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We met completely by chance in the winter of 2008/2009. I had just finished working a Sunday night shift and decided to stop by a bar in the East Village to visit a friend who was bartending. When I arrived, the place was unusually busy. My friend apologized, saying, “I don’t have time to chat much tonight, but my friend is here visiting from Boston—you two have a lot in common.” That friend was Drana.

We introduced ourselves and immediately hit it off, joking around and bonding over music and punk rock. I remember she complimented the Doc Martens I was wearing. As the night went on, we came up with a ridiculous list of fake band names, scribbled across a receipt, making each other—and everyone around us—laugh. After a fun night that went far too late, we shook hands, said “Nice to meet you,” and parted ways.

Somehow, through all this, we made vague plans to hang out next time she was in New York. About a month later, she was—and this time, we stuck to our plan. It was “just a friendly catch-up,” the kind of plan either of us could’ve canceled with no hard feelings. But we didn’t.

That day turned out to be incredible. We were both in the middle of some personal stuff, and yet we opened up to each other in this surprising, effortless way. We talked a mile a minute about music, movies, art—everything in between—and we never stopped laughing. What was meant to be a short afternoon meetup became an all-day adventure that ended with karaoke and friends. On the way there, I told her, “You’re my new favorite person.” At the end of the night, we parted ways again—but this time, we didn’t stop talking. We messaged each other every day after that.

We followed each other on social media but didn’t reconnect in person until a few years later when she came to a two-day punk festival at the club I worked at. It was great to see her again. We shared a quick catch-up, a few laughs, and once more, went our separate ways.

Then, a few more years down the line, Drana posted something on Instagram about wanting to start a Go-Go’s cover band. I reached out and offered to play guitar. She reminded me (rightfully) that the Go-Go’s were an all-female band. We had a good laugh about it, but kept chatting, just goofing around. Around that same time, I mentioned I had just lost a roommate and was looking for someone new. I figured Drana was cool and probably knew cool people, so I asked. She did—though that friend didn’t end up taking the room. I still messaged her to say thanks

We hatched a plan to start a band between New York and Boston. We’d email each other tracks, build on them separately, then meet up once a month to play them together. A couple months later, in June, Drana came back to New York for a weekend we’d planned full of music, shows, and good food. Just as friends.
Everyone else knew. We were the last to catch on.

That weekend changed everything.
Six years later, I proposed—and she said yes.

-Ivan

Ivan and Drana

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