Classic Rock

Recently at LuLu’s North Myrtle Beach, my brother and I played Skynyrd’s “Freebird. I am sure most people are joking when they shout that out at live shows because shouting out “Freebird” is a thing – so much so that a new response to the request – two middle fingers up with a “ But we did a short version of the song, complete with piano and guitar solos – and people loved it. I also like the idea of playing snippets of other songs that people request.

I am a friendly guy – and people kept coming into the store. I imagined that many people don’t ascribe this edginess to a lack of nourishment, but rather it becomes some sort of existential dread… I can see why. If we don’t understand what’s going on in our bodies on a physical level, our default is sometimes to blame our minds for our sense of ennui or unease There is a good reason you feel like bitch-slapping a complete stranger, and you don’t

In voice class, another professor named Wes Abbott knew I was struggling with the high range. ’s mother seemed relieved when she met me in person, because I sounded like “a used car salesman from Van Nuys” when I called for the first time to speak to her. When I was growing up, a vast majority of rock singers – and pop singers for that matter – seemed to ascend into the heavens with their vocal ranges. Somebody once said I sounded like Elvis Costello, but he can sing higher.

With life spread out in front of a young person, the options seem endless and there is ample time to explore any avenue that appeals to them in the moment. If they are lucky, they have at least one parent on board with the concept – and luckier still if that parent encourages them to spread their wings far and wide. We can throw the proverbial dart and move toward one main thing while keeping our hearts and minds open to happy coincidences, serendipity and spontaneity. Can we move in the direction of that main thing without becoming so rigid that we cut off our ability to find joy in the realm of possibility?

I know we have the option to go as long as we want to, but in this world of immediacy, sharply declining focus and distraction, I do n’t think marathon-length episodes are the way to go. The bulk of our podcast has been one-on-one, in-person conversations between us – trips down memory lane about growing up in Hollywood, original music and observations about our current lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. When we come to the end of the digital music archive, we will start to include live performances.

Why do we hitch our wagons to the stars of others instead of forging ahead in our pursuit of the hopes and dreams we cherished when we were young? Did we abdicate the throne of self-direction and choose instead to live as subjects to a new monarchy of control, restriction and suffocation? Did we decide to numb the pain of our abdication with drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling, shopping or ambition? Were we programmed early on by school, church or state to obey others in “authority” before ever considering the malign motives at play?

King, a physics professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Myrtle Beach, founded and launched the college’s Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series in 2008. Who” of featured celebrity speakers – from actors [Louis Gossett, Jr., Mackenzie Phillips, Danny Trejo] to rock stars [Everclear’s Art Alexakis, Bob Forrest from Thelonious Monster] to medical professionals [Dr. Drew Pinsky] The series also features presentations and panels including college students, recovery advocates and spokespersons from local recovery groups, rounding out a lecture series that shines as a beacon of hope for those still struggling with addiction and a lamp on the path of those on their recovery journeys. Casey opened up about the history of the series, his own recovery journey, how things came together for this year’s event and much more.

I used to toss aside mailers and periodicals aimed at those coming up on their “golden years,” but now the people in the photographs are starting to look more and more like me I fear the first time I publish a political post, the bots, trolls and haters will bear down on me with a vengeance. I have been a freelance journalist for many years, and enjoy working on personal profiles – getting to the heart of the folks I talk to. I am also a working musician, but I thought I’d be a rock star with my brother by the time I was a young adult.

How many times have we fallen down the rabbit hole of indecision, mulling over every scenario we can possibly dream up until we wind up lost, confused and in much worse shape than when we started? I can’t begin to count the hours I have wasted, waiting for the “right time” to do something – and the sad thing about this is that the something in question might not have been consequential to begin with. As the years go by, the more I am convinced that action is far superior to inaction, and that executing even an imperfect plan is head-and-shoulders above a well-intentioned delay. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

As we slouch into 2021, I have so far resisted the urge to participate in my usual self-imposed orgy of navel gazing… n’t know if I can hold out much longer, but I hope to take a different tack this year by being kind to myself instead of running down what I did wrong or failed to do altogether. But given the duality of humanity, I don’t think I’m putting together a laundry list of personal shortcomings in my journal this year. the more I realize that I have been lucky – and this is coming from a man who has been through the proverbial wringer more times than he would like to admit.