Thursday, January 18, 2007

sports it seems has always been the working class mans theatre. a way for people not artistically inclined to watch their beliefs and mores played out on a stage. analogous to their struggle and the competition of living. if living is competition. we seem to belive that in america anyway. so its sort of a perfect analogy for an imperfect world view. all this sets up tonights analagous sports observation. i am a fan, unfortunately, of los angeles' hockey team. i know a considerable amount more than i should about them. they are an awful team this year. awful. the general manager of the team every year has something called 'breakfast with the gm'. he meets with season seat holders and fields their questions. i was not there but read a report on the net. the season seat folks were pretty upset. did i mention the team is awful? awful. so the gm starts addressing their concerns about the state of affairs, including some of the big mistakes that he is responsible for himself. can you see where this is going? i hear the reasons why he made the decisions he made. he takes responsibilty for bad calls. talks about what he is going to do and what he is going to try doing with candor and authenticity. i dont always agree. but his forthrightness and leadership are convincing of his qualification for the job. he has assessed the situations well with some wisdom and clarity and plans to continue in the direction he was going in with appropriate adjustments. ok i know this is getting obvious. i thought of our stubborn monarch, king george bush ll. he is a man (i use the term loosely here) that has always made a big show of being a leader. the author of the phrase, "i am the decider". i think it was shakespeare that said,"methinks he doth protest too much". if you have to keep reminding people that you are the leader then i would suggest that you are not leading. during his entire reign he has operated with the belief that we did not need to know what he was doing or why he was doing it. he has created what jon stewart aptly called the most complete "catastrofuck" in iraq. it has gone so completely wrong it is almost perfect. he has now retreated into a tall tower that he shouts from the top of, alone; rice and cheney notwithstanding. by keeping everyone shut out and now being isolated, he has given no human being any faith in his decision making ability. speaking with my wife, raised in england, we talked about how much all of us (houses of congress now included) sound like we are talking about a king. we all talk about not being able to change his mind. we wont be able to stop him from playing his godforsaken (evidently right?) war. he is the stubborn boy-king of old english monarchy. awful.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting allusions to theatre and Shakespeare here. I can't help but to think of Henry 5 and how it, as clearly an anti war piece, has been manipulated by waring governments from the British Empire and Olivier in WW 2 to Bush 2 and this most recent invasion and occupation. Can you imagine being shown a version of this play just before invading a country? The fuckwit wasn't content to rape the mores of humanity, he had to assault art as well. Henry too, was a "man boy" with savage tendencies and a quirky knack to lead fine men into insanity exclusively for self promotion through hubris....Band of Brothers indeed. I think the evil leanings of the barbaric Titus are far more admirable than those of Bush and Henry.

Speaking of Shakes, a friend of mine has written a sequel to Much Ado. The run is at 6128 Yucca St and has a nice run of a few shows going. This is a small production and I include it because it appears that the folks here might be interested. I do not mean to jack this blog, and if I have you all have my humble apology.

Be well,

SR

Anonymous said...

you can see how fake is his leadership and personality by looking at him waving to the soldiers on the white house after he get out off the helicopter,i saw it a hundred times,and is funny but make me feel worried
cause it s just for the cameras. and well. We(argentinean)made every posible mistake on our country we let fear dictate our lives and politics but we only fuck us up. Now, you on the other hand. When you fuck up, and
let fear choose for you, we all suffer as a whole. so until we have a world goverment and vote a global president, you have a greater responsability an ,to, a greater power to change things, so don t be shy and use that vote.please

Anonymous said...

Hi Eric, its ironic you bring up the LA Kings. I thought this was written today (the 19th) and you were gonna say you were at last night's game. Im not a big hockey fan whatsoever, but was invited to go last night to see them play the St Louis Blues. Like I said, Im no expert at hockey (I dont even know most of the rules) but the Kings were AWFUL last night. Do you go to games often? I know you used to play (do you still?). Are you a fan of any other sports? What do you think of Beckham coming to LA?

Anonymous said...

The LA Kings? Is that a joke? I'd sit here and make fun of you, but I'm a Leafs fan so I guess I should keep my mouth shut. But in all seriousness, it's nice to know that some Americans do know what hockey is.

Anonymous said...

Hey Eric, it would be extremely amusing if it weren't true. It's sad really what we've become as a country. I'm a huge football fan and I live in Cleveland so I feel your pain. :)

If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a Jane's tour date question. I was rereading Whores recently and in there it mentions your first trip to New York for the New Music Seminar show. The New Music Seminar show was 7/14/87. While you were in New York the book states you ended up in the hospital. It also mentions that while in New York Perry's brother set up a gig at the Lismar Lounge.

What I'm trying to figure out is the date of the Lismar Lounge show. I've done a little research and there was a show at the Lismar on the 15th. The Misfits played. Do you remember the date? Do you remember playing with the Misfits?

If I'm bothering you with any of these questions please let me know. It's certainly not something I want to do. I'm just trying to set some history straight.
Latter Mike

Anonymous said...

Hey Eric, What do you think of Perry's new Band/Project? if you havent heard anything from them, here is a link to their mysoace page with a couple of songs from their forthcoming album:

myspace.com/satelliteparty

Anonymous said...

Eric,

Big hockey fan, even bigger Jane's and all things related fan. Don't you find it ironic they fired Andy Murray, and now he's leading the hottest team in hockey (for full disclosure: I'm from St. Louis and the Blues are my fav team). Its funny you bring it up, but Andy Murray is a great coach. He's taken our team from the worst in the NHL by far, to playoff caliber. Although, if you weren't forced to use your 4th and 5th goalies due the NHL waiver rule, the last 2 games against us might have been a win. I always wondered how LA Kings fans felt now, with Murray coaching our team of bums left for dead a month ago, and now we're taking it to almost everyone.

Anonymous said...

Eric,
After 7 years of searching, I finally recieved my Deconstruction CD in the mail about 6 days ago.It never dawned on me to check Amazon...As a former laser and lighting tech for live shows,I would have had a field day designing a great show with those songs..Fire In the Hole is a masterpiece....Big Sur I played about 20 times in a row..Incredible..Iris I did like better on the sound check MP3 I found many moons ago,I guess because it is faster than on the record and Perkins sounded like Neil Peart..lol...Please stick to your guns and never do anything with JA again...That was the past and you must keep it as is...I won't tour or do live shows anymore myself since I am now in my upper thirtys and have the family...etc..I keep getting asked , I turned down a chance to tour with Rush a few years back as a laser tech...It was just time to move on and I am glad you are doing your own thing...Keep it going and now it's time to wear out this awesome Deconstruction CD....

Scott-- Dover,Delaware

matt volpe said...

Eric,

I do not follow hockey much, but I understand your analogy full well and respect your view. I think for one to be headstrong and really follow what they believe in with conviction is a respectable thing, however, in King Bush's case, as in anyone acting like him in any capacity, to not listen to those around you and collaborate and compromise, that's a huge mistake. I was of the belief a long time ago that the US being over in Iraq was not all that bad--that I was witnessing a historical monumental. change about to take place in our world. And, as history teaches us, people trying to influence and make monumental changes in the world can take take decades or even centuries to completely be a success (or a failure), but nonetheless, it takes a long ass time. i.e, the new world revolution against the Britain is just one of gazillion examples I could think of. Anyways, I was of a belief a while back that Bush's agenda in Iraq and terrorism was similar to these historical changes made in our world. That it will take a long time and not everyone will be happy about it taking a long time and eventually grow intoloerant.
But I've realized along the way that this is different in a sense because, Bush is not listening at all. I'm sure the Amercian generals and the British generals listened to their public better when it came time to fighting a revolution. This is where I fall off from being supportive and now realize this president is living in his own bubble of conciousness and not giving a crap about what his people think. That is awful. On the other hand, I do support wiping out terroism and the atrocious terrorist groups that hate humanity and kill senselessly, but now I do not agree with how our "leader" is taking that on... sorry to blab. Anyways, sorry to hear the LA Kings are not a good team right now... keep your chin up!
talk later,
Matt

Brian Smith McCallum said...

Eric,

You honed in on a concept that I've wrestled with for the last few years: leadership.

How true is your observation that people who have to remind themselves and everyone else that they are leaders are, in reality, not leaders!

Cheack out Changing Minds - - specifically, their profile of leadership styles.

I think that sometimes the greatest leaders are those who don't seek the position; the position and role finds them. They are the "write in" candidates.

Your post made me think of one of your lyrics: "Show me a new breed of leader."

How timely of a plea is that! :)

Keep sharing your analogies with us!

Anonymous said...

yes, king george has fucked things up and caused a lot of suffering in this world. no doubt, i have been against this war since day 0. however, bush is such a loser that he can't even prosecute an ill conceived war correctly as any self respecting dictator, tyrant or king should be able to. he is a loser even in those roles.

i like the comments of juan de buenos aires: u.s. actions impact the entire world and other people in other countries suffer too. i also like his (male, i assume) view on how fear motivated their political choices.

stan

-ea. said...

sr- wow. much ado part deux. ambitious. seems akin to me writing a cd that is a continuation of the velvets banana record. daunting.

-ea. said...

juan - right on. yes, my concern about electing the fool in the first place was that we were electing a man to the post of 'leader of the free world' who had never even been to europe.

-ea. said...

anonymous- no i do not play hockey anymore. my back wont let me.

about beckham. my wife is quite happy about him coming to la. i have to admit to some interest as well. all the time ive spent in europe, i couldnt help but get caught up in their world cup/euro cup passion. american soccer has never interested me but maybe beckham will be the beginning of some more higher profile players ending up here. altough it is really the international soccer culture that is more interesting to me than the game itself.

-ea. said...

anonymous - yes the irony in calling a team that is awful the 'kings' is not lost on me.

-ea. said...

mike walters- the only thing i remember about the lismar show is that i felt fucking wretched throughout. i might have even done a good portion of the show sitting down. i had very unceremoniously been kicked out of the hospital earlier that day. they had cut me out of my favorite jeans. i had overdosed the previous night at the chelsea hotel. i know, very imaginative location choice.

-ea. said...

anonymous - i try to keep my opinions of my old bandmates between my wife and i.

-ea. said...

esqfool - i cant speak for all la fans but i personally dont have anything but respect for andy murray. class guy. hard worker. im glad he is no longer here but that is because of every reason aside from murray himself. he still refers to the kings as his second favorite team. charming.

-ea. said...

scott- thanks for the kind words. fire in the hole was sung by gibby haynes of 'butthole surfers fame. he is a genius. insists that perry stole the delay overkill vocal sound stylings from him.

-ea. said...

matt volpe- i too want smart and capable people to fight terrorists on our behalf. but i think that is the fundamental question about iraq. is what we are doing there fighting terrorism? we are redeploying soldiers at a critical tactical time from afghanistan (where terrorists were actually supported) to iraq in an attempt to quell a civil war between a country's citizens. doesnt sound like a fight against terror to me.

Anonymous said...

I was skeptical as well. She was true to Shakes intentions for the characters and wrote it through in iambic pentameter. Basically it follows Don the bastard since he essentially disappears in Much Ado after his misbehavior. It was wonderful.....

Be well,

SR

matt volpe said...

EA,
Good point there. I agree wholeheartedly.

On another note, I was just jamming with my good friend yesterday and we were playing a lot of dub, one drop style jams. God I love listening to King Tubby and Robbie Shakespeare and those guys, they are so inspirational to me. Today I turn 36. My goal this year is to become a less flashier player and a more in the pocket one.
Hope all is well. Talk soon,
Matt

Anonymous said...

Hi Eric
Well being a Flyers fan I cant say a word about sucking but Dean Lombardi is a good GM and he will turn things around. Plus you have Hexy (Hextall) as assistant GM so you are in good hands. I wish we never got rid of Lombardi before Clarkie quit.

Dean was responsible for building the Sharks into the force they are.

Just had to add since I saw hockey being brought up.

How about some more surf stories next post? any obscure locations you've hit while on tour?

Chris Cassidy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Chris Cassidy said...

eric, love the blog man. been waiting a long time to hear from the man himself! question, you still friends with gibby? he lives in brooklyn near me, and are you a fan of melvin gibbs? (rollins) he is also in the hood. you ever in NY? or just when you tour?
cass

Chris Cassidy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
-ea. said...

matt - happy belated bday.

-ea. said...

anonymous- yes it seems we took some potential replacements from your organization. who knew the flyers would go tits up and clarke would lose his mojo? cant get used to seeing philly where is this year.

i have only actually surfed once while on tour; portugal. i go into a very particular mode when on the road. its curious. surfing is a very particular space for me. spiritual, for lack of a better word. i surf alone alot when im home but the idea of trying to make it happen on the road seems unappealing. probably due to the fact that i hate surfing in crowds and unless you have a good local contact, you dont usually find anything but the most popular and/or crowded spots without that insider local knowledge.

-ea. said...

chris- i would consider both gibby and henry friends but i havent seen either of them in many years. probably wont see either of them any time soon.

back on the first lollapalooza i would come out and play one song with the rollins band on guitar. he is a good man.

i do occasionally come out to nyc. love that city. it is THE city after all. belle and i have been talking recently about coming out. cant remember right now, but there is something we want to see. there always is in that city of yours.

matt volpe said...

Thanks Eric! By the way, when and if you and your wife come to NYC perhaps we can meet up so you can meet little Avery Volpe!
Take care and talk soon, Matt

Anonymous said...

Thank you Eric for putting up with my questions and for trying to help to fill in some of the blanks.

I was out in L.A. for a week and was able to research some of this while there.

I can tell you the name of the band you were in with Perry before Jane's. You guys were called "Illuminotic" without the s. I found these two dates in case you're interested. August 16, 1985 - Anti-Club, Hollywood, CA
September 21, 1985 - Charlie's Obsession, Los Angeles, CA

Stop by xiola.org if you get a chance and or the desire and check out the Chip Away section. That's where I've been posting all my research to share with all the fans of Jane's.

Thanks again for putting up with me!
Peace