Worn out, Folks.
I’m happy to be returning to California from America.
I like America but it's kind of tense out there. I’m sure I’m projecting a bit and on some level it’s always felt a little tense in a kind of jocks vs. stoners way but it’s definitely not a great vibe. The division.
Sadly, the worst case scenario is that I am projecting and most people have no clue about what is really happening in the country. They’re just relieved they can be unfiltered monsters and be the dominant voice of the culture. Which is bad enough, but there is part of me that thinks, ‘This isn’t going to work out for any of us.’
After a certain point there is no way not to know that and the only way to maintain the denial will be the absolute suppression, through whatever means necessary, to stifle opposing or alternative voices and points of view.
Most of that will be an inside job on behalf of the individual being targeted. Outside of deportations, disappearings, unnecessary firings and imprisonment. For most, it will be to retreat inside themselves in fear and feel their spirit die.
That’s the fight. Keep your spirit alive and speak out.
I’m in Michigan.
On a lighter note, the shows have been great. Needed. I may be a little tired of the material I’ve been working on for a year and half now but the audiences seem to like it and need it. I keep tweaking stuff and all the shows are a bit different but I am honing in on a tight hour and ten.
I was very surprised by Grand Rapids. It’s a pretty little city. The venue there was one of the best I’ve played. GLC Live at 20 Monroe is amazing. It’s relatively new and seems to have been designed for rock shows. But the way it’s laid out there isn’t really a bad seat in the house and the structural design makes the room dead on a sound level. No bounce, no echo. It must be amazing to see a well mixed rock show there. The staff was great and it hasn’t been around long enough for the green room to be a mess. Great performing experience.
I also had some of the best coffee I’ve ever had there at Lantern Coffee.
The other thing that makes Grand Rapids beautiful is the architectural attention paid to old buildings. The renovation of much of the old downtown is meticulously curated. I seem to really gravitate to restored old brick buildings. The bricks are cleaned and new windows put in and the ghosts of the painted signs of what they used to be remain. There’s a visual poetry to it that I find satisfying.
Today I talk to director Ryan Coogler about his new film Sinners. It’s a horror movie. There is a genre now of Black horror that I guess has been kind of carved out by Jordan Peele. Sinners is rooted in the world of music and mysticism that is based in the Delta. It’s really a blues movie which I had no idea about going in. There are vampires, but it’s really about black music and spirituality and… vampires. It’s an interesting new take on some of the mythic stories.
On Thursday I talk to Jillian Bell, who co-starred with me in Sword of Trust, about her directorial debut with the film Summer of 69. It’s a take on the classic teen film that is surprising. Partially because I’m old and I don’t have kids. It’s a fun movie.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
