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.