Broken man

Amsterdamian summer, 2016.

Got on a flixbus from London and went to see an old friend in amsterdam. For the next few months I lived in the attic of this huge empty house they were selling, outside the city. They were also shooting a movie there…

Thought what the hell do i do now with my life. So i googled open mics and off i went into the night. Met these guys there and we have been friends since.

Not gonna lie, it was hard to suddenly be without gf of last three years. We were still texting and hurtin’ so a good friend took my phone and laptop away for a month which was difficult at first but helped me a lot.

We started a band called…

*** Broken Man ***

We were the best thing since before there was even bread to slice. We jammed on rooftops and boathouses and partied like there is a million tomorrows without any sorrows (thanks to the drugs).

I tried to become someone else, someone new. But like always, failed gloriously.

#goodtimes #oldways #backagain

Wherever i go, i always look for open mics (music or comedy). Its a great place to meet fellow comrades on this crazy path. And there are always people who are on different levels, some just beginning, some who have been doing it for a long time. Or some just there to support their friends and have a few drinks.

Sometimes you find some amazing talent and sometimes you wish you had a gun. Sometimes the songs go on and on and way too long (self-awareness is an important skill to develop in the performance arts). Sometimes you hear a song you wish would never stop.

And sometimes you go home with the sexy bartender and her friend after the place closes and wake up in an unknown location in a new city without a phone and sneak out in the morning while she pretends to be asleep. You get on a bus, feeling happy, proud and hungover. Poetry is being born.

You never know who you will meet. We all have our gifts to share, stories to tell and learn + connect. Not just to express our own art but practice the art of listening to others even if its to appreciate something you dont love.

I think Open Mic are a very beautiful and important tradition that deserves respect. Anyone willing to go an empty stage with their songs/jokes certainly has mine.

It can be a brutal game if nobody cares and especially so, if somebody does. For those 10-15 minutes you get to be in the spotlight. Your chance to shine.

And if not, come back next time perhaps with something else or attempt to relive the glory.

Open mics is where the real artistry can be found. Where we all become nobodies again. Empty stage, empty canvas. I love it and hate it.

And if you’re one of those people who just does their own thing and has to “catch the last bus”, go suck a duck! We dont like your kind ’round here (spits out wad of tobacco and pulls up pants).

MN

#openmics #artistlife
#wherethewildthingsare
#wildroses #wildstallions
#keepdoingit #keepgoing

Autumn 2016

Broken Man was climbing the charts, smash hit after smash hit but their singer had to go to canada to cool off.

Broken Man became unbroken men.

After a few weeks of intense partying in toronto and coming to his senses suddenly on a gay nudist beach, he got on a plane to mexico to go see his friend Pako. Those canadian girls are just too much fun.

Meanwhile back home in europe the guys continued on. Instruments were shuffled around and they thought “life is easier without golden boy diva stealing all our thunder!” But they kept in touch and knew his return was inevitable. What the hell was he doing in mexico anyways?

The months came and went…

(Trump vs Hilary was going down at this time as well)

#goneagain #runawaytrain #novemberrain #myheartwillgoon #iwillalwaysloveyou #crazytrain #takethisjobandshoveit