Swagger & Twirl

I haven’t been blogging much lately. I keep thinking that nothing is really progressing, and then BAM – i write 2 more songs before lunch!

I wrote a good one last weekend, titled (for now) Swagger And Twirl. It describes myself around a decade ago, in the depths of Glitter/Glam rock. Let me explain (yeah, TRY to stop me)…

I’ve always loved old-school punk rock. The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls, that sort of thing. Rude, aggressive, and dirty – that’s one of the things I admire most in art. That goes for photography too, I’d rather see a shot of a burned out urban factory than a pretty landscape anytime.
Physically, I’ve usually been on the ‘nicer’ side of fashion. Before shaving my head, I paid a lot of attention to my hair and makeup. I thought nothing of dying my hair teal, and slapping on some eyeliner and whore-ish red lipstick. There was also sightings of designer shirts, leopard-print tights and red patent leather shoes, blending with my extensive tattoos to set up a unique visual. I wasn’t always put together in the best taste and have literally stopped traffic on Yonge Street with gawkers.
I’ve had to stop the makeup and hair dye – as I age it’s looking more and more like Buffalo Bill from The Silence of The Lambs. But there was always an appreciation for nice suits, watches, and the like.

The glam and glitter scenes really combined these two, personified in 1970's David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and the like. Glitter often had a prettier musical side, but that was cool in it’s own right. Once I realized that one could present a tight, stylish image with a balls-out guitar-driven sound, I knew my place was somewhere in that. Really starting in the early 70s, images started appearing of a lipsticked, fashion-conscious guitarist, Les Paul slung low, blasting out obscenities in a cloud of cigarette smoke. Blending the swaggering confidence and aggression of the iconic rock’n’roll guitarist with the staging presentation of the fashionable created a unique and multi-faceted scene that has withstood many deviations over the decades.

Having dinner with my fiancé the other night, we were talking about attitudes and egos with performers. How the need to feel confident in your abilities can be the only thing that keeps you going. I commented that there was a time I’d walk into a club with the attitude “I am the king of all I see, and fuck those who disagree.” We scrambled for a pen and a napkin, and the song started to take shape.

Swagger And Twirl – the perfect combination. Maybe that can be the song for entering the night. Leaving the night will require a sequel: Stagger And Hurl.

Maybe…