So long, Flint

Four and three and two and one…

De Anza’s Flint Center is being demolished to make way for a multi-million dollar creative arts building.

One of the best concerts I ever attended was at the Flint.

Back in ‘86, when the Beastie Boys had everyone’s attention, I was able to snag three second-row concert tickets. When the Beasties came out, I don’t think anyone sat down again (at least that’s how I remember it).

The rappers performed just about every song from the chart-topping album License To Ill. “Girls” was the only one omitted from the set.

Prior to the concert, my friend Jimmy and I met a couple of rappers from San Jose who were sitting near us. When my buddy asked them to drop a few bars, both immediately obliged. Years later I would learn that one of them, Francisco Soto, was not only related to me, but later achieved success as Don Cisco. Some of you may remember his hit “Oh Boy” (2000).

Interestingly, Don Cisco is nephew to San Jose native, Rosanna DeSoto, who famously played Ritchie Valens’ mother in the biographical drama La Bamba, (1987).

I saw several other outstanding shows at the Flint Center. In fact, I even saw Red Skelton.

Who?!

That’s what I said.

At the time, I had no interest in seeing a performer who got his start on the burlesque circuit, and later in vaudeville. But my dad had other ideas, so my brother and I reluctantly jumped in the car and headed to Cupertino.

Seeing no other teens in line before the show made me weary.

However, once I saw Red Skelton perform, I took back everything I had said. He was a joy to watch! And while he was in his 70s at the time, Skelton showed that he still had performance chops. Later I would learn more about him, and how influential he was.

The Flint Center has a long history. It’s where Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh on January 24, 1984. If you enjoy that sort of nostalgia, the video is available on YouTube.

While Apple celebrated the Mac on that day, I celebrated my birthday — turning 17.

I’m not sure why Jobs chose January 24. Perhaps he was aware that gold was discovered in California 136 years prior on the same day in 1848, and was hoping to strike gold himself.

I think it’s safe to say that he did alright.

During his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Jobs said “Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.”

Sadly, for some, those moments arrive too soon. Jobs passed in 2011 at age 56. Beastie Boys member, Adam Nathaniel Yauch, best known as “MCA,” in 2012 at age 47.

And while life is infinitely more valuable than even the finest buildings, eventually, places like the Flint Center, make way for a new style. And while the structure may be gone, memories carry on.