OPAL DILULLO
IF YOU’RE HERE TO WORSHIP IT’S ACTUALLY AROUND THE CORNER
Photos and words by Sue Cardenas-Soto
Birthdays are my favorite holidays. It’s the one day a year people in your life are obligated to tell you they love you and be nice to you. Plus, everyone has a birthday, so no one alive can say they’re left out. Birthdays are also kind of morbid; culturally, they serve as an opportunity to become a new person, but that also means you have to kill your old self. And of course, birth and death are very similar. They beget newness. And springtime is the cruelest season; as vibrant and nascent as it is rotting (like the smell of Bradford pear trees).
For this issue, I met up with my friend, the famous musician Opal Dilullo (@transylvanianthirstrap), who is in like, six bands (currently Bungee Jumpers and Double Over). She recently celebrated her birthday at a benefit show for The Orphanage. The space used to be First Trinity Lutheran Church in Bridgeport, but for a very long time has served as a community space/soup kitchen/free closet/music venue/library/more for migrants/incarcerated folks/etc. At the time of writing this, it’s currently under threat of imminent eviction. The show was a couple of days before Easter. I hung out with Opal (and friends) while she worked the door.
SUE: What’s your sign?
OPI: I’m an Aries.
SUE: Do you feel like your sign?
OPI: I don’t know anything about my sign but I think we’re supposed to be meanie babies.
SUE: I feel like, if anyone was the encapsulation of Aries, it would be you.
OPI: Max, do I behave like an Aries?
MAX: I feel like you do. That’s why we get along so well.
OPI: What are you?
MAX: I’m an Aries. My birthday was last week.
[ALL]: Happy birthday!
SUE: What instrument are you playing today?
OPI: Bass. I’m gonna bass it up later.
SUE: And which band is this tonight?
OPI: This is Bungee Jumpers.
SUE: How many bands are you in?
OPI: Like, two.
SUE: You’re not in two bands. You’re in like, five bands.
OPI: I’m in two bands. All my bands break up. Hi, are you here for the show?
TONY: [Opi] keeps asking people if they’re here for the show. I think she’s saying that ‘cause like–oh if you’re here to worship it’s actually around the corner.
SUE: Well yeah, ‘cause it’s fucking Easter.
SUE: What’s your favorite band that you’re in?
OPI: Out of all two bands?
SUE: I feel like you’re in five bands. That’s the impression that I had.
OPI: All of my bands break up. The Shape just broke up, Useless Info just broke up…
SUE: It’s a rough time.
OPI: I like playing in Double Over because I don’t have to write any music. I just show up and play.
SUE: It’s time for a birthday present unboxing. A birthday hat, a Sonny Angel, and a pair of Lays Potato Chips underwear.
OPI: Thank you, Anthony.
SUE: Can you unbox the Sonny Angel?
OPI: Whoah, that’s super cute.
SUE: Oh my god. It’s a Hello Kitty Sonny Angel Hipper, completely nude.
OPI: That’s so cute. So there’s this festival today for Good Friday–
TONY: Where they towed Jack’s car?
OPI: Yeah. They do this thing where they put this guy on a pole and they whip him. They crucify him, basically. Let’s take a birthday selfie. It’s Adelaide’s birthday too.
SUE: Happy birthday. What’s your sign–oh I guess you’re an Aries.
OSCAR: This used to be a church, First Trinity Lutheran. It’s a long story. We’re maybe going to make a play about it. The corrupt corporate version of that church sent a pastor in to close the church down. But it was shady. I didn’t know how corrupt churches were. They basically bought out the church which was doing this community center stuff. They’ve had Midwest Books to Prisoners here since like, 12 years ago. Then the corporate version of that church sold it to a developer. Things are falling apart, so we’re just trying to celebrate. There was an incredible organ in the church. The developer who bought it sold it, and sold the ancient wooden Jesus.
SUE: What are they doing to Jesus?
OPI: I love Jesus.
SUE: What’s your best birthday memory?
OPI: Usually my birthday is really bunk.
SUE: Bunk? Why? What’s your worst birthday memory?
OPI: Last year.
SUE: What happened last year?
OPI: I don’t think I can talk about it. I’d be putting some people on blast.
SUE: That’s good enough for me.
OPI: When I turned 21… I turned 21 in Indianapolis, and I was really depressed. We were playing a show that night, and the bartender Scooter made me coffee because it was my birthday. I don’t know, I usually work or play a show.
SUE: How old are you turning?
OPI: I’m 23 now.
SUE: Oh, that’s a huge year. You’re hitting a return.
OPI: Yeah, by the time most people are 23 they’ve done shit, and look at me, I haven’t done shit.
SUE: You’re literally in five bands.
OPI: I’m so glad my friend Sue is here. How old are you, 29? 28? 27?
SUE: Opi just called me 29. I’m 27. I feel like I’m in the prime of my youth. 23 is supposed to be like, the worst year of your life. Then 24 is incredible.
OPI: Am I about to have a bad year? I can’t wait to have a bad year.
Shit is tight and tensions are high. We need places like The Orphanage, especially for the people in our neighborhoods who rely on it. Saying goodbye (rest in peace) would mean losing essential resources and irreplaceable histories. But if it must go, I hope we create new places of refuge, enlightenment, and pleasure.