And it was funny, you know: I guess at that time, Chris was spending pretty much ALL of his time at the Seaside Club. Like, he had his own beach house, you know, he had his own spot to chill, but I think he just really liked it there. Or maybe he just liked the ritual of it. Like, I think he just liked getting in his car and driving down to the club and saying hi to the valet guys and going and sitting in his chair by the pool, and like, I think he mostly just liked having somewhere to go, you know? He had become known around town as the “Mayor of the Seaside Club” because, like, he was super-involved in all the organizational decisions, and like, all of the membership drives.

And so anyway, one day I dropped by the club at the time Trick had set up for us, and Chris was sitting there with his shirt unbuttoned by the pool, like, chilling in a pair of board shorts, sipping on a daiquiri, and when I approached him, I guess ’cause I’m so young or whatever, Chris thought I was one of the busboys, and so he was like: Oh, I’m still working on this one. And I was like: No, no, I’m not—I don’t work here. I’m here to talk to you about a few things. I’m friends with Trick. And Chris was immediately laughing, like: Oh, man, I’m sorry. It was just—the way you were approaching me—it was like you were scared of me or something. Here, please, pop a squat. And so I sat down in one of the pool chairs next to him, and he ordered me a daiquiri—usually, I hate that shit, but these were legitimately next-level—and we got to talking.

And the thing you have to understand about Chris is like, he took his retirement REALLY seriously. Like, he really meant it when he was like: I’m never releasing another record for as long as I live. Because the Thunderbums, at the height of their success, were pretty legendary. I mean, there was a time not that long ago when the Thunderbums were literally the biggest band in the world. I know it’s kind of hilarious to think about that now—like, how long ago does THAT feel?—but it’s still undeniably true that during their moment, during their time, they were THE band to listen to. And so Chris was really allergic to the thought of ruining his legacy by putting out new music way past his prime. He had just seen it with so many people, you know, like, people who were really at the core of their moment who stuck around too long, or like, became too desperate to stay in the game and ended up becoming jokes in the process. And the way Chris looked at it, he was like an athlete, you know? If he couldn’t win the championship, he didn’t want to be on the field.