The DJ and the Suckness of Getting Old (Memories of Montrose)

Kathi Bond (AKA DJ Scout)

The ‘golden age of Montrose’ is a moving target – anywhere from The Eighties to the Aughts, depending on who you talk to. There’s some folks that are sure there is no such thing, that nostalgia gets regularly reinvented, the same way the playlist on the oldies station keeps getting more recent, as what you think of as ‘oldies’ ages out. There was never a ‘golden age’ – just your own precious and self-serving memories.

But the people who were really there know better.

If you lived in Houston during the golden age of Montrose, however you define it, chances are you crossed paths with someone like DJ Scout. And if you were lucky, you got to know her.

Kathi Bond, aka DJ Scout, was one of the driving forces behind Montrose Radio, Earthwire.net, and countless other electric, chaotic, and unforgettable projects that made the neighborhood feel like something more than just a zip code. She helped create a space for music, for voices, for poets and visionaries, and helped turn it into a true community…

I wrote those words some nine months ago on behalf of an old friend at the request of another old friend. Unfortunately, they were for a 'Go Fund Me' that is no longer necessary. No longer necessary because my old friend Kathi Bond has now passed as a result of the health issues that required it in the first place.

In advance of a 'celebration of life' I may or may not be able to attend virtually, I want to add to these words. I want to try to add some context. I want to share the thoughts I won't be able to share in person. I want my remaining old friends in my old home to know that my thoughts are with them… even if I am not.

DJ Scout was one of my greatest allies in one of the biggest follies of my life. Assuming the helm of a pirate radio station that was unraveling despite the best efforts of its founders was an act of pure arrogance on my part; I really had no idea what I was getting into. Once I did, I realized I would need help. I was lucky. People who loved the idea as much as I did stepped up – but hardly anyone more than DJ Scout.

the Montrose of the late 90s thru mid 2000s was that community's peak era, at least in my lifetime. The gentrification that eventually forced out many of the people who made the community what it was had started, but not yet become the tsunami of tacky townhouses and highrise hives it would eventually become. The climate change that eventually played a partial role in my own departure had not quite reached current hellish (at least to me) extremes.

In short, it was still a relatively cool place to live – at least to a middle-aged guy who had arrived as a young guy seeking escape from the insufferable insipidness of Houston's endless fucking suburbs.

And what made it truly cool were people like DJ Scout.

Kathi Bond was an essentially ingredient in the transition from 'Montrose Radio' to 'First Amendment Internet Radio' to 'Earthwire.net'. She had street credibility with parts of the community I did not, as well as connections into the original alliance of white punks and snotty activists that started the project.

Most of all, she had unquestionable authenticity and integrity. The music and musicians she loved were genuinely and obviously loved for good reason. The people she was willing to trust were almost invariably worthy of trust. People she doubted almost always turned out to justify those doubts… even when they were otherwise useful.

Even though I do not tend toward nostalgia, it sill makes me happy to look at old photos and videos, listen to the remaining few recordings, think back on the improbable sense of community I had in the community I loved more than almost anything I have ever loved in my life.

As my old friends gather to celebrate the life of one of our own, one gone too soon and very much missed, I want them to know that I miss her as well – and miss them, miss the common places we had, the times we had. Treasure your memories, treasure each other.

Toward the end of the day... not much else really matters.