THE TRIBUTE SITE
SoulGeek's Singles Night
01: It Began in Hollywood
02: Galaxy of Comics
03: Ben & Dino -Costume Bash
04: Along Came Heather
05: The TV That Could Have Been
06: The End at Geeky Teas
Chapter 01: IT BEGAN IN HOLLYWOOD In 2009 Dino and Casey wanted to follow-up the success of the SoulGeek Vegas bash by launching regular geek singles night mixers. The first event was held on July 11th, 2009 at what was then a sci-fi themed cafe in Hollywood known as “Ten-Forward”. Dino hosted the event with two special guests, his friends voice actor Crispin Freeman, and the late Richard Hatch of “Battlestar Galactica” fame. Unexpectedly jumping in to assist with the festivities was SoulGeek member Ben Paddon the creator of the Jump-Leads webcomic. Ben had only recently emigrated from the U.K. and had joined SoulGeek to find new friends here in the U.S.
Chapter 02: GALAXY OF COMICS Logistics proved to be difficult when it came to Hollywood (issues with parking etc…) so when Warren Jaycox approached Dino and Casey with an invitation to move the events to Warren’s Galaxy of Comics comic-book shop in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, Dino and Casey jumped on it. Galaxy of Comics would become the home of these events for almost 10 years with Galaxy hosting 6 geek singles events a year January through October. These events were at first advertised on SoulGeek itself which prompted requests from SoulGeek members across the country asking for events in their areas. This was considered until Dino realized that there was no way to be present and/or guarantee quality control at events carrying the SoulGeek name in distant locals. As such, the events were promoted instead through Meetup.com and kept local to the Los Angeles area.
Chapter 03: BEN & DINO - COSTUME BASH Like the first event, Ben Paddon kept volunteering to help and before long Ben became a permanent co-host while also becoming a great friend to Dino and Casey. Together, Dino & Ben would formulate over the years different approaches to these events… “Speed Dating”, “Board Game Nights”, “Ladies Nights”, “Geek Match Game,” “Trivia Contests,” “LGBTQ events”, and the always raucous “Year-End Halloween Costume Bash.” And a LOT of “Rock Band” was played. (the Beatles Edition of Rock Band was particularly popular). Along the way SoulGeek member and regular volunteer Taryn Allen would become so instrumental to the running of these events that she would join the team as official SoulGeek Events Assistant and Coordinator.
Chapter 04: ALONG CAME HEATHER In 2014 Dino and Casey conceived of creating a dating advice TV show for the SoulGeekTV YouTube channel to be shot on location at The Galaxy of Comics comic book shop. Asked to participate was actress and costumer, Heather C. Harris who was invited to join Ben and Dino as a co-host for an upcoming Singles Night event just to get an idea of the SoulGeek vibe before shooting. Heather had a blast… and THAT’S how she became the 3rd regular host for the next year of events, during which something truly unexpected ALOMST happened.
CHAPTER 05: THE TV SHOW THAT COULD HAVE BEEN The success of this trio as geek event hosts somehow, someway caught the attention of a reality TV show production company which reached out to Dino. The producers conceived of basing a SoulGeek reality show around the trials and tribulations of Dino, Ben and Heather bringing together real geek couples, and with it all culminating in a season-ending extravagant geek wedding. Dino, Casey, Ben & Heather were thrilled with the idea and signed on immediately. Yet, despite, numerous meetings, interviews, screen tests, etc… the producers failed to get enough interest from a network and thus the proposed pilot never got off the ground… not for lack of trying. Interestingly though, throughout all of this the trio of Dino, Ben & Heather became affectionately known for a time as the “Heart” (Heather), “Mind” (Ben) and “Soul” (Dino) of SoulGeek making for a very special time for the three friends regardless of how it all turned out.
Chapter 06: THE END AT GEEKY TEAS 2019 would see Dino and Ben moving the SoulGeek Geek Singles Nights to Geeky Teas in Burbank California for what turned out to be the final year of the events. It wasn’t planned to be the final year but when the 2020 pandemic shut the events down, it was decided that this was also a good time to retire. Ten years from Hollywood to Burbank. From Dino, Crispin & Ricard… …to Dino & Ben… …to Dino, Ben & Heather… …and back again to Dino & Ben (with a little help from Taryn). It was a great time, with great memories - and best of all, many new couples and new friends were made…. which, after all, had always been the idea. The SoulGeek Geek Singles Nights We had a great run.
