With a quiet passion and roughened voice, David Norman Beverly (known as “Rain” to many), shared countless fascinating stories of a deeply authentic life. Born June 10, 1966, his tales began with a rich southern heritage and the small town charm of Peachtree City, Georgia. The many accomplishments of his family (Mom, an air traffic controller and art store owner, father a local journalist, siblings with demanding and lauded professions and championships, and a proud family legacy of military service), lifelong friendships, and an abiding interest in martial arts, politics, and history earmark those early tales.
David joined the Navy at seventeen and a half years old. His devotion to a cause, quick reflexes, heroic bent, and love of adventure made him a good match, and he considered himself a Sailor the rest of his life. In the service and beyond, this old salt managed to land himself on every continent, though most often on the west coast of the United States. A self-taught renaissance man-of-the-world who not only sailed around it, he studied the many cultures and fighting styles, and also how to cook the local cuisines.
After his service, David landed mostly on the West Coast of the US and lived a life worthy of a whole different set of tales. Through Rain’s eyes, one would know that Ventura was a land of wild youthful adventures, Atlanta home to nights of clubbing and crazy characters, Los Angeles that of relentless work with a devoted team, and New Orleans of moody rain-drenched romance.
In the infancy of the genre he worked as a goth industrial dj, club producer and promoter for Atlanta, New Orleans and Los Angeles. In the 80s and 90s he helped clubs and artists get started who are still working in the industry today.
The “Cranky Old Goth” is well known for his warm welcome to people of all ages and backgrounds, technical chops, and style. He dated the lead singer of a famous rock band and was immortalized in multiple songs, seduced others and kept others sober long enough to write famous albums. This entire genre owes a great deal to his influence.
He helped contribute to the foundation of the internet as a modern network engineer and manager for Earthlink. His love for the ‘net never wavered and he posted and interacted consistently, sharing his thoughts, poetry, photos, activities and happy noms the rest of his life.
He was a go-to person for many “technical stuffs” and his last carer was a beloved combination of those fields as a sound, video, and event production chief engineer for an audio video production company. He loved being a mysterious person in black.
He created a truly vast network of valued and beloved friends. The favorite compliment he’d ever received was “You surround yourself with good people.” His manner of showing his love for friends far and near featured spirited argument fueled by the courage of his convictions (or a stubborn streak a mile-wide), an unmatched intelligence, and a dry rapier wit.
He loved science fiction, cats, dogs with personality, dark chocolate, stompy boots, leather, Roderick the plate armored unicorn, movies, superheroes, conversations with crows, carrying flashlights and other tools on his person, clove cigarettes, and any food that matched well with a fine alcohol … As he valued conversation that matched well with fine mental jousting.
David’s sense of spirituality was deeply rooted in a strong sense of social justice. He was unrelentingly principled and spent decades working in his community (wherever that might be), with at-risk locals, especially youth and homeless persons, and continued teaching and learning his whole life.
Protective of those who needed help, he never hesitated to step into dangerous situations to keep the peace. He fought for the homeless, stood up for outcasts, and sought justice for others. San Francisco and San Jose were his lastest ports of call where he wholeheartedly took on the homelessness issue and helped produce an important report that was presented to congress (Western Regional Advocacy Project’s “Without Housing” [WRAP, 2004]).
His death in early October surrounded by loved ones, leaves a thousand broken hearts. First among them is his mother, Mrs. Susan Beverly Marsh, father, Mr. Calvin Beverly, and siblings Dr. Laura Moore, Dr. Justin Beverly, and Ms. Lesley Beverly. Lovers, girlfriends, exes, and long-time flirtations too numerous to name, gimps, pirates, furries, activists, clubbers, boffer enthusiasts, a viking, kittons, a street rat, internet denizens, community and volunteer organizers, and so many others, celebrate his too-brief life and remember him as a musician, friend, poet, dancer, fighter, joker, writer, skilled jack-of-many trades, and bon-vivant.
A memorial gathering will take place November 24 in Oakland, CA, at the avant garde social club Mission Control. He was a devoted, energetic, and perfectionistic volunteer for this organization for many years.
Although no one can possibly equal his storytelling, we welcome you to join us in the attempt to share a few of the best ones at a club that considers it an honor to honor him. Contact fleming.virginia@gmail.com for additional info about the memorial; we welcome anything you would like to share if you can’t be there in person. — Composition and photo by Virginia Fleming
