American Broke. Are we all broke? Are we all broken? Do we lack leadership, focus, humility, a connection to reality and a connection to each other? Do we walk around with our heads in the clouds dreaming about being a country of Americans where anything is possible? Or, are we already that country?
All good questions, but those questions are for another blog on another day, the American Broke I'm writing about today is a group of 20-somethings I first was introduced to when lead singer Levi's the Name took the stage at Fremont Fridays -- A Seattle summer concert series I've been attending to shoot photos and video for my YouTube channel.
Levi performed there and leapt from the stage into the crowd. I rushed toward him with my camera and was lucky enough to capture some of what I call the "magic." You know, the moments in a music set where an artist is completely free. Like Eminem says, they lose themselves in the music, the moment, they own it; and they never let it go.
Luckily for Levi, he doesn't have to let that moment go because I was there. I was standing patiently in a small crowd with my little vlogging camera rolling just waiting for a moment like that to pop off. And now that moment will exist forever in the photos I snapped and on the video I captured. It exists, and that's the great thing about taking photos and making videos. These moments that were once created and forgotten, can exist and promote a band to new heights. They can grow an artist into something bigger, more glorious and monumental than they might have ever imagined. A viral moment can virtually make money overnight if it reaches enough eyes.
I sat down with American Broke at Seattle's Central Saloon prior to their latest performance and discussed the formation of their new band. I told them that the ego can be either friend or enemy and can lead them accordingly. Front man Levi said he's gotten over that feeling of imposter syndrome, the condition of feeling anxious and not experiencing success internally, despite being high performing. And now the band's focus is just on making music and having fun.
While thoughts like that are now behind them, a healthy delusion of grandeur might not always be a bad thing. Developing a false or exaggerated belief about one's status or importance can actually lead a band toward the objectives they might desire. The term was first connected to megalomania, a self-important preoccupation with power and control. But these days, power and control don't seem to be what American Broke are all about.
In just a short timeframe, Levi has managed to build on his blossoming hip hop following and pull together a band that booked the Central Saloon, the self-proclaimed oldest venue in Seattle that has hosted countless legendary bands. Levi got together with his bandmates Evan on guitar, Atreyu on bass and Leo on drums, and put together a 30-minute set that rocked a Friday night crowd so hard the venue invited them back for another performance Wednesday night.
It seems that somewhere between your 20s and 40s, people lose the ability to toil in their delusions. Some stop dreaming entirely. So for me to cruise south and look at a group of 20 somethings for one night who still have that glimmer in their eyes and spirit in their souls was a pleasure. When I sat down with the fellas at their table and pointed the camera at them, the first thing I was asked was, "Do you like rock music?." Indeed I do. The bands on the wall at the Central were all in my walkman back in the early 90s. Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Sir Mix-A-Lot. I played them all. And they all started somewhere. Thank you for that reminder.
The formula is simple. If you want to start a rock band and book gigs around the city, you sit down with your buddies in a basement, put some songs together and do it. You focus your energies toward a common goal. No more lamenting on the past. You focus on the freedom you possess. You focus so hard that the energy turns into something tangible. Something real. Something that's begun, that's beginning, that can grow, transform and magnify your gifts.
When you have some talent in your 20s, sometimes you don't realize all you have to do is focus your energies toward a goal and the power of the collective force will take you right to it. Naw, America's not broke. Not as long as the spirit of rock and roll exists in the youth. After all, one rock song might be just what we all need to change the world and walk around with our heads in the clouds dreaming about the possibilities. A country of young men and women with the leadership, focus, humility and connection to each other that still realizes that anything really IS possible.
