noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 57 August 2008 - Index

Gigs in places as far-flung as Fire
Island, Toronto and Hawaii cemented
his reputation. “He was a master
at the uplifting style that sent me
to heaven,” Steinberg recalled of
Cary’s mixing.
His booking at Splash Days in Austin
this year will be filled by his friends
Phil B and Twisted Dee, who are
donating their proceeds to his family.
Of his passing, Troy Spicer, one
of the Splash event's organizers,
said, "He was friends with half our
group.” Commenters on the web
extolled Cary’s personality and talent.
One called him a “sweet man
with a beautiful soul”; another, a
“spirit that was captivating and joyous—contagious”;
still another, “his
message was so much deeper than
his music.”
One person noted that Cary had
exchanged vows with the commenter's
brother, a concert pianist with
the New York Symphony Orchestra,
in 1996. Even after the break-up a
few years later, Cary remained close
with his mother: “He called her frequently
and always beat me to the
punch on Mother's Day.”
“When she was going through a
bout with cancer,” Kay adds, “he
flew down to Florida. He told her
how beautiful she was after he made
her take her hat off.”
His sense of camaraderie and fellowship
extended to the DJ booth, where
there were always sparkling gadgets,
toys, t-shirts and hats on hand. “I
ran into Cary on the dance floor,”
Steinberg recalls of an encounter at
the 2000 Masterbeat New Year’s Eve
party. “He excitedly pulled me to the
side. He had found the very last of a
portable laser system that he knew
I would like. He had one like it, and
loved lying on his bed watching the
patterns on the ceiling.”
Nico recalls Cary placing “Hello, my
name is ___” stickers on people’s
bare chests at parties after asking
their names: “While at first people
looked at him like he was odd, by the
end of the party people were coming
up to him and asking if he had any
stickers left.”
Nico also notes Cary’s acts of kindness
to those around him: “He was
incredibly sensitive and thoughtful.
For my first anniversary with Zack,
who I met through Cary, he instructed
us to ‘make sure we were home at
seven,’ without telling us any more.
Promptly at seven, a limo pulled up
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