A Conversation with the Former Head of Security for The Off Ramp
We speak with Sage Viniconis about his experience in friendship with Demri Parrott.
Today I had the pleasure of speaking to Sage Viniconis about his Seattle memories of nightlife and friendship with Demri Parrott. From 1991-’93, Sage worked at The Off Ramp, a bustling hole-in-the-wall that hosted all of Seattle’s hottest grunge bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Tad, and The Screaming Trees to name a few. Notably, it was the venue that hosted Pearl Jam’s first ever live show, though they were still going by Mookie Blaylock at the time.
The club certainly certainly had its quirks, such as the infamous “hash after the bash” where the sweaty, drunken patrons could buy a plate of greasy hash browns for just 50 cents after each show. It was described as “the worst food that never tasted so good.” The Off Ramp had their fair share of signature drinks as well, remarkably “Satan’s Fury” which contained vodka, amaretto, triple sec, sloe gin, orange juice, and a splash of grenadine for $1.75.
Demri Parrott frequented the Off Ramp— in fact, she frequented all of Seattle’s clubs. According to Tom Morello, she was the “concierge hostess for bands passing through Seattle. She knew all the best pinball and dining spots”. The Off Ramp was undoubtedly one of those treasured spots.
H= Helena, S= Sage Viniconis
H: Thank you for talking with me! I want to first ask how you met Demri.
S: We met at the Off Ramp, I was working a back bar that also catered to coatcheck by the back door exit. I was pouring a pitcher of beer for customers when this skinny, birdie-like woman with long dark hair flies past me and makes a left turn into the broom & mop closet. Next thing I hear is the smashing and clamor of mop buckets and brooms and then silence. I was like, "What the hell??” The people awaiting their beer were thinking “What the hell just happened?” as well. I didn’t even charge them for the beer as I was more worried about if she was okay. I look into the closet and there she was, all sparkle-eyed and in distress. She meekly asked if I could help her. I began digging her out of the mess and got her up onto her feet. She hugged me with thanks, telling me that I was her angel that was sent to help her, then said she still needed help. I asked what help she needed, and she said she needed dope. I told her that I didn’t have any on me as I left my pot at home. She said, “That’s not the dope I need, I need heroin.” I said,”Oh honey, you’re too beautiful to allow that to taint your life, save your soul by not letting it into your world.” She kissed me on the lips and bolted out the exit door, heading off to the RKCNDY which was a neighboring rock club. That was our first encounter.
H: What a story! Did you two ever meet again?
S: Oh yes many many times, she stayed with me a couple times while helping her to kick heroin.
H: Wow, so you must have gotten to know her intimately. What did the two of you do whilst living together? What was she like?
S: Well, she definitely didn't have a filter. She was super smart and very artistic. Poetic, humorous, kind-hearted, gentle, and compassionate. I never saw her truly descend into addiction, but I was there to help her on two different occasions to kick heroin. I fed her, gave her tons of art supplies to create with, cleaned up her vomit, and held her when she had the shakes. Yeah, it was an ordeal. The only rule I had was she knew if she went out the door of my apartment it would lock behind her, so she'd be locked out.
H: You’re very kind to do that for her. What kind of art did she make?
S: Well one time while she was kicking heroin she stayed with me for about a month. She drew, painted, and did poetry, often combining it all in one piece. I believe I still have some of her work, but it's buried away. She did leave some pieces, but I also made her a cardboard portfolio for her art, so when she'd split she'd take a majority of the stuff with her. She never ripped me off, and we never fooled around, but we were cuddle buddies when she was kicking junk. As I said before, I'd hold her while she had the shakes, and clean her up when she would vomit all over. She was a very dear spirit and I did my best to help her.
H: Wow, you still have her art? I’m sure her mother would love to see it if you ever get around to finding it.
S: As far as the art and poetry, we're talking close to 30 years ago, I'm sure its buried away, but where has yet to be discovered. Funny enough, we never talked about her parents.
H: Interesting- did she make a point of not talking about them or is it just something that never came up?
S: She'd always change the subject, and I wouldn't press her on it. I always took it as she had a lot going on, perhaps she was embarrassed of being addicted to heroin.
H: What were your other encounters with her like at The Off Ramp?
S: Hell, after our first interaction she arrived at the door of the club sheepishly giving me her passport and apologizing for our first encounter. I saw that her passport had been stamped a few times and told her to do her best to keep away from dope while inside with a laugh. She hugged me and went in. I’d say about a month later she’d lost her passport, and in order to get in I vouched for her being of age. I made it clear that as long as I was working at the club, she would be allowed in. But if I wasn’t there, she wouldn’t be let in without showing an ID or whatnot. When I asked her what happened to her passport she just tossed her hands into the air saying she didn’t know and that she lost it somewhere.
H: She definitely had that free-spirited attitude. Where most people would be panicked that they lost their passport, she just accepted it!
S: Yeah she was definitely a carefree spirit. But also a caring one as well. When I asked her to hook me up with a couple of her girlfriends who I found to be attractive she said no. She said they were all nuts and that I didn’t deserve to be caught up in any of that mess. She hung with a pack of wild women. They were all sassy, and partied hard. We were all in our 20’s and those were the times. It was wild times and luckily many people survived those times, unlike Dem. I actually met my current wife at the Off Ramp, we dated for about 3 months back then and went our separate ways, remaining friends over all the years. Then in 2016 we reacquainted our love for one another and two years later we were married.
H: How beautiful, I love hearing stories like that! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me about your experience in the 90s Seattle scene, Sage!
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Wow, great job! Thanks a lot for these interviews keep going!