My Adam Yauch Story

[CHECKHEAD2004]

I am still laughing out loud that Beasties#1fan fainted when she saw her hand in Adam H's post. Not because she did but just the comedy of it all. I wish it could have been taped. LOL

Here my Adam Yauch story which I don't think I've ever posted before on this board, but with his passing think its appropriate to share what a great guy he really was:

I used to work for a museum reproduction company in NH called Facsimilies. We made many reproductions of many different things but had a handful of Tibetan / Buddhist pieces. I was (and still am) a huge Beastie Boy fan, but I really loved Adam Yauch in particular. In June of 1995 I specially finished a really nice Tibetan ceramic piece for him and I had planned on sending it so he would get it by his Aug 5th 31st birthday. It was perfect timing. I had sent it to Grand Royal but it got forwarded to him in NY. He received it about a week after his birthday and he loved it so much that he called me to thank me. First at my house, I wasn't home, he left me a voice mail which i still have :). Then the next day he called me at work. I was shocked to say the least but we talked like old friends would and spoke for about 5-10 mins. He was interested in how the piece was made and interested in my work. I asked how his bday was and he sad it was good and said the best present he received was mine. Was really a great day for me. I asked him what he'd been doing during the summer and he said he'd been playing a lot of basketball. Just a normal, everyday conversation. He asked if I ever went to NY and said that when I came to NY that we could hang out. He gave me his voice mail number to call. I hung up the phone and was pretty much speechless and in awe. I was 21 then. I should have jumped in my car that day and went to NY but I didn't want to seem like a crazy fan. He sent me a postcard shortly after thanking me again and saying when i come to NY to call his voicemail and we could go out for tea. I treasure that. I did call on New Years that year but he didn't return my call. I didn't officially meet him until the following June in San Francisco at a rally after the Tibetan freedom concert and we spoke for a few minutes and took a picture together and he joked around with me. It was a good day. He got taken away in a Police truck after the rally so that was it. I met him one other time in NY at a Grand Royal Records Show later that year and only spoke for a few minutes but he always took the time to talk and let me know he remembered me. I saw them many times in concert after that and remained a huge fan. Even worked on the Street Army for them for Hello Nasty and helped Ian with Grand Royal promotions in Montreal and Boston.
Adam will always hold a huge place in my heart and my heart aches that he had to suffer and that he is gone. We lost a guy with a HUGE heart. It really saddens me. It's so not fair for a guy with his heart to die so young.

So that's my story about Adam. I will miss him. I always wonder what would have happened had i jumped in my car that day. Maybe I could have been Mrs. Yauch... LOL Kidding. He met Dechen later that year and the rest is history. RIP Yauch. You touched so many lives.

[beasties#1fan]

I am still laughing out loud that Beasties#1fan fainted when she saw her hand in Adam H's post. Not because she did but just the comedy of it all. I wish it could have been taped. LOL


Yes...its true...i was on twitter, and i saw the latest bboys post...and i immediately clicked on it (well pressed on it, because it was on my iphone) and i saw my picture, and i saw "posted by: adamhorovitz" and i couldnt even say anything, it took like 3 seconds after looking at it, and i hit the floor, my brother is my witness, and we was scared...and he said my foot was switching, which means i really did faint. This is all too crazy though, its EVERYWHERE..my picture is everywhere..my hand...is on facebook, twitter, tumblr, instagram, and everyones eyes!!!!!!!! my family and friends are blown out of their mind...
this is by far the best thing to ever happen to me...
i am beastie boys #1fan.

[beasties#1fan]

I am still laughing out loud that Beasties#1fan fainted when she saw her hand in Adam H's post. Not because she did but just the comedy of it all. I wish it could have been taped. LOL

Here my Adam Yauch story which I don't think I've ever posted before on this board, but with his passing think its appropriate to share what a great guy he really was:

I used to work for a museum reproduction company in NH called Facsimilies. We made many reproductions of many different things but had a handful of Tibetan / Buddhist pieces. I was (and still am) a huge Beastie Boy fan, but I really loved Adam Yauch in particular. In June of 1995 I specially finished a really nice Tibetan ceramic piece for him and I had planned on sending it so he would get it by his Aug 5th 31st birthday. It was perfect timing. I had sent it to Grand Royal but it got forwarded to him in NY. He received it about a week after his birthday and he loved it so much that he called me to thank me. First at my house, I wasn't home, he left me a voice mail which i still have :). Then the next day he called me at work. I was shocked to say the least but we talked like old friends would and spoke for about 5-10 mins. He was interested in how the piece was made and interested in my work. I asked how his bday was and he sad it was good and said the best present he received was mine. Was really a great day for me. I asked him what he'd been doing during the summer and he said he'd been playing a lot of basketball. Just a normal, everyday conversation. He asked if I ever went to NY and said that when I came to NY that we could hang out. He gave me his voice mail number to call. I hung up the phone and was pretty much speechless and in awe. I was 21 then. I should have jumped in my car that day and went to NY but I didn't want to seem like a crazy fan. He sent me a postcard shortly after thanking me again and saying when i come to NY to call his voicemail and we could go out for tea. I treasure that. I did call on New Years that year but he didn't return my call. I didn't officially meet him until the following June in San Francisco at a rally after the Tibetan freedom concert and we spoke for a few minutes and took a picture together and he joked around with me. It was a good day. He got taken away in a Police truck after the rally so that was it. I met him one other time in NY at a Grand Royal Records Show later that year and only spoke for a few minutes but he always took the time to talk and let me know he remembered me. I saw them many times in concert after that and remained a huge fan. Even worked on the Street Army for them for Hello Nasty and helped Ian with Grand Royal promotions in Montreal and Boston.
Adam will always hold a huge place in my heart and my heart aches that he had to suffer and that he is gone. We lost a guy with a HUGE heart. It really saddens me. It's so not fair for a guy with his heart to die so young.

So that's my story about Adam. I will miss him. I always wonder what would have happened had i jumped in my car that day. Maybe I could have been Mrs. Yauch... LOL Kidding. He met Dechen later that year and the rest is history. RIP Yauch. You touched so many lives.
Wow....this is SOOO touching...One of the coolest storsy i've heard on this message board so far...and i really mean that...
Im literally speechless....just everything you wrote...it hit me pretty hard...
Im taking a picture of this story on my phone, because i love it THAT much..
wow..:o(y)

[CHECKHEAD2004]

Thank you-- I hope everybody keeps sharing their stories to show how many lives he actually touched.

And I hope you don't faint again!!! :).

[MsPacMan]

THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVOURITE THREAD EVER.

What a super fantastic amazing wonderful incredibly beautiful story.

I ran outta synonyms.

Having stories like this? It's like he's still here.

As long as we talk about him and remember all the awesome things he did; he always will be..............

"........for such a long while there's been such a longing; but now the sun is shining let's roll back the awning.........."

THANKYOU so much for sharing this with us. We need stuff like this. We can't let ourselves forget.

PS. Khloe we only make fun of you because we love you. You know that, sweetie.
I hope you are OK. Did you hurt yourself? It's not funny.

(It's a little bit funny.)

Little bit. ;)

Poor Khloe!

[Justin]

Awesome story.

Yauch touched so many people, in so many different ways. Many of us has been lucky to meet him in person, others have been able see him live or some of us has been nerdy enough to interact with him in that online virtual world that Capital Records and there.com did back in 2007.

The one thing that has made this easier for me is to know that Yauch will continue to touch people's lifes after his death and I will be sure to do my part to help his name and what he stood for...live forever!


'I stand at the edge cautiously awaiting
As time slips by
Carefully navigating by the stars in the sky
And I sit
And I think to myself
And on the horizon the sun light begins to climb
And it seems like it's been so long since he shined
But I'm sure it was only yesterday'

[beasties#1fan]

THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVOURITE THREAD EVER.

What a super fantastic amazing wonderful incredibly beautiful story.

I ran outta synonyms.

Having stories like this? It's like he's still here.

As long as we talk about him and remember all the awesome things he did; he always will be..............

"........for such a long while there's been such a longing; but now the sun is shining let's roll back the awning.........."

THANKYOU so much for sharing this with us. We need stuff like this. We can't let ourselves forget.

PS. Khloe we only make fun of you because we love you. You know that, sweetie.
I hope you are OK. Did you hurt yourself? It's not funny.

(It's a little bit funny.)

Little bit. ;)

Poor Khloe!
I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! beautiful story!!
To tell you the truth, i was too baffled with excitement; it took over, and i didnt feel any pain : D

[Aeromosa]

Hi Ya'll,
this is my first post here, as I just joined tonight. Maybe letting out some words with like minded sentiments will do me good.
I like your story, above, about sending Adam the vase and getting to meet him. I'm sure that will forever be a special memory.
My story is not that good but it's my experience so here it goes. As most people have said, the B-Boys were the backdrop to their personal movie. I was introduced to them by my babysitter at nine, they were present at every highschool party and when I became a little sister to the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, yep, Beastie Boys were always on tap.
Looking back on this, it kind of was an odd thing. I'm from the deep south where Rap/Hip Hop was not popular, not even now. The Beastie Boys were everything..you could not put them in a box. Guess that is why my parents hated them, and I was forbidden to listen to them...
After graduating at 21, I got hired by my dream job as a Stewardess for a Major Legacy Carrier. The biggest perk we have is free air travel, and that most of the time includes First Class. I found out the Beasties were going to play a show in London, I grabbed another B-girl at my airline and off we went...sitting in first class on an MD11, drinking champagne, warm nuts, and rapping every Beastie lyric we could pull out (cannot believe I was not fired). Went to the show, my mind was blown and 7 hours later I was on my way back home.
Two years later, I was working the left aisle of a 767G when I looked to my right to ask what the two people wanted to drink and almost choked when I found myself gazing into the eyes of MCA! He was in coach with his girl..I think they had the whole middle row..anyhoo, I broke into a huge smile and said, "Before I give you your drink..I have a little story I have to tell..." He cracked a big smile and said something about my Southern accent...I proceded to tell him about my first free flight to his show in London. He looked at me all serious and said, "That's really crazy". Kept saying it. "Crazy" His girl was laughing, I was laughing but I pretending to go back into professional mode out of definance, as he was def making fun at my expense! I told them to ring the call bell if they needed anything. For the rest of the flight, I'd walk down the aisle and he'd say "that's just crazy" or "crazy"...Thanks, Adam, for being so funny and making a routine flight EXTROIDINARY. I guess you could say, I was smitten...by his cool as heck nature.
I have never felt such a hole in my soul. I am on here to try and wrap my head around it. To maybe step out of my "Im invincible" bubble..I don't know. Adam, Mike and your families and friends...Prayers are going up to heaven for your loss and journey of grief. Talk about the times he made you laugh. I had an hour and a half with him...can't imagine a lifetime...God bless ya'll. I am truly sorry..
Peaces,
Aeromosa~
"To the Southern Belles...to all the Stewardesses flying around the world"~MCA

[Space]

[I][FONT=Helvetica][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]"To the Southern Belles...to all the Stewardesses flying around the world"~MCA

awww nice touch

[elnivan]

Hi all,

This is my very first post here, altough it's been quite a while since I signed up. Like all of you, I too am very crushed to hear Adam's passing. I grew up listening to the Beastie Boys, I even learned speaking English by memorizing the lyrics when I was 13 - at first they didn't make sense, until one magical day they all came together as meaningful pieces.

Anyways, my story is more like a Beastie Boys/MCA story than purely Adam... As a big fan, I travelled around Europe to catch the guys as much as possible - Lisbon, Gdyna (2 times) and Berlin. I was going crazy when I heard they are also coming to Balaton Sound, a festival held at lake Balaton, a few hours driving from Budapest, where I was born and raised. Lake Balaton is truly beautiful, a magical place, and I was chilling with a few friends, when my ex-girlfriend came to me and told me, the Beasties are hanging out at the shore... I got totally shocked, my heart was beating like crazy, and I was so filled with emotions. I barely could speak, but collected all my courage and went there to say 'Hi'. Mike was just about to take a swim, while Ad-Rock, Alfredo Ortiz and MCA was there, watching the lake. I spoke a little with Ad-Rock, told him to try local wine - I felt so stupid, there was so many things to say, and I literally couldn't speak at all. We took a photo together, which is probably my biggest relic. When I said goodbye, not just Ad-Rock said hello, but both Alfredo and MCA. MCA had shades on, but turned around to look into my eyes... I know, it's probably just a really minor thing, but the fact he also took care to say hello was turning me upside down -- I was so happy to have exchanged a few words with my all-time heroes. I knew immediately, that I just experienced something that I will never ever forget.

I will forever listen to the Beastie Boys, and I just want to express all my gratitude and heartfelt condolences... Much love to all of you, friends, family, fans, every single one of you!

[Aeromosa]

Thank you Checkhead2004 for starting this post! Not only was it a very touching story, but it gave me a place to begin here. Elvin, thanks for your story too! This is a very positive and uplifting thread.
Always,
Aeromosa~

[CHECKHEAD2004]

All of these stories are giving me goosebumps. I love that people are coming here on this message board to share their stories with others about Adam.

It's 3 days later and I am still continually thinking about this. It really helps reading all these stories.

Aeromosa, what a great story. It is so him to crack jokes. So awesome you got to have that experience. I'm sure you remember it like it was yesterday. And I love that quote "To all the Stewardesses flying around the world". So fitting. Thank you for sharing that!! :)

Elnivan, thank you for sharing also. Such a great story. Almost like a dream I used to always have when I was much younger. I used to always dream about running into them at random places and just hanging out. So cool that you actually did!

Keep the stories coming!!!!!!

Khloe, feeling better today? ;)

[CHECKHEAD2004]

Actually a bell just rang in my head... when he called me at work the first thing he said was "Hi, I received a piece and something is wrong with it" and I was like, "ok, what is wrong with it?" And then he just started cracking up and then said "Hi, it's Adam Yauch".

I totally spaced that until now. What a joke-ster he was.

[kindness09]

Hi all,

I was going crazy when I heard they are also coming to Balaton Sound, a festival held at lake Balaton, a few hours driving from Budapest, where I was born and raised.

Szia! My husband was born and raised in Szekesfehervar (pardon my English letters). He came to the U.S. about 18 years ago. (I'm American)

Had to say 'Hi' though :)

Great memories to cherish in this thread.

[elnivan]

Szia! My husband was born and raised in Szekesfehervar (pardon my English letters). He came to the U.S. about 18 years ago. (I'm American)

Had to say 'Hi' though :)

Great memories to cherish in this thread.

Hi there!

This is great, you got the spelling 99.9%, it's Székesfehérvár, but only because we have a sort of Ill Communication in here :)

Forgot to mention, and sorry if I go too off-topic, but my very first authentic Beastie experience was going to the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Amsterdam, in '99, at the ripe age of 15. If my memory serves me well, Luscious Jackson was the first band to play, and to reference the Beasties... Even that gave me goosebumps.

[kindness09]

yep-yep....luscious jackson...how many degrees of separation for the beasties :p

much of my favorite music has some connection to the beastie boys.

i'll be seeing radiohead in june and have designed an MCA tribute shirt for the occasion.

[missblastoff]

CHECKHEAD2004, I love this story. You're the same age as me and I was a massive Beasties fan in 1995 too... it's amazing Yauch had the time to spare for his fans, but he really cared about us. What a legend. x

[Aeromosa]

One last thing I remembered about my flight w/MCA. He had this crazy ability to mimic a Southern accent. So whenever I checked on them it was "Thaank yooo miss, but we're doin' just fiiine.". So on final approach to the airport, I had to walk down my aisle one last time to pick up cups and such and MCA said "Ya'll come back now, ya hear?" to which I replied, "Not bad....for a Yankee!" lol his eyes got big, he put his hands up like "what!?" and we all smiled cuz yeah, he got served! lol..

On a seperate note, like so many of you, I cannot escape this terrible feeling of loss..cannot even fathom what his inner circle is going through and all I can do is pray for them. I realized I was missing a few cd's so I went to the only authentic record store in town. (Est. in 1977 its' walls are filled with vinyl.) I walked up to the door and it was locked. DANG. I forgot they changed their hours last year. The guy saw me standing there in a daze and opened the door. I told him I was really sad about MCA's passing and could I please get a few cd's? He had already closed his register, but I paid cash and he even gave me one free and took the tax off. (Small, Southern towns...can't beat 'em with a stick!)

[beasties#1fan]

One last thing I remembered about my flight w/MCA. He had this crazy ability to mimic a Southern accent. So whenever I checked on them it was "Thaank yooo miss, but we're doin' just fiiine.". So on final approach to the airport, I had to walk down my aisle one last time to pick up cups and such and MCA said "Ya'll come back now, ya hear?" to which I replied, "Not bad....for a Yankee!" lol his eyes got big, he put his hands up like "what!?" and we all smiled cuz yeah, he got served! lol..

On a seperate note, like so many of you, I cannot escape this terrible feeling of loss..cannot even fathom what his inner circle is going through and all I can do is pray for them. I realized I was missing a few cd's so I went to the only authentic record store in town. (Est. in 1977 its' walls are filled with vinyl.) I walked up to the door and it was locked. DANG. I forgot they changed their hours last year. The guy saw me standing there in a daze and opened the door. I told him I was really sad about MCA's passing and could I please get a few cd's? He had already closed his register, but I paid cash and he even gave me one free and took the tax off. (Small, Southern towns...can't beat 'em with a stick!)
he was soooooo good at accents!!!!

[benchillin]

One last thing I remembered about my flight w/MCA. I replied, "Not bad....for a Yankee!" lol his eyes got big, he put his hands up like "what!?" and we all smiled cuz yeah, he got served! lol.. (Small, Southern towns...can't beat 'em with a stick!)


lol i laughed out loud and cried :D

[Laver1969]

Actually a bell just rang in my head... when he called me at work the first thing he said was "Hi, I received a piece and something is wrong with it" and I was like, "ok, what is wrong with it?" And then he just started cracking up and then said "Hi, it's Adam Yauch".

I totally spaced that until now. What a joke-ster he was.

What a cool story. Thanks for sharing!

[Aeromosa]

Actually a bell just rang in my head... when he called me at work the first thing he said was "Hi, I received a piece and something is wrong with it" and I was like, "ok, what is wrong with it?" And then he just started cracking up and then said "Hi, it's Adam Yauch".

I totally spaced that until now. What a joke-ster he was.
Checkhead2004, that is hilarious..and I am sooo glad I decided to come to this board! It seems he was the same guy with both of us..the merry prankster..making the ordinary into something funny...which is why I identified w/ the Beasties in the first place. Even @ 10, I could see the Peter Pan in all of them..and that's right up my alley now. Do the stuff you HAVE to do...but never let your inner child die!! I'm sure neither one of us will never forget his laughter..Thank you for starting this thread & sharing your story. It was the only place I could have come to with mine..peaces!

[beldenak]

I am 41, and I've been along for the ride since Day 1. I remember listening to "Fight For Your Right" back in '86, on the radio, in the car with my girlfriend and her parents. Today, I tell people in my office that Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 dropped, and they look at me like I have three heads because I listen to the Beasties. It was the ultimate irony - three intelligent, sweet guys rapping about beer and girls. They were all so misunderstood, as was their music, by so many.

MCA, RIP. We all get it.

And thanks to you all for the stories. All I have is my CD's and my smiles.