drove the conversation around talking about various Pantera-like things, and before I knew it time was up. Everyone just sat and listened, and I got out of my awkward hour without saying more than 20 words.

Pantera : Walk





In memory of Mario Frassetto. This crowd surf is for you...

Sleeping on the job

My bad - I fell asleep writing the MarioTV episode last night and woke up late for work this morning. It wasn't my fault the power went out 3 times and my alarm clock was blinking. I'll wrap MarioTV Episode 6 up tonight and put a bow on it for tomorrow.

Same place, same time.

Coming soon...

Another episode of MarioTV is on it's way tomorrow (Thursday). What will it be? Hmmm. So many to pick from!

Jeff is working on the intro for the Phoenix Nine Inch Nails Moshpit incident. We hope to have it up and running by next week. It'll be a brief but interesting story.

In case anyone who reads this wondered, Jeff and I compiled a pretty big list on our way out to California of various Mario Frassetto Memories. Events, words, movies, songs, Mario-isms. The whole lot. It's gonna be awhile before you hear the sound of crickets in here completely. I promise. What's in the past is in the past, I can hear that phrase like it was yesterday. I've chosen to remember Mario not only in thought but in words. It makes saying goodbye to such a close friend easier for me.

-Justin

Oldies but Goodies : Part 1

Where did the weekend go? Whoosh!

I was going to resize these but I think leaving them in their full resolution for your resizing pleasure is the correct way to go.

These are obviously open to interpretation, however there is one photo I have GOT to get the story behind (take a wild guess!) Also, notice that Super practiced his tongue-for-pictures routine a long while ago. Awesome!

Thank you Sandy!

Oldies but Goodies : Part 2

Oldies but Goodies : Part 3

Oldies but Goodies : Part 4

Oldies but Goodies : Part 5

Last but not least...



In Memory of Mario Frassetto.

As of right now:

Now that I've established some dominance with the system, I can stop talking about this...



Those pictures are coming, I just need to finish up my day.

Photoholics Anonymous

Mario's mom just sent me an email with a couple dozen photos of him from his earlier years, and some from not too long ago. I'm gonna do a bit of resizing when I get home and put them up late tonight or tomorrow. You're sure to laugh, I can guarantee it or your money back.

Oh, and before I forget, I need to get over to the "How did you meet Mario" post and drop off my first encounter. Anyone who hasn't done so, you're slacking.

-Justin

MarioTV : Episode 5 : The Professional

It's 08/08/08 today. Funny just typing it.

I remember very clearly the first time Mario figured out that everything that came out of my mouth was unoriginal. Movie quotes just seem to flow from within. From then on he'd throw things at me just to make sure I'd catch them. He'd always get this little smirk on his face when he'd quote a movie and I'd pick it up and run with it. There was a lot of appreciation there, because he'd remind me that nobody else would get it and that he was glad I was there to.....amuse him.

Mario really loved hitman and sniper type movies. Movies where one man seemed like he could take down an army. Movies like "Hitman," "Shooter," "Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum", and "Liberty Stands Still." He especially liked "The Professional." (Non-English countries knew it as "Léon.") One scene in particular we used to always kid around about was from that movie. In it, Jean Reno plays a quiet hitman who befriends Natalie Portman, takes her in after her family is murdered, and teaches her how to "clean." The absolute best part of the movie is when Gary Oldman's character tells his man to bring everyone.

Super would say bring me everyone. I'd reply, "what do you mean everyone?" And he'd let out a big, EVERRRRYYYYYYOOOONNNNE!!!!!!

The Professional:




In memory of Mario Frassetto.

Sweet Victory...

...I got word yesterday that the blog finally made it to number 1 in the Google rankings in New York. My friend out there said it felt a little funny "googling Mario," which gave me a good laugh.

The west coast didn't see an update until sometime this morning. As of right now, Mario Frassetto is ranked number 1 out here too.

He shoots, he scores!

Go-oo-oo-g-le

If I'm not mistaken, today the blog is ranked 2nd on the big bad Google machine when you search Mario Frassetto. Thankfully whatever update they did to the page rankings dropped a bunch of articles about the accident (which were completely vague and pretty poorly written to begin with) and now we're moving towards the top.

Although I won't be posting information about the police report, Jeff relayed to me that it is being finished early this week and will finally be made available to us sometime shortly. In the most backwards way possible I cannot wait to see what CHP has to say about all this.

More tomorrow.

- Justin

MarioTV : Episode 4 : Nine Inch Nails

And now a word from our sponsors:

MarioTV is brought to you by...

Mario Frassetto.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

One of the last conversations Mario and I had regarding music was about Nine Inch Nails. We revisited a topic Mario was quick to point out just about every time the name Trent Reznor was thrown out there. He was disappointed with the way things started to sound a couple years ago, ever the critic on what was good and bad. Mario would only give the occassional "meh", followed by a comment about it not being like the old NIN. He'd also say that comparing Nine Inch Nails Old to Nine Inch Nails New, wasn't like comparing them to another band. Not too many artists (bands) have the extensive catalog that Trent Reznor has put together.

When I was out in Cali hanging with him in June I popped in to a store and the guy behind the counter went to turn down his iPod when The Perfect Drug came on. I interrupted his shutdown so I could hear the song. Fifteen minutes later I told Mario that the store closed with me in it, and the guy blared The Perfect Drug for me. I haven't listened to that song in a long time, I'll have to put it on my Nano for tomorrow. Low and behold, he came back after work that day and said it's one of the best music videos out there. I forgot how sweet that song is. Seems he paid a visit to YouTube at some point.

By no means was Mario a fiend of any sorts in the using and abusing department as this song suggests. After all, lots of songs say plenty of things that don't pertain to our lives whatsoever, and yet we still enjoy them. This song (and video) just happen to be ranked right up near Super's top.

Having been a fan of NIN since I was about 13, hearing specific Halos remind me a lot of Mario. When he and I lived together he would play The Fragile, And All That Could Have Been the DVD, Things Falling Apart, and The Perfect Drug single (which was all remixes)......constantly. He had 5.1 surround in his room, and I didn't, so I left most of the DJ'ing up to him. A majority of the time I returned home at a decent hour he'd be in his room with a movie on (that was muted with captions), CD's playing, sitting on the ground with a laptop on the coffee table. That was his thing. He had a sofabed in his room but he always sat on the ground right in front of the table. When something good wasn't on TV he'd always have music playing over a muted television show or movie. Matter of fact, that's where I got it from. These days when I'm lounging around my place I will do the exact same thing. He was the person who taught me that even when you think you know what they're saying in a movie, sometimes you really don't know. You think you do, but you don't. Movies like "Snatch", where Brad Pitt's character Mickey O'Neil speaks in Pikey, a not-Irish, not-English, gypsy dialect, listening to it in caption would change the entire experience. For instance, Mario showed me that when caption was turned on the TV, it would predict the language in a certain pattern. But if the caption was turned on the DVD player, sometimes the sentences would be slightly different. From there, it was all interpretation.

Above and beyond any situation I could remember Mario in, him sitting on the ground watching a muted movie with some music on is the way I remember him most easily. With that said, there will be plenty more NIN to come as I can think of 10 songs he loved, and several that remind me of him.

Here's the video for The Perfect Drug with the lyrics listed below. If you ever come across this and the video is disabled, please let me know so I can re-up it. Thanks. Enjoy.

Nine Inch Nails : The Perfect Drug

I got my head, but my head is unraveling
Cant keep control, cant keep track of where its traveling
I got my heart but my heart is no good
And youre the only one thats understood
I come along but I dont know where youre taking me
I shouldnt go but youre reaching back and shaking me
Turn off the sun, pull the stars from the sky
The more I give to you, the more I die

And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you

You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug

You make me hard, when Im all soft inside
I see the truth, when Im all stupid eyed
The arrow goes straight through my heart
Without you everything just falls apart

My blood wants to say hello to you
My feelings want to get inside of you
My soul is so afraid to realize
Every little word is a lack of me

And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you

You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug

You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug
You are the perfect drug, the drug, the perfect drug

Take me, with you
Take me, with you
Take me, with you

Without you, without you everything falls apart
Without you, its not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Without you, without you everything falls apart
Without you, it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Its not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Its not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Without you, without you everything falls apart
Without you, its not as much fun to pick up the pieces

In memory of our good friend Mario Frassetto.

First : Super Sunday!

This'll be the first Super Sunday of many, I hope. Courtesy of the volumes of memories I have with my good friend, Mr. Mario Frassetto.

There are some residual emotions runnin' over from the Hardcore Since '74 story, but I'm gonna give it a rest for a few days. It's the least I could do! :) This is assuming that the Frassetto family is ok with me continuing. I think the most detailed post about the hidden side of Super is out in the open now (aside from that other thing), and well, there isn't much going back. I was pleased to write it up, but something in the back of my mind kept telling me to delete the entire thing and put a cork in it. I truly hope it didn't freak anyone out. If it's any consolation, I'm slightly traumatized by all the research I had to do for the story, does that count? Haha.

Multiple things are in the works for this week. MarioTV episodes will be up, another YouTube video Super would approve of, as well as a couple other small posts from me. Jeff is moving to Philadelphia tomorrow and once he gets settled in he and I are going to work on the Nine Inch Nails in Phoenix story together, which is another doozie I (we) cannot wait to share. It should be an interesting read mainly because you'll get the first half of the night from Jeff, and the second half of the night from me. Somewhat Tipsy versus Completely Sober, that sorta thing. I'm tempted to just throw the pictures up and let 'em speak for themselves, but the story is a show stopper and it must be told.

I have another post similar to The Vacuum Earth that I'm also working on that may take awhile. It's nowhere near the length of the Hustler Helmet story (thank goodness), however, so far it has been the most difficult thing for me to write.

Last but not least before I fall asleep, I wanted to post this picture as a follow-up to the post Jeff did about Mario getting 86'd from the Mudvayne concert in Vegas. What's really hilarious about this picture is that it's titled exactly as it looks: "evilsanwich01." Why was it evil? Well, not only did Super have a hell of a night after getting shanghai'd at the concert, Jeff and I took him to get something to eat afterwards (to help soak up some of the pre-concert drinks he had) and low and behold, he got food poisoning from said sandwich. Hence, evilsanwich was born and quite frankly, I'm not sure he ever fully recovered from that night. Even mentioning the words "Hard Rock" within earshot was grounds for a small fracas, given the situation and the effects of the food.

The picture sure is funny though...

Arrrrrrgh!

Hardcore Since '74 : The Hustler Helmet

[the end of Addison Rose's signature over the Hardcore Since '74 slogan]

Larry Flynt, as most of us didn’t already know, founded Hustler Magazine in July of 1974. The magazine was a bit of a trendsetter at the time. Super Mario (not to be confused with the other Super Mario) was born one month after that. He somehow managed to mysteriously link himself to the Hustler genre somehow. Super owned more Hustler shirts than Larry Flynt, so I'd say that ranked him up there pretty high.

Anyone with half a brain knows that a helmet presides over any other protection when riding, and yet people go without them here all the time. Arizona does not have a helmet law for riders under 18. Eyewear is the only thing required to keep the bike on the road supposedly, but what happens when the bike leaves the road? Too many people think that they'll have time to react and guard their noggins. Such. A. Shame.

I remember back in 2000 when Mario first referred to a helmet as a lid. “Super, why do you call it a lid?” Because it keeps things from spilling out when you lay your bike down. The harsh warning that many riders do not heed. Anyone riding without a lid is a fucking jack-off. Trouble waiting to happen, man. So true. Mario was one of the safest riders I’d ever known. He had full Dainese Leathers and gloves, the jacket to match, as well as 4 different helmets. He wouldn’t even cross the apartment complex parking lot without wearing one of his helmets. I think that precaution was the result of getting into a nasty wreck when he still lived in Wisconsin (on a Yamaha YZF test bike from the dealership), but still, safety first. Jeff told me that Mario was so excited when the Hustler Helmet came in that it sat in the living room like a centerpiece for days before he decided to wear it out. Just like a kid who didn't want to scuff up his new Christmas shoes. (Truth be told, Mario never wore a helmet with a clear visor on it. He was waiting for a tinted shield to arrive that would fit the new helmet.)

I could have just as easily titled this blog "I'm going to make sure you realllly really reallllly get the point," but I digress. Outside the safety of wearing one, I’ll go over the importance of the 56 other aspects of this specific helmet by explaining in detail as much as I can about the man himself. If you have issues reading adult-like content, you may want to call this the end and wait for a post of a different title to come out. Things could get a little risqué, but I’ll do what I can to try and tone it down.

As anyone well knows (except for perhaps Mario’s parents – surprise!), Mario was a fan of the adult industry. He was a serious fan. How do I compare one fan to another? That would be an interesting question, for which I’ll try to answer. Imagine watching Disney on Ice as a kid, being brainwashed to the point of insanity by the Disney Channel, and then being taken to Disneyland or even better, Disney World. As a kid you’re crazy high with excitement, right? That was comparable to Mario and his collection of porn, knowledge of female starlets (lots and lots of knowledge people), and even a pseudo stage name he had created for himself: Kile Driver. He also had a method for his researching madness by using askjolene.com and freeones.com to pinpoint the names and best scenes of each starlet. I'll make sure there are several (editted) pictures to back this up. Just listening to him talk about it could get exhausting, but at least he had a part-time hobby. : ) I also want to mention that I think it's only fitting that Disney and Porn are mentioned in the same post. They've long been accused of sneaking in adult content right under our noses.

Some people would call Mario's "porn escapades" an addiction, but really it wasn’t. To Mario it was just a fun habit, sort of like breathing. Hey, I enjoy beautiful women and sex just as much as the next person, but I didn’t even scratch the surface compared to Super. The man was just on a different level. I can’t defend his appetite but just to say that it was there.

One of my favorite memories, as many of them as there are, is the sound Super would make when he’d see a gorgeous woman (er, women....plural) across a room. “Uhuuh.” Like you gave him a small punch in the breadbasket. “Uhuuh.” It was like a combination of a gasp and a sigh while pretending to be on the verge of fainting. In the car, the store, the gym, anywhere where there was the slightest possibility of physical attraction....... uhuuh! A Mario-ism for sure!

People who knew him for less than a few minutes could pick up on that Super-vibe. It was a guy thing sure, but as I said, it was always out in the open. Sure he was a man’s man; he could talk women, sports, bikes, and cars like the best of them. He could get his hands dirty changing the oil in his bike or something, but he cleaned up well. Nine times out of ten, any time he met a girl he could wander around the conversation like a champ. He was also really good at adjusting his demeanor for any setting. Goodie two-shoes type? Check. Hot goth chick? Check. Smart and sophisticated? Check. Dumb blonde bimbo? Check. He knew how to sensor his language and specific Mario-isms like they were on a switch. First impressions and Super, uhuuh, he just had that effect on people. Or vice versa!

His attitude towards meeting women was way beyond what most guys would consider “normal.” But then again, what’s really normal? Maybe attempting to meet every attractive woman in a 50-mile radius is everyone’s goal for all I know? For instance, my mission while out at bars is to enjoy myself without the distraction of booze or women (as few and far between as when I am out), his was literally the exact opposite. I’ll always be able to remember him as the guy with a drink in one hand, posted up at the bar, talking to anyone about anything. He went out more in any given month living with Jeff than I would in a year. Easy. He was the social end of the duo for sure. He and I would joke behind Jeff’s back about how uncoordinated Jeff was at talking to women, which isn’t a shocker to Jeff (sorry for ripping on you man.) On the flip side, Mario once said, ”whenever you and I go out JC, I never hook up. It’s like we get in each others way.” To this day I’m not sure what he was talking about, and had Jeff not defended me he may have gone on thinking I was the anti-poon or something. I just think that my presence in the social scene with him just reinforced a smidgen of responsibility, which you usually want to leave at the door the moment you walk in to the bar.

Mario was ahead of the social curve when it came to talking with the fairer sex, but he also looked really good when you put him in a room next to Jeff. Again, Jeff being one of our dear friends, I really only bring it up because in reality it is funny. And Super himself would laugh.

Having said allll that, add to the fact that you couldn’t take him anywhere without him bumping in to someone he knew. The funny times were when he’d have an entire conversation before realizing whom it was he was talking with. Shit man, where do I know that dude/chick from? Classic Super. I could never understand how drinking was synonymous with meeting women. Again, Super was the polar opposite. It was a characteristic that was synonymous with Super.

Anyway, back to the helmet. Through some close connections I was able to get Mario into the Adult Expo and AVN in Las Vegas. This was the beginning of his kid-on-the-playground adventures. Mario was so hyper and ramped up to see the stars that he was about ready to just fall over. We couldn’t get out of the airport fast enough. It was quite a scene! The ultimate for any people watcher who wanted to watch a person who could watch people like a machine. Did you follow all that? Good. Let me know if you fall behind, we don’t want any stragglers in here.

About 7 weeks ago Mario went with a guy he had met from the SoCal area to the L.A. Erotica convention. He sent me a bunch of text messages while I was in Vegas that weekend. Typical Super, he even called me to have a 7-second convo and in those 7-seconds crammed in enough words to make it seem like he was ready to spin right out of the planet's orbit. I had every indication that he was enjoying himself thoroughly so I waited to get the pictures first, and then got the stories when I saw him a week or so later. He never stopped learning about porn. Really! It turns out that Mario was going to a bar where Serena South was a waitress, and the two of them ended up chatting it up quite a bit. Through another person, Mario ended up becoming quick friends with Amber Rayne, at which point I told him that he better get his sh*t in gear and use his head brain.

The photos of said convention went up on photobucket, and a small mass email went out to the lucky recipients. (Thank goodness for that email in hindsight. That's how a few of us were notified of Mario's accident.) He bought a 3-day pass to the show, which was fucking money well spent, of course. The last day of the convention, Super wore his new Hustler Lid and decided to have it signed by every porn starlet he could. He had his picture taken with some women signing it, him holding it, them.....doing other things to it. For him, the experience would have been like a sugar junky in the Wonka Factory. I swear. You can tell by scrolling down through the pictures. Mario was more than happy to volunteer for....well, anything.

What I found particularly peccant about all the photos wasn’t what, say, the innocent bystander would find. I was COMPLETELY SHOCKED that Super was wearing a Beanie and Oakleys in some of the pictures. Not just any Oakleys, big ass Oakleys I hadn’t even known he had bought yet. All the sudden he was a Super-sized doppelganger! He finally started to accept (nay, steal) my style. I was torn between WTF and Nice!

[Super & Teagan Presley]

Super was big on surprises. At this point I’d say we’re all aware of that fact, and that should go without contest. However, in order to surprise the likes of his closest friends usually took a little something more. For instance, him agreeing with Jeff for years that my Oakley fetish was pretty gay, only to go out and buy a pair of Oakleys I would have worn myself. Not only that, he specifically wore them to L.A. Erotica, a place he knew he’d have his picture taken a hundred or so times.

At some point he could have thrown out a few names for me, ya know, just to let me know who he did and did not meet. This time though he went out of his way to get a picture taken with someone that I saw in Vegas a year or so ago. When I saw the picture, I knew for a fact that he had it taken specifically to mess with me. I just knew it. He also hung out with Erik Everhard for a few minutes and got the chance to talk to him mostly about hockey. Another shocker! Talking hockey at a porn convention, hell all they had to do is bring in a few Ducati 1098 R’s and some astroglide and Super would have lost his mind.

Deciphering the signatures was a difficult task even for the trained eye. (Not that I spend a lot of time doing this, ‘ya know.) However, I feel compelled to be sure everyone knows the who’s who of silver pen on the helmet. I just have to. Super said to me the last day that I saw him that he would have to go back and look at the photos to try and compare some of them to the location of the signature. I figure staring at the helmet for the next half an hour is the least I can do for the guy. There are 56 signatures on the helmet if you can believe it. Out of 56, there are only 5 John Handyeah’s that are not legible. Thankfully not everyone has their own website, wiki, or myspace page, but I decided to compile a list of most of the women Super mingled with at the convention.

I will spare you the actual fan sites at the moment, but the SAFE wikipedia pages for the following signatures are for Teagan Presley, Sasha Grey, Jessica Drake, Heather Vandeven (uhuuh), Ashlynn Brooke, Kiki Daire, Michelle Michaels, Jenna Haze, Kayden Kross, Sunny Lane, Katja Kassin, Jenny Hendrix, Alexis Texas, Stephanie Swift, Nikki Benz, Aurora Snow, Taylor Wane, Sophia Santi, Gina Lynn, and Amber Rayne.

Divinity Love has a wikipedia commons page with a photo and no bio, but I’d be smitten if I didn’t mention it because I know someone thought she was super smokin’ hot. Worth a google image search for sure, or just wait for me to eventually post her photo with Mario Frassetto.

Mia Presley has a fairly interesting blog that I just spent a few seconds perusing. Apparently she does more than pose nude.

The myspace pages for Tori Black, Chayse Evans, Chanel-Renee, Kelly Divine, Addison Rose, Kaelyn Landers, Angelina Valentine, Ann Marie Rios, and Allie Foster are clickable. Because it is myspace they are pretty clean (or less dirty, how’s that?)

Last but not least, the thing I warned you about earlier. I wouldn’t click any of these links unless you’re curious AND perhaps in the comfort of your own home with a firewall on or something: Rachel Roxxx, January Seraph, Lexi Belle, Lux Kassidy, Louisa Lanewood, Laurie Vargas, Alyssa Reece, Ashley Fires, Samantha Sin, Faye Valentine, and Serena South.

Only one guy signed the helmet. Guess who? The Hedgehog himself, Ron Jeremy (which is on the inside of the black, upper left air vent).

Hardcore Since '74 : L.A. Erotica : Part 1

[Getting started...]

[Super being Super]

[Did I mention he liked to volunteer?]

[Are you sure I didn't mention it?]

[I'm not sure what to say about this one, except to say I told 'ya so.]

Hardcore Since '74 : L.A. Erotica : Part 2

[Things that make you go hmmm]

[Like I said before]

[Super and Amber Rayne]

[I can only imagine what he was saying here with Nikki Benz]

[With Heather Vandeven]

Hardcore Since '74 : L.A. Erotica : Part 3

[Angelina Valentine]

[Jenna Haze]

[Jessica Drake]

[With Alexis Texas]

[With Sophia Santi]

Want to know something funny? Putting this post together is already enough for me. Several hours too many figuring out who's this and what's that. Wherever Super is he's probably thinking, "Enough? you're just getting started..."

With a big smile on his face, of course. For you, Super.

In memory of our good friend Mario Frassetto. Thanks for all the good times, man.