Wheelchair Sports Camp’s Kalyn Heffernan’s Big Drop

“I was hiding in the green room, getting dressed and freaking out ‘cuz we were about to play the whole album with a lot of songs we’d never played before. Wesley Watkins was backstage; I told him to take his shirt off and help me find more sexy boys to carry me and my wheelchair through the crowd. Joe Tobano and Diego Florez were close by and agreed. I told the half-naked men to carry me high up, yelling, “Two in the front. One in the back!” Joe, the strongest one, was in the front, with Diego and Wesley behind – unlike I had asked.

“We got around and down into the pit, when Joe tried to re-position how he held my chair up and tipped me out. It felt like the music stopped. The packed crowd gasped, while everyone lunged to catch the falling fragile baby. I somehow caught myself on Joe’s shoulder, and Wesley reached from behind to scoop me back into the chair as they proceeded through the crowd. I held on for my dear shaky life like I was riding a mechanical bull. Finally I made it on stage, gasped for the biggest breath, thanked my angels for letting me live, and rapped, ‘No! Big! Deal!'”

Wheelchair Sports Camp plays Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox on Thursday, March 8.

Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work.