Unbelievably, I have been without an adequate way to blog in so long, that I was convinced until recently that my sole source of written expression would be limited to blips on Instagramps and mini- blurgs on the Facebooks.
So here I am. In all of my exuberant defiance and delight.
No idea where the next topics will take me, or where they are going to go, but rest assured I will get around to discussing the bands, and more importantly for me- where I am right now in life and stuff- and where I am planning on going.
Eventually I will figure out how to feed this thing the information and the graphics I have, but for the time being I suppose it has to wait. This is an old blog of mine, with some stuff that was written in 2010 or so.
This blogspot was once only a blog of music. My daughter and I would share our favorite songs. We had about 215 posts up! I eventually took it down because Google had some issues with copy-written material. We embedded videos and to remove each one and realign the pages was dumb. Lol. Why bother?
Post Script:
I realized all of the 2014 and 2015 posts were done on a beta platform. While I can access these through preview, it will require screen shots to re-present these older posts through that sometime when I am motivated to revisit the past.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Thursday, May 22, 2014
The Adolescents on the Andy Dick Show
I got an invite through my friend German to do the Andy Dick show, His cousin Nicola works in the booking (I am assuming it is the booking, but the job appears to be more complicated than simply arranging guests) and thought I would be a nice fit to discuss autism and the current situation as it exists for my family. In a case of unintentional genius, or probable miscue- I misunderstood and thought that Nicola wanted me to bring the whole band. Over the course of the next two days I worked on figuring out what we needed to do to have a live set for the show, and when it was all said and done, we managed to actually pull off playing 4 songs streamed on a live internet show.
To the casual observer, of which I freely admit to being, Andy Dick is a comedian that has hit rough times in his professional and personal lives. He has been living in a modified shed, working a sobriety situation, and trying to maintain a professional career that has been sidelined in recent years by behavior that has annoyed, infuriated, and offended a number of people. If your bread and water is built on a professional life where making and maintaining professional connections is critical, you can quickly find yourself without any bread, and dumped into the water. It's a rough trade.
Now, as always, differentiating between the reality tv bullshit, from the reality of life bullshit is oft times a blurry, fuzzy mess. The determination of truth (understanding, comprehension, whatever you want to call it) for someone like me is always a series of code, miscues and misunderstanding, and total confusion. I am naive, I over-think things, and I have a core belief in the good that exists in every human being. Placing me into a room full of comedians and actors can be a quandary of confusion for me. At my core I lack some of the fundamentals of what is called Theory of Mind- the theory postulated by Simon Baron-Cohen (yes, he is related to the comedian Sascha Baron Cohen; they are cousins) which essentially means that I have difficulty code breaking the intentions of others. It is common among people with autism and Asperger's syndrome. It is also a trait I recognize in myself. It is also one that gets me into the most difficult of social situations and awkwardness.
I have believe that at the root of most comedy is a serious dose of anger fueled at the core by optimism- the inner belief that things can and will get better- and that comedy is essentially the last cry of the marginalized and disenfranchised part of the human soul. At the root of it all is a very bitter pill, and bitter pills are either hard to swallow, or the vestige of something better to come.
Comedians, however, are a mystery to me- I mean, I really do like to laugh- but actors and comedians can code switch in ways that are foreign to my understanding. I simply lack the wiring to crack the codes that they navigate so quickly and dynamically. For a person like me, to drop into a situations generated and fueled by a myriad of talented comedians is like dropping an egg from a very tall building. If it is cushioned, prepared, and adjusted for impact, it might just weather the fall and fail to crack completely. I was ill prepared, but I was there with five of my friends, and an interested ally- and they were all there to help me share- at least for a moment, what happened to my son (see theebrandenburgs.blogpot for more on that.) In any event, to appear on a live, off the cuff, sketch-talk show.
I realized almost immediately that we were going to be missing part of the necessary tools for a live performance. The vocals were feeding directly into a board so that they were heard through the internet channel- but there was no monitor or p.a. for the vocals. The staff of the show were working to find something to help, but we assured them it would be OK, and that we can make it work. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know, Rule #1 is to treat people with respect and dignity, and rule #2 is to always assume that people are trying their best to help, and so, refer to rule #1. The bottom line, rule #3, everyone has the desire for a successful outcome and are working with you, not against you. The crew was great, and it felt great. When it came to the rock, we delivered what we knew how to do. We may not be a culturally significant act like Lady Gaga, but we are veteranos, and we can rock your ass off in a garage with a single microphone and 40 of your pals just as easily as we can with a serious stage production and 5000 of your closest chicken mcbuddies.
In any event, I left the show yesterday believing a few things. I realized that comedians, much like musicians, have to work a club circuit that is fueled by the selling of booze, and for comedians that means they have to have a position on the use of alcohol- just like musicians do. It is a drag to realize this is a core requirement, especially if alcohol can't be one of your vitamins. That means that you have to, essentially, dance uncomfortably around a room that has temptation, desire, and relief in every corner. If you are able to dance through it comfortably, you still have the core philosophical and existential dichotomy- the knowledge that you rely on alcohol for your bread, countered by the knowledge that you are pushing poison to others through performance, advertising, or whatever. The clincher is that if you indulge you may as well kiss your meager gains goodbye- and that is a drag. Alcohol cannot be a part of my life, and yet, like food, it has to be.
I also left the show yesterday with the conviction that relationships are critical to our collective strength, and that without that collective strength, we are individually doomed to make the same mistakes again, and again. We have to be able to call out our friends- even if they are our bosses- and we have to be able to do it in direct, non-confrontational, but caring ways. That doesn't mean that they will respond- but it does mean that we should be able to do so without fear of reprisal or retaliation. This is not to snitch on one another, but it is to console, support, and remember who we are and why we are here, there, or anywhere.
To the casual observer, of which I freely admit to being, Andy Dick is a comedian that has hit rough times in his professional and personal lives. He has been living in a modified shed, working a sobriety situation, and trying to maintain a professional career that has been sidelined in recent years by behavior that has annoyed, infuriated, and offended a number of people. If your bread and water is built on a professional life where making and maintaining professional connections is critical, you can quickly find yourself without any bread, and dumped into the water. It's a rough trade.
Now, as always, differentiating between the reality tv bullshit, from the reality of life bullshit is oft times a blurry, fuzzy mess. The determination of truth (understanding, comprehension, whatever you want to call it) for someone like me is always a series of code, miscues and misunderstanding, and total confusion. I am naive, I over-think things, and I have a core belief in the good that exists in every human being. Placing me into a room full of comedians and actors can be a quandary of confusion for me. At my core I lack some of the fundamentals of what is called Theory of Mind- the theory postulated by Simon Baron-Cohen (yes, he is related to the comedian Sascha Baron Cohen; they are cousins) which essentially means that I have difficulty code breaking the intentions of others. It is common among people with autism and Asperger's syndrome. It is also a trait I recognize in myself. It is also one that gets me into the most difficult of social situations and awkwardness.
I have believe that at the root of most comedy is a serious dose of anger fueled at the core by optimism- the inner belief that things can and will get better- and that comedy is essentially the last cry of the marginalized and disenfranchised part of the human soul. At the root of it all is a very bitter pill, and bitter pills are either hard to swallow, or the vestige of something better to come.
Comedians, however, are a mystery to me- I mean, I really do like to laugh- but actors and comedians can code switch in ways that are foreign to my understanding. I simply lack the wiring to crack the codes that they navigate so quickly and dynamically. For a person like me, to drop into a situations generated and fueled by a myriad of talented comedians is like dropping an egg from a very tall building. If it is cushioned, prepared, and adjusted for impact, it might just weather the fall and fail to crack completely. I was ill prepared, but I was there with five of my friends, and an interested ally- and they were all there to help me share- at least for a moment, what happened to my son (see theebrandenburgs.blogpot for more on that.) In any event, to appear on a live, off the cuff, sketch-talk show.
I realized almost immediately that we were going to be missing part of the necessary tools for a live performance. The vocals were feeding directly into a board so that they were heard through the internet channel- but there was no monitor or p.a. for the vocals. The staff of the show were working to find something to help, but we assured them it would be OK, and that we can make it work. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know, Rule #1 is to treat people with respect and dignity, and rule #2 is to always assume that people are trying their best to help, and so, refer to rule #1. The bottom line, rule #3, everyone has the desire for a successful outcome and are working with you, not against you. The crew was great, and it felt great. When it came to the rock, we delivered what we knew how to do. We may not be a culturally significant act like Lady Gaga, but we are veteranos, and we can rock your ass off in a garage with a single microphone and 40 of your pals just as easily as we can with a serious stage production and 5000 of your closest chicken mcbuddies.
In any event, I left the show yesterday believing a few things. I realized that comedians, much like musicians, have to work a club circuit that is fueled by the selling of booze, and for comedians that means they have to have a position on the use of alcohol- just like musicians do. It is a drag to realize this is a core requirement, especially if alcohol can't be one of your vitamins. That means that you have to, essentially, dance uncomfortably around a room that has temptation, desire, and relief in every corner. If you are able to dance through it comfortably, you still have the core philosophical and existential dichotomy- the knowledge that you rely on alcohol for your bread, countered by the knowledge that you are pushing poison to others through performance, advertising, or whatever. The clincher is that if you indulge you may as well kiss your meager gains goodbye- and that is a drag. Alcohol cannot be a part of my life, and yet, like food, it has to be.
I also left the show yesterday with the conviction that relationships are critical to our collective strength, and that without that collective strength, we are individually doomed to make the same mistakes again, and again. We have to be able to call out our friends- even if they are our bosses- and we have to be able to do it in direct, non-confrontational, but caring ways. That doesn't mean that they will respond- but it does mean that we should be able to do so without fear of reprisal or retaliation. This is not to snitch on one another, but it is to console, support, and remember who we are and why we are here, there, or anywhere.
Friday, July 5, 2013
American Dogs in Europe- Destination Nowhere
 |
| This press photo was taken by Matze in 2012 |
Destination Nowhere
You know more than you’re saying
And you keep, you keep delaying today
It’s just a game that you play.
You keep on instigating
While I, I keep awaiting today
It’s just a game that you play.
Believing
Deceiving
You’re leaving
Your destination?
Nowhere.
I Can’t tell if everything’s fine
Or if your out, out of your fucking mind
Because it’s how you unwind.
I wait, hesitating
While you keep on instigating you say
That it’s a game that you play.
Believing
Deceiving
You’re leaving
Your destination?
Nowhere.
There ain’t no atttraction in this game
No atisfaction, no way
Fuck this game that you play.
Believing
Deceiving
You’re leaving
Believing
Deceiving
You’re leaving
Destination nowhere
CD track 4
EP side two/ track two
Released on Concrete Jungle Records, Germany (click here)
Released August 3, 2012
Thursday, July 4, 2013
American Dogs in Europe- Stage Diving Daisy's Revenge
I decided to try to restate the song by celebrating the young woman's growth as a human bein. Where she was once a young rebellious punk rock woman, she has followed her interests and is now has a PhD and helps people.
Like me, she grew up in public, but she was the last of a generation that would grow up in printed word, as opposed as electronic media.
Daisy's Revenge is simple, write your own rulebook. No need to explain, justify, or follow others. You are your own leader.
DAISY’S REVENGE
There was a time I was unaware
I’d lock my gaze on everything and glare
For no other reason than my will to be free
There was no power higher than the power in me
No need to justify
Or tell the truth when you look them in the eye
It’s our future, we have the tools
Might be there game but we make the rules.
In measured steps I’d play for time
In metered texts I’m looking for a rhyme
These riddles never made sense.
If I can’t break down walls, I’ll jump the fence
CD track 4
EP side two/ track one
Released on Concrete Jungle Records, Germany (click here)
Released August 3, 2012
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
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