So, as a little kid, Gus got to experience the pleasure of writing freely. I have all of his written work from the first grade, as well as his early writing from Pre-K and Kindergarten. It is interesting to analyze Gus’s early written work with all his other writing to think about as well. I see patterns in his writing. From the moment he began writing, as a child, until the day he died, Gus mixed reality with make-believe to express his feelings whether they were playful or sad.
What stands out the most to me when I read Gus’s early stories is how so many of them are evocative in the same way that his lyrics are.
Read more
Gus was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. We lived at 2625 Liberty St. which was right across the street from Muhlenberg College where Gus’s father worked. The house was owned by the College. The rent was cheap because we contracted to entertain students monthly with a movie night and discussion.
We had one car. It was a 1992 Nissan Sentra that my mother had bought for us brand new. Johan could walk to work, while I had the car for errands and the kids.
Read more
This is written to set the record straight. The Wikipedia page sites interviews. Unfortunately--for the record--not all of Gus's published interviews were historically accurate. He did not complete high school on-line. He completed a semester of college on-line. This entry is to set the record straight about his schooling. There will be other posts to set the record straight about other inaccurately detailed parts of Gus's life. Perhaps the Wikipedia authors will read this.
Read more
Gus loved shoes. He began to show an interest in “cool shoes” around fourth or fifth grade. One of the first observable instances of Gus’s keen fascination with shoes was the moment he commented on his grandmother’s black Converse All-Stars. They were high-tops. He told her he liked them. She gave them to him. And so it began.
Read more
Gus and Dana had fun working on tattoo ideas together. He enjoyed having little images filled in here and there, in between the bigger images. He loved getting tattoos. For some reason, Gus had Emma photograph nearly every tattoo he had—up until he left to begin performing with Schemaposse in February, 2016. For that reason, I can show you Gus’s tattoos in detail here.
Read more
You can see so many photos of Gus in his many hairstyles. He clearly had fun playing with his style, and fearlessly decorating his body the way he felt like. There had been a moment when Gus decided he would no longer care about the dirty looks—or at least no longer allow the dirty looks define who he could and could not be.
Read more
