So many sad smiles reading Steve's post.

What dr.Awkward has written about him feeling like an adult-club member on the PRF (I started lurking in 2004 and posting in 2005) is exactly how I remember it to be, he just had *presence* and felt like a life force even only through the internets.

I use "I would/wouldn't go see band called..." all the time in real life so I will continue to do so with a bite of sadness.

Even without knowing him my first thought after learning he is no longer with us was "no way, not him" and now after learning the circumstances it is even magnified.

It is always more than ok to ask for help.

emmanuelle cunt wrote:It is always more than ok to ask for help.

Amen. I might add: if you know you are at risk, commit to having a plan for the darkest days or make a pledge to yourself that you will surrender control to people that can help you. I know that is nigh on impossible in many places/circumstances, and I know that worries about losing your kids if you take radical steps to get help or similar things under certain circumstances can be very scary. Please do it though, at least make the internal pledge. Sometimes it can work and keep a parent, partner or friend around. I know because it worked for my mom when I was three or four.

It doesn't make sense, it's non-sensical. Your brain will tell you everybody would be better off without you when that couldn't be further from the truth, even in moments in life where your presence is more important than ever. It just doesn't make sense.

What a huge loss. I'm so sorry.

The first time I met FM Bradley R. Weissenberger was in 2006. It was at the Double Door, and many local forum members had gathered to watch Silver Jews. I was about to light a cigarette when Brad appears and says, "allow me, this is how you light a cigarette for a gentleman..." then with a flourish, as if he was conducting an orchestra of smokers, he produces an active lighter. I copied that move for a few weeks. He was so very cool.

Brad and I shared a deep appreciation of the Moon so much that we would text each other when it was putting on a spectacular show. I don't think he'd mind me sharing a couple: "dig that moon," "dude, the Moon! Looks like Earth captured Mars as a satellite here on Michigan's west coast," and this was the final text I received from him: "It has been there for me all evening. It's hiding behind a bank of clouds right now, but that's okay. When the moon chooses to re-emerge, I will be there for the moon just as the moon has always been there for me." Fuck. Brad also harbored a deep-seated hatred and distrust of the planet Venus that bordered on comical.

He looked out for me. He was there when I was at my lowest, and shared in my highs. The absolute definition of a friend. I will miss the hell out of him.

I only knew Brad through this forum, and most specifically the early days. He was one of the people who gave it excitement, electricity. Among the jumble of disembodied folks, I can still easily remember BRW's baseball avatar and very distinctive voice. I happily found myself in a virtual hangout that included some genuine individuals, and here was one.

He was one of the key shaper of the culture - encouraging weird ideas, a healthy defense or attack on music, plenty of dumb games, low tolerance for lazy thinking. But BRW also fed my sense that there was a deeper, real community to be had - even for a mostly-lurker who was not in Chicago. When FM spoot died, BRW was one of those who took the time to express the bewildering grief to/for the rest of the Forum and shape a sense of mission about what had happened. At a different point, he got sick of the CDs lying around his house from his defunct record label and said "if you want some, send me your address and you can have this music." I did, and a week or so later I got a box of CDs freely mailed to me with some goofy note. I didn't like any of them - but was amazed he'd take the time to just mail them to anyone. The hangout was something more for those who wanted to go for it.

His feedback in conversations where I dipped in always made me read again and consider - I knew I would never always agree with someone who truly loved REM, but he was obviously bright as hell and so maybe here's something I could learn. I have made a habit of signing my posts as a way to check myself before hitting "post". If I'm going to put something out there where a BRW could school me for being wrong, I better not be flippant about it. I owed it to the Forum that I mean what I say.

When Ted Kennedy died, there was back and forth around whether this was a good or bad thing - TK's Senate record vs the awfulness of his personal history. I weighed in heavily on it and still remember BRW's comment about "what is wrong with you people, Justin seems to be the only one thinking straight on this, I will buy him a drink some day." The old forum is half-fucked and that post is gone; you'll just have to trust me on this.

I never got the drink from him but always figured he was good for it.

= Justin

It's good to hear everyone's inside stories fortifying what we know about him, here and on FB. I look forward to seeing you all this summer.

Like most anyone I've met, befriended and genuinely love from this little bubble, he made life that much richer. The numbness is wearing off but the feeling of being completely gutted remains, and probably will forever. He was one of a kind. The first time we kicked it in person, a Friday night turned into an entire weekend full of adventure- beers, Marlboro 100s, beaches, food, soccer and a genuine love for the moment. Even though he was halfway across the country we texted often and heartily about sneakers, college basketball, and a plan to hang once again this summer.

Going through the bandcamp is rough, but it helps.

I was proud to call him my friend and I'll miss him dearly. Forever.

Hi. It’s me, Uncle Spacebar.

I love getting to read everything on this thread so far. I still don’t quite have the clarity to talk about all of the things I loved about BRW, still distracted with “this doesn’t add up”.

But I have a few I can share now:

- To the best of my memory, Brad’s were the only vocals I have run through the Satanizer on a mix to-date.

- Countless opportunities to visit with him while he set up shop in the Studio B Lounge on a weekend morning. Coke and Marlboros, back when smoking indoors was a thing. We often made time for each other if we knew we’d both be in the building, and every visit was savory.

- I understand Brad to have been a second-generation Fake-Italian. His fake-italian, she was so beautiful, every word of her. I aspired to better my Broken-Fake-Italian, as his fluency was enviable.

- Always referring to his home in Idaho as “Boise, Italia”. It just made me happy every time he said it.

- A few months before the pandemic hit, I reached out to him for support over some personal turbulence, which persisted until around the turn of this year. I was hoping for a five minute talk, but we logged hours of time in person, on the phone and over text. Often him just pinging me out of the blue to see how I was. I’d have liked to return the favor.

- An ongoing and evolving discussion about Mike D.

I don't remember the conversation when we met, and I wish I had better held on to the exact words we exchanged last time I saw him. He’s always been a fixture here, both in Chicago and at Electrical. I only remember the feelings, and I’ll take those with me for the rest of my life.

We never met in the meat world, but I remember some PM's flying back and forth between us on various platforms many years ago. I had a look for those messages today, but alas they are gone. I never scrolled on a BRW post, he always had something amusing or profound to say. RIP Mr. Weissenberger, you were one of the people that made this place great.

taken from the PRF Radio Hour thread, I thought it was worth leaving in here:

bettyhowls wrote: This Saturday [4-2-2022] will be a tribute show for Bradley R. Weissenberger. BRW is the person behind this show's existence, and the reason I am the host.

Yet another thing (after reading a lot of these tributes) I had forgotten about. Brad's original shows were done at a brick and mortar radio station in western Michigan, which was always funny to me: picturing some rando flipping stations in MI and hearing The Bitter Tears..

I have mostly been a lurker on this board, off and on, for many years. I didn’t know Brad, but I really enjoy listening to his music, specifically .22 (Haven’t heard Book Burners but will be listening soon). I remember one of the first shows I saw at Metro was .22 opening for Stephen Malkmus. This must have been 2000, I think. I loved their set. After the show, I bought Watertown on CD and listened to it nonstop for a few weeks. R.E.M. is my all time favorite band, so I feel a kindred spirit with him even though we never interacted. I’m so sorry to all of you who knew and loved him. I have enjoyed reading all or your memories of him and I hope this space offers some comfort.

Joe