OK, Kids here is part two of my aside that I'm writing for a friend who very kindly asked how I got to be so screwed up.
So we left off in junior high where I was learning to play guitar and trying to write lyrics that didn't suck. What really got me going was copying lyrics down and studying them without the music to see how they stood on there own. The next thing that helped was doing the whole "Weird Al" thing, doing parodies, usually nasty, dirty, quadruple X parodies (Hey, I was fourteen, after all) (of course, now I'm forty and still do it from time to time)
The thing that put me over the edge as far as my literary search was a biography of Jim Morrison-"No One Here Gets Out Alive" a good friend of mine told me I 'had' to read it. To this day, I'm glad I did.
What I found inside this book changed the course of my life. I discovered the music of The Doors which totally blew me away. 60's music to me at that point was my Mom's music, The Beach Boys, Motown, The Mamas and The Papas, Neil fricken Diamond...I could give a shit less. But, the first time I heard "End of the Night" by the Doors, I freaked, this was the soundtrack to the darkness that dwell inside. This was the sound that pervaded my dreams. I was totally hooked.
But much more than discovering The Doors, I learned about Jim Morrison, the way he lived life, his philosophy, his poetry and his madness. I got turned on to the realities of the 60's counterculture. The Beat writers, Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Aldous Huxley, Arthur Rimbaud, William Blake, all of Jim's literary influences.
Then, I grabbed my library card and went completely ape shit!
It took me years to go through all of the material indicated in that one book.
It was time well spent.
But, during this time I also, slowly, painfully got better at playing the guitar. I took lessons, learned from friends, bought books, magazines, tapes, played two to three hours at night while babysitting my little sister while waiting for my mom to get home from work. (Yep, a latchkey kid, ahh, the 80's).
So little by little both of these endeavors progressed in my angry little brain.
The only down side to this time was the beginning of my drug use. Taking the long view, now, I wouldn't change much. (I probably wouldn't do as much acid as I did in high school but that's about it) but as William Blake said "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."
Again I was influenced by Morrison. Looking inside my skull for the answers to the mysteries of the universe. And (much to Nancy Reagan's chagrin) I did learn a few things, about myself, my limits, my own philosophy, what I wanted out of life and what I was willing to do to get it.
But, it all wasn't as completely organized as I make it sound. There was a lot of craziness and mistakes along the way.
And that, kids, is exactly the kind of stuff you write about!!!
Well, it looks this might need to go on to a part three!!
Next time around, we'll get into the nooks and crannies of how I write.
Drop me a note and let me know what you think!!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Inspiration, Music and Madness-A Child's Tale
This week's blog post comes from the suggestion of a friend. They asked me to write something about me, my motivations and inspiration and that aha moment that made me want to be an artist.
It turned out to be a more complicated task than I thought.
As I look back I can't remember a time when I wasn't drawing or singing or telling my parents outlandish stories. Now, of course, all children do this, but for me, some of my most powerful memories from childhood revolve around having a deep connection to music.
As a kid I used to sneak into my uncle's room at my grandparent's house to play with the old electric organ that he had in his room. I wrote my first song on that organ, "The Darkest Night" at probably 9 or 10. It's funny how I remember the song name after all of this time but can't remember anything else about it. Having absolutely no clue what I was doing I doubt it was any good. But, it was a start.
About this same time I started getting serious about reading and, to a lesser extent, writing. I remember writing and illustrating my first book a few years earlier for a class assignment in the 3rd grade. "Vampires from Space". I don't think it was exactly what Mrs. Stein, my reading teacher, was expecting, but I still got an A.
From about the age of 10, I started reading seriously, I had an above average reading level and my mother started buying me the classics. I remember for Christmas that year (1982) I got "Treasure Island", "Black Beauty" and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". I devoured these books. The Mark Twain book was, by far, my favorite and my mother didn't hold me back from checking out "Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the library.
Over the next few years I devoured all the books I could get my hands on. I read everything, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Mary Shelley (although, Frankenstein bored the hell out of me, I managed to finish it.) Madeline L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time is still one of my all time favorites).
By the time I was in the sixth grade I discovered S.E. Hinton and Stephan King and many more authors than I can't remember right now, but through that whole period, I was never without a book.
Now, about this time-6th grade-7th grade-I began a serious turn back toward music. Thanks to the kids on my school bus, I got turned on to Heavy Metal!!
My parents listened to country music (and some old tired 50's doo-wop) so this was a totally new sound to me. I was quickly, totally, into Ozzy and Motley Crue, Ratt, Judas Priest, Grim Reaper, Metallica.
I had to get involved in this! I had to get a guitar!
So in the 7th grade I traded a microscope I got for Christmas for an acoustic guitar. I started writing my own songs (before I could actually play the damned guitar).
The link between literature and music for me came in Miss Adams 7th grade English class. Part of her curriculum included a semester of poetry. We were assigned poems that he had to memorize and recite in front of the class. The one that sticks out in my mind was "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Tennyson. This poem was epic. It had BALLS. It brought to mind Metallica or Iron Maiden lyrics.With this, I was off on a new path of discovery.
It was then that I started taking music and literature seriously. The two were fused in my mind. I started studying poetry and practicing it as ardently as I did learning to play guitar.
My path was set. This was what I needed to do!
Well, folks, it looks like I'll have to carry this over into a part two!!
Feel free to chime in with comments or questions and I'll continue the story soon.
It turned out to be a more complicated task than I thought.
As I look back I can't remember a time when I wasn't drawing or singing or telling my parents outlandish stories. Now, of course, all children do this, but for me, some of my most powerful memories from childhood revolve around having a deep connection to music.
As a kid I used to sneak into my uncle's room at my grandparent's house to play with the old electric organ that he had in his room. I wrote my first song on that organ, "The Darkest Night" at probably 9 or 10. It's funny how I remember the song name after all of this time but can't remember anything else about it. Having absolutely no clue what I was doing I doubt it was any good. But, it was a start.
About this same time I started getting serious about reading and, to a lesser extent, writing. I remember writing and illustrating my first book a few years earlier for a class assignment in the 3rd grade. "Vampires from Space". I don't think it was exactly what Mrs. Stein, my reading teacher, was expecting, but I still got an A.
From about the age of 10, I started reading seriously, I had an above average reading level and my mother started buying me the classics. I remember for Christmas that year (1982) I got "Treasure Island", "Black Beauty" and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". I devoured these books. The Mark Twain book was, by far, my favorite and my mother didn't hold me back from checking out "Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the library.
Over the next few years I devoured all the books I could get my hands on. I read everything, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Mary Shelley (although, Frankenstein bored the hell out of me, I managed to finish it.) Madeline L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time is still one of my all time favorites).
By the time I was in the sixth grade I discovered S.E. Hinton and Stephan King and many more authors than I can't remember right now, but through that whole period, I was never without a book.
Now, about this time-6th grade-7th grade-I began a serious turn back toward music. Thanks to the kids on my school bus, I got turned on to Heavy Metal!!
My parents listened to country music (and some old tired 50's doo-wop) so this was a totally new sound to me. I was quickly, totally, into Ozzy and Motley Crue, Ratt, Judas Priest, Grim Reaper, Metallica.
I had to get involved in this! I had to get a guitar!
So in the 7th grade I traded a microscope I got for Christmas for an acoustic guitar. I started writing my own songs (before I could actually play the damned guitar).
The link between literature and music for me came in Miss Adams 7th grade English class. Part of her curriculum included a semester of poetry. We were assigned poems that he had to memorize and recite in front of the class. The one that sticks out in my mind was "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Tennyson. This poem was epic. It had BALLS. It brought to mind Metallica or Iron Maiden lyrics.With this, I was off on a new path of discovery.
It was then that I started taking music and literature seriously. The two were fused in my mind. I started studying poetry and practicing it as ardently as I did learning to play guitar.
My path was set. This was what I needed to do!
Well, folks, it looks like I'll have to carry this over into a part two!!
Feel free to chime in with comments or questions and I'll continue the story soon.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Tales of a Tardy Poet
Hey, all.
I am finally back to waste a bit of your time and cost you a few pennies in electricity. It's been an interesting couple of weeks and I've been having the best time so, nope, nothing to complain about this time around! Just a few observations by way of update.
I've been on a poetry kick, here the past couple of weeks. I joined a poetry site I discovered via twitter-21stcenturypoets.com and have developed some very cool poems from picture prompt contests! It is good for me because it allows me to stretch a bit and write about subjects I normally would not entertain. I wrote a poem about Cinderella from a picture prompt that turned out nicely! (Yes, kids, quit rubbing your eyes in manic disbelief-I did just say Cinderella!)
Work on the book has been slow, I'm struggling a bit with the scope and how much more I want/need to tell. (My length is way above first novel length-If I carry out the tale as first conceived, it would, damn near, be twice so.) So, I'm just trudging along telling it my way and saving the editing for a later date!
My band played out Saturday at the Hi-Port in Higginsport, OH, for their anniversary party/annual hog roast! It was a beautiful night, the crowd was awesome and the band played really, really well! We put a lot of work into preparing for the show and it really paid off. I was very happy!
It's interesting, the people you meet at gigs like these, the Hi-Port has a rough reputation (totally undeserved) and is frequented by bikers and other travelers as it sits right beside Highway 52. The regulars there are awesome and I've played there so much these past couple of years, I am slowly becoming part of them.
This night the crowd was large and there were a lot of people there I'd never met. The most interesting conversation of the night goes to a little gray-haired cat. He was right in front when we were playing and told us we were the best band he'd ever seen live, (he was drunk, kids). So after being regaled with stories of bands he'd seen and places he's been (jail and otherwise) he tells me he's a member of the Aryan brotherhood and lifts up his shirt to reveal the most complete piece of Nazi propaganda in tattoo form that I'd ever seen.
I didn't know whether to punch him straight in the head for being completely ignorant or ask him who had done his work. (It was all beautifully done- fantastic renderings of complete trash!!!..Oh, the zen of it all)
Not wanting to end up in jail (and still having another set to play) I side stepped the discussion of white power and asked about the work. Thankfully, it was time to go back on and my band mate Greg extracted me from the ludicrous situation. Also, thankfully, the guy disappeared about 3/4 of the way through the next set.
But, like I was telling Greg on our way back in, it is never the hot chicks, it's always the crazies! C'est La Vie, I guess.
At, least Mon Vie!
More later!
The Glass Slipper
What night in joyous hearts await
as heaven comes to rest
Birthed of storied angels
Aphrodite's spell possessed
This girl
This waif of light and song
dare stir my heart to rise
her countenance obsequious
her smile of fairest skies
A single dance is all we share
lost in her lonely grace
I ponder long apostasy
to wake in her embrace
Too quickly, I am left bereft
as the bells of Midnight toll
A single tiny slipper found
to lead me to my goal
I am finally back to waste a bit of your time and cost you a few pennies in electricity. It's been an interesting couple of weeks and I've been having the best time so, nope, nothing to complain about this time around! Just a few observations by way of update.
I've been on a poetry kick, here the past couple of weeks. I joined a poetry site I discovered via twitter-21stcenturypoets.com and have developed some very cool poems from picture prompt contests! It is good for me because it allows me to stretch a bit and write about subjects I normally would not entertain. I wrote a poem about Cinderella from a picture prompt that turned out nicely! (Yes, kids, quit rubbing your eyes in manic disbelief-I did just say Cinderella!)
Work on the book has been slow, I'm struggling a bit with the scope and how much more I want/need to tell. (My length is way above first novel length-If I carry out the tale as first conceived, it would, damn near, be twice so.) So, I'm just trudging along telling it my way and saving the editing for a later date!
My band played out Saturday at the Hi-Port in Higginsport, OH, for their anniversary party/annual hog roast! It was a beautiful night, the crowd was awesome and the band played really, really well! We put a lot of work into preparing for the show and it really paid off. I was very happy!
It's interesting, the people you meet at gigs like these, the Hi-Port has a rough reputation (totally undeserved) and is frequented by bikers and other travelers as it sits right beside Highway 52. The regulars there are awesome and I've played there so much these past couple of years, I am slowly becoming part of them.
This night the crowd was large and there were a lot of people there I'd never met. The most interesting conversation of the night goes to a little gray-haired cat. He was right in front when we were playing and told us we were the best band he'd ever seen live, (he was drunk, kids). So after being regaled with stories of bands he'd seen and places he's been (jail and otherwise) he tells me he's a member of the Aryan brotherhood and lifts up his shirt to reveal the most complete piece of Nazi propaganda in tattoo form that I'd ever seen.
I didn't know whether to punch him straight in the head for being completely ignorant or ask him who had done his work. (It was all beautifully done- fantastic renderings of complete trash!!!..Oh, the zen of it all)
Not wanting to end up in jail (and still having another set to play) I side stepped the discussion of white power and asked about the work. Thankfully, it was time to go back on and my band mate Greg extracted me from the ludicrous situation. Also, thankfully, the guy disappeared about 3/4 of the way through the next set.
But, like I was telling Greg on our way back in, it is never the hot chicks, it's always the crazies! C'est La Vie, I guess.
At, least Mon Vie!
More later!
The Glass Slipper
What night in joyous hearts await
as heaven comes to rest
Birthed of storied angels
Aphrodite's spell possessed
This girl
This waif of light and song
dare stir my heart to rise
her countenance obsequious
her smile of fairest skies
A single dance is all we share
lost in her lonely grace
I ponder long apostasy
to wake in her embrace
Too quickly, I am left bereft
as the bells of Midnight toll
A single tiny slipper found
to lead me to my goal
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