Emma Straub

Because Stephen was a great reader, and he and his manager, Claudia Gonson, who's also in the band, they were friends with all these writers I knew because they were friends with my dad.

Peter Straub, he wrote big, fat, scary books, horror, some of them supernatural, but most of them much more about the evils of people.

But anyway, we go and the room is tiny and we were like, you know, four feet away from them.

And it was transcendently beautiful.

It was incredible.

And my dad, I watched it happen.

Like I watched him, because I knew that if he actually listened, he would love it.

And I watched him fall in love, you know, with this band that I loved.

And afterward, we went backstage.

And again, remember, we are all very drunk.

I'm like 20 years old, leaning up against the wall, trying to remain vertical.

While my father, my father was a very large man.

Stephen is a very small man.

And I was watching my very large, lumbering, drunk father lean in towards my tiny, beautiful little musical hero and ask him questions like, so who are your influences?

And anyway, I was so embarrassed and I got out of there.

You know, we got out of there and I was so mad.

And then about six months later, I had graduated from college, and my parents were having a singer who was friends with Stephen named L.D.

Bechtol, who's one of the singers on 69 Love Songs.

He was at their house for dinner.

And he said to my parents, oh, you know, Stephen's looking for a personal assistant.