Performance as Resistance, and as Spirituality.
"Trump Rabies" was the first poem I had written since High School. It was an attempt to "resist" what seemed like a gathering NAZI storm in early 2016. 600+ live performances of this piece, and several physical attacks later. . .
Yes, self-identified "Anti-Fa" attacked me. One these guys did so twice WHILE I was performing "Trump Rabies." The same nut job attacked me a third time outside a bar after a show. He came back a fourth time and tried to kill me on an SF Muni Bus, a little after midnight on a Sunday morning in May 2017.
"He's a NAZI! Kill him!" Dude pointed at me and screamed to the frightened passengers of the '24' bus. "Unite with me! We can kill him together!"
The attacks rained on in many other ways, despite being merely an unpaid, self-trained amateur. Usually by people who "Knew" some "Truth" that never had anything to do with me, my art, or reality. Frequently, and always nauseatingly, I was attacked by "Friends of Putin."
I began to try to teach myself how to sing in April 2017, using my spoken word piece "Before the War" (200+ live performances, 150+ sung) and improvised music with pick up bands to teach myself about my own vocal cords.
By September 2018, I was making up the lyrics while the music was being improvised.
By July 2019, I was singing improvised political rants while the music was made up along with my words.
By January 30th, 2020, four years after writing the first draft of "Trump Rabies," I was warning about the dangers of public over-reactions to Covid-19. The acceleration of climate change caused by panic in reaction to the emerging pandemic insured that climate change WILL kill far more humans than Covid-19 and its variants.
The video "Panic" is a simple recording of my Fourth Covid-19 performance. This piece is one which I am particularly proud to have co-created with my three bandmates.
At this point in January 2020, I was about 11 days into scaring every person or group of people I could get to listen to me shout about Covid-19. All I could do was try to slow it down by scaring strangers. I probably tried to terrify a few thousand people in almost four weeks.
These were, and probably will always remain, the most important weeks of my life. I will never be able to do as much good single handedly ever again, let alone by telling horror stories that're real for strangers on the street.
After my performance of "Panic," people allegedly discussed "banning me" for performing this piece. One of my best pieces, and the most important one. This same crew shit heads went rabid over my public support of Pres. Biden by 3/20, publicly attacking me in digital spaces for endorsing Biden, and demanding they do so as well.
These are People who were motivated by fantasies that inspired lust and greed, just like Trump supporters (who they claimed not to be). They abused and bullied of me in person and online. Almost none of the people in this #metoo nightmare of a fake performance community resisted Trump, or even created protest art.
Despite years of drama, violence, gaslighting, bullying, and other sorts of attacks. . . Years of being falsely accused of promoting NAZIs, falsely accused of promoting Trump, falsely accused of promoting Putin, and falsely accused of trying to start WWIII. . .
Somehow, I created some simple videos that I feel very proud of.
Somehow, I created things I find truly beautiful.
I share these videos with their warts, flaws, and even their cast of (mostly) rogues.
Thank you for watching! Cheers!
#resist