WHO : @crhqstarters & Ziggy Gilbert.
WHERE : Callbacks, over the bar.
WHEN : Tuesday, 21/04. Near closing.
Tuesdays were not the strong suit of Callbacks as a venue. It was, like most bars, the kind of place that lived at the weekend and clawed its way through the rest of the week. Similarly, Ziggy was clawing his way through the last hour-and-change of his shift. It was the slowest part of an already slow night; the customers were few and far between, and performers even less so. The few that did take to the stage were... trying. He was nowhere near the calibre of a professional himself, but he knew a thing or two about music. He liked to think he had a right to critique them in his head, at the very least.
With a wince, he endured the current singer's loud, blaring, mic-clipping belt. He needed something more distracting than wiping down glasses. Flopping the rag over his shoulder Ziggy strode across the bar, stopping just short of one of his few remaining patrons. "Can I get you another one of those?" he asked, with a silent plea of please say yes. "Or maybe something different? Like a cocktail that means I have to use the blender?"
Despite the fact that it was a literal Tuesday, Dallas was completely fucking zooted. It didn’t matter that it was a weekday because on most nights, he could be found stumbling around a bar, drunk on way too much beer but wide awake thanks to the little baggy hidden in the folds of his wallet. Tonight his bar of choice was Callbacks. He’d come to the bar straight after his evening class to get a decent slot for the open mic, but had stayed way past his performance. Callbacks was an okay bar, but Dallas liked it because the crowd was usually pretty receptive to his music and, of course, his roommate worked there which meant one thing. Free drinks.
Tired of the flirty banter he’d been engaging in with some NYADA girl for the past thirty minutes, Dallas staggered his way over to the bar and smiled lazily at the sight of Ziggy. “Zig, my guy,” Dal sang when his roommate and most trusty bartender wandered over. Dallas held up his empty pint glass and nodded, “make me whatever you want and as much as you want.” Although Dallas could get free drinks, when he was this drunk, he became quite generous. Without second thought, he reached into his wallet and slapped a fifty dollar bill on the counter. Even though he acted all modest and humble, the reality was that money was no object in his family. “Keep the change. You earned it.” Glancing over at the performer who was screeching at the mic, Dallas clapped his hangs together and let out a loud woop. “I fucking love this guy,” he said, turning to Ziggy again, “you think he’ll do a duet with me sometime?” And then, more pressingly, “also when the fuck do you get off? Wanna kick it at another bar once you’re done with your shift?”
Franny gave a smile at the way this stranger didn’t just push her away and call her a crazy bitch - something she was no stranger too when trying to test material out on the street. She was no Billy Eichner. Not yet anyways. After running through her bit, and this guy responded with a chuckle ( a chuckle was a type of laugh! A good sign! ), Franny felt her shoulders slump before giving a resigned shrug. “Well, that’s not really a compliment at all because, like, if people are laughing just because I’m hot then I have not succeeded in my already relatively simple job but hey, I’ll take what I can get.”
Wiping her sweaty palm on her jeans quickly, Franny returned the hand shake eyes widening. “Ooh, named after the home town of Lee Harvey Oswald!” The words left her mouth before she could think twice and she waved the thought away with her hand. “Sorry, I did a presentation on him for my home-schooled History class and it just stuck in my brain.” The last thing Franny needed to do was turn a guy away who 1) found her at least kinda funny and 2) could come see her set by acting weird as shit. “I’m Franny, and you can catch me at Callbacks -” she gestured across the street to the location in question, “-At 5:30 tonight. And then you can catch me tending bar for the rest of the night.”
🤘
“I beg to differ,” Dallas interrupted with a shrug as he casually shoved his hands into his pockets with a smile, “it was a compliment. Wholeheartedly. Your joke wasn’t funny because you’re hot...I was just more inclined to laugh because you’re hot. But I’m sure your joke will hit harder when we’re not standing in the middle of a sidewalk surrounded by finance bros and pigeon shit.” Ambiance was everything...and there was something so painfully unfunny about getting approached by a stand-up comedian on the streets of new york city. But on the other hand...it felt like the funniest, most new york thing ever.
Dallas gripped the girl’s hand for a shake and made no effort to hide his surprise at her observation. “Isn’t that the guy who killed JFK?” he mused, squinting at her in slight disbelief. When she revealed that she was homeschooled, he let out a long and knowing ‘ohhhhhhh.’ “That explains it,” he teased, releasing her hand and returning it to its place in his pocket. “Oh, that old joint?” Dallas glanced at the bar he’d stumbled into one too many times, “I play their open mic nights sometimes. Weird I haven’t clocked you...I always notice beautiful people.” Feeling serendipitous, he shrugged and locked eyes with this unusual but intriguing stranger. “What are you doing now? Got time for a coffee?”
Dallas hadn’t meant to fall asleep at Zoe’s place when she invited him over on Monday night...it had just happened. He wasn’t sure how the girl who had initially stood him up had quickly risen the ranks in his hoetation and become his number fuck buddy of the moment, but he had decided after their third hang not to question it. Zoe Puckerman was all the things he liked–beautiful, confident, funny, down. She stroked his ego but also poked fun at him, made him feel good but also left him wanting. He was having fun. Their date nights had gotten pretty informal and more often than not these days, they were just meeting up on her time, usually at ungodly hours of the night, to keep each other company before bed. Dallas hadn’t expected Monday night to be all that different, however, when Zoe had posted a picture on her instagram of them drunkenly partying at that Brooklyn rave with a questionable caption, he knew something was up. They’d been too busy on Monday night to talk about it, but when he woke up in her bed on Tuesday morning with a slight hangover and a grumbling stomach, he knew they should probably talk. Hopping out of her bed in nothing but his briefs, Dallas made his way to the kitchen where he found her hunched over her phone with a cup of coffee. “’Morning, gorgeous,” he greeted, resting his arm in the doorway and staring at her with an easygoing smile. “We gonna talk about last night?” he asked with a quirked brow, “and I’m not talking about that thing you did with your legs. I’m talking about that picture.” To make it clear he wasn’t accusing her of anything, he walked over to her and gave her a lazy kiss on the cheek before stealing her mug and sipping from it. “Are you trying to get me to be your boyfriend or am I just a side piece you’re using to make your ex jealous?” he asked bluntly as they locked eyes.
franny really had played herself. she had agreed to having a new set ready far too easily and it was about to bite her in the ass. sure, she had the material, but she hadn’t tried to out at all. she had no clue if they were funny at all or where even new jokes. with a frazzled breath, franny grabbed the arm of the nearest person “ hi, not tryna be weird, just tryna get a consensus but do you find this funny? ” she said, words coming out jet fast as she scrolled through her notes app for the ideas she had jotted down.
“ okay, so basically i do this bit talking about how i hate ending conversations over the phone and i compare it to elton john trying to end a performance of bennie and the jets and then the song starts playing. i, like, mime it and ham it up really big because it seems never ending. ” as the words left franny’s mouth, she felt a large amount of her confidence shrivel up and die big time.
Dallas had just gotten off a lunch shift at Sardi’s and was enjoying a cigarette on his walk back to his apartment when he felt the touch of a stranger on his arm. “Excuse me?” he asked, glancing at the girl and moving the cigarette from its place dangling between his lips to the spot between his pointer and middle finger. Once she asked her question, he shrugged. “Alright,” he said as he blew out some smoke, “let’s hear it.”
He didn’t have class until the evening, so he was in no rush. He could stand on a random sidewalk and listen to this girl’s bit and give her feedback. As she started talking, he continued to take drag after drag from his cig and let out a soft chuckle as she reached the end of her explanation. “I’m not really a big comedy guy,” he admitted as he dropped the butt of his cigarette and squashed it under his heel, “but you’re pretty, so I’d probably laugh at anything you say.”
Flashing his best smile, Dallas extended his hand towards the girl for a formal shake. “I’m Dallas,” he introduced himself, “who are you and where can I see you perform?”
WHO: @zoepuckerman & dallas weston
WHERE: club cumming in nyc
WHEN: wednesday night, 3/31
Dallas often waltzed around like he was the prince of New York City. He made friends everywhere he went, was always wearing his bright smile and sharing his easygoing laughter with whoever was around. He had mastered the art of drawing people into his orbit and that was exactly how he liked it. It made him feel good. It was for this very reason that Zoe Puckerman standing him up had left such a mark. He’d never been stood up before...never. His ego was definitely bruised so come wednesday, he was determined to prove to his tinder date that he was well worth the trek to the East Village. His friend had a monthly comedy show at club cumming that often ended with a musical act. Tonight? That act was Dallas. His gear was already set up on stage for when it was time for him to perform, but in the meantime, he was just hanging out by the bar and mingling with his colleagues from NYU and strangers alike. He was in the midst of ordering himself another drink when he felt a looming presence beside him. “Am I in your way?” he asked mindlessly, turning to quickly glance at the stranger before instantly doing a double take. “My God,” he exclaimed, smile widening as he stared at her, “you showed up!” Dallas quickly leaned in and pulled Zoe in for a hug that was oddly comfortable for two people meeting for the first time. He then propped an elbow up on the bar and leaned against it effortlessly, taking in the sight of the girl he’d been texting for a couple of weeks. “Your pictures don’t do you justice,” he teased, glancing at the bartender and quickly flashing him two fingers to signal that he should bring two tequila sodas instead of one. “Hopefully you like tequila,” he said as the bar tender brought them their drinks. Dallas raised his and locked eyes with Zoe, “to...second time’s a charm.” After gently clanking their glasses, he took a sip of his drink and habitually tucked his hair back. “So,” he started, clearing his throat after a sip, “summarize you. Three words. Go.”
ZOE: ex boyfriend drama, but that's all in the past now.
ZOE: you're taking me out.
ZOE: 8 o'clock.
DALLAS: every guy's favorite thing to hear before a first date
DALLAS: lucky for you i like being bossed around
DALLAS: i'm performing at club cumming tonight. i go on at 9. meet me there at 8, we can grab a drink before i go on and then i can woo you with my voice.
WHO: @dallasweston and steph crawford.
WHEN: fri night/early sat. 3/26.
WHERE: ace of spades.
it was a breath of relief when steph had actually spotted javi. otherwise, she likely would’ve spent a solid fifteen minutes weaving between people and standing on her toes in an attempt to find dallas’ table. javi led her directly there where she sat beside dallas with a warm smile and a “hey.” she was tired. between class, dance practice, and sometimes work, her friday’s often left her worn out. she was definitely more of a saturday night kinda girl. maybe an 11:30 bedtime was a little early for a new york college student, but boy did she need it. the exhaustion was painted on her face, but how could she say no to dallas? to put it simply, she couldn’t. so now she was left hoping she’d get a second wind and be able to enjoy the night. again, with dallas around, she was sure her energy would spike as soon as they got small talk out of the way, “how are you? when did you get here? i hope i didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
Dallas, as always, had big plans for Friday night. He was supposed to meet up with some chick from tinder after a gig, but after she blew him off without a warning, he was quick to jump to his plan b...Ace of Spades with his very generous friend Javi and some wealthy burnouts from NYU. Nights out with this particular group were always a trip, and that was exactly what Dallas was looking for. He’d been at the bar for a couple of hours already enjoying the bottles that never seemed to stop coming and the good vibes radiating off of their group. Dallas’ mentality was always the more the merrier, so as the minutes ticked by, the more texts he sent off inviting this person or that person to join in their festivities. If Dallas texted ten people at close to midnight, it was a miracle if even one person showed up. New York City was populated by squares apparently. Steph had surprised him though. When she arrived, he was mid-laugh after someone had told a stupid joke. He turned to look at her with a very boisterous, “heeeyyyy! You came! You look beautiful!” before putting an arm around her and hugging her to his side. “Nah, you’re right on time. Javi just ordered more...something,” he told her, loosening his grip but keeping his arm around her casually, “and this is for you.” He slid a glass in her direction—a tequila soda with a few limes. “You feeling good? You tired? You need anything?” which really meant, “if you need something to wake up, I gotcha.” Dallas flashed a bright smile in her direction and tucked a strand of his unkept hair behind his ear before knocking back the rest of his drink, “you look different. Tan or something. Did you get some sun recently?”
[THOMAS DOHERTY, CISMALE, HE/HIM] WHO’S THAT? OH IT’S [DALLAS WESTON]. I HEAR THEY’RE [21] AND ARE KNOWN AS [THE RICH KID ADDICT] AROUND [NEW YORK] AND HAVE A VOICE LIKE [JAMES BLAKE]. THEY'RE ALSO A [JUNIOR] AT [NYU] AND A PART OF [WNYU-FM AND WAITER AT SARDI’S]. THEY’RE KNOWN TO BE [CHARISMATIC AND FUN] AND [INDULGENT AND RECKLESS]. SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY REMIND THEM OF [STAYING OUT UNTIL THE SUN COMES UP, GOING TO CLASS HUNG OVER AND MAKING OUT WITH HIS FRIENDS].
BASICS
Full Name: dallas roy weston
Nickname: dally, dal, d
Birthday: august 8, 2021
Place of Birth: los angeles, ca
Age: twenty one
Zodiac Sign: leo☼, leo☽, sagittarius↑
Hometown: calabasas, ca
Current Residence: a lofty, spacious studio in bushwick, just underneath miles pearce’s penthouse apartment
Sexuality: heterosexual
Relationship Status: single
Education: high school diploma (oak park high school), currently enrolled at new york university
Major: music / music technology
Occupation: student / waiter at sardi’s
Activities: college radio host (wnyu-fm)
LIKES/DISLIKES
LIKES: the west coast, writing music, performing, producing, tea (the drink...but gossip works too), staying out late, party drugs, microdosing, one night stands, vacation, laughing so hard he can’t breathe, jewelry, making friends, being the center of attention, being admired, romance, the ‘talking’ stage, generosity, jam sessions
DISLIKES: having his ego bruised, being embarrassed, being ignored, reality checks, juuls, country music, feeling inferior, people who are uptight, rigidity, playing it safe, last call for alcohol
TL;DR BIO
Dallas is a charming, happy person who is just trying to live fast while he’s young. He’s a bit of a cliche—a New York transplant from Los Angeles pursuing music. He’s a generous spirit with a good heart, and sure, his overindulgence in alcohol and other substances isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but anyone willing to see past that will get the opportunity to bask in the warm light he radiates. In his opinion, it’s not that hard and it’s definitely worth it.
FULL BIO
Dallas was born to Brody and Casey Weston. Despite being named after his mother’s hometown, Dallas was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles. His mother is a high profile talent agent at ICA, best known for discovering emerging talent and catalyzing their careers, while his father continues to write and produce movies after penning the Academy Award nominated film, The Male Escort Diaries.
Growing up in the valley near Los Angeles with two successful parents working in the ever elusive ‘industry,’ it was no surprise that Dallas also took an interest in entertainment. Although he appreciates film & television and the work his parents do, his passion is and has always been music. Because his parents’ network was vast, Dallas was lucky enough to grow up around musicians—whether they be clients, colleagues or friends of the family. He started playing the piano when he was only eight years old and taught himself how to play the guitar in middle school. When his parents realized that he was serious about music, they sent him to singing lessons and began investing in his hobby when they realized he had potential.
At Oak Park High, Dallas’ winning smile and warm personality catapulted him to the top tier of the social pyramid. Was he the most popular guy at school? No, but he was definitely friends with that guy. If someone asked Dallas if he cared about popularity, he’d say no, but the reality was that he loved having his ego stroked. He liked being the life of party and the center of attention so...the admiration and praise that came with being popular didn’t just feel like a want, it felt like a need.
Dallas always considered himself a pretty average kid. He knew people with parents more famous, rich and powerful than his, so to him? He never considered himself that wealthy or whatever. He was blissfully unaware of how different his upbringing had been compared to say...some random kid from Ohio. That changed when he decided to attend New York University.
New York (specifically NYU) was definitely still riddled with snobby, rich kids...but the flip side also existed...and Dallas found that he liked the company of those kids more. The deeper he got into his education, the more he realized he didn’t want to be written off as some rich kid with connected parents. So he tends to keep his background to himself unless asked. He has a day job (although he doesn’t need one) and he works hard at school to prove himself.
When Dallas first arrived to New York, he believed the only differences between there and LA were that LA had better looking people, better food, better weather, and people with better attitudes. However, with every subway ride or new venue discovered, he realized New York had something LA didn’t. Culture. Personality. The music scene in New York was grungier and more exciting and Dallas loved it. He figured LA could stand to lose him for four years while he earned his degree. He was sure he’d be back in his hometown soon enough.
Now that he’s completing his third year at NYU, Dallas feels pretty entrenched in the city’s music scene. He’s getting consistent praise for his sound engineering and song writing, which means he’s performing at open mics more frequently, all in the hopes that one day he’ll play for the right person and get ‘discovered.’ Despite not having made it yet, Dallas is already living like a rock star. He stays out all night partying, dabbles in almost any drug that is handed to him and, on the flip side, shares his stash of party favors with anyone and everyone who so much as flashes him a smile. He has a steady rotation of sexual partners, all of whom he genuinely enjoys, but none of whom he takes seriously enough to actually commit to.
Overall, Dallas is a charming, happy person who is just trying to live fast while he’s young. He’s a generous spirit with a good heart, and sure, his overindulgence in alcohol and other substances isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but anyone willing to see past that will get the opportunity to bask in the warm light he radiates. In his opinion, it’s not that hard and it’s definitely worth it.
