Steel Notes Magazine February 2017 | Page 80

Steel Notes Magazine
to that ? So , in journalistic professionalism I professed both my ability to say the word cock and my confusion as to the relevance of my verbal capacity . I learned that cock happens to be the acronym for his acclaimed band Citizens of Contrary Knowledge . And I swear I would have figured that out if it was on a trivia show or something . For the record , once Breeze stopped laughing at my discomfort he explained that “” Formulaic Maniacs “ was a consideration for a new bands name but not written in stone-they are still discussing it . I silently cursed the internet and decided not to do any research before an interview ever again . As we moved on in the conversation I asked about the book he is writing , “ The Chronicles of the Music Man ”. He has written a song to go with each chapter . I asked if he was writing a rock opera . “ Yes , he replied , and I see the book as a cross between The Vagina Monologues and Rock of Ages . “ The book isn ’ t complete and when I asked how he could finish a story of his life and career ; when obviously that hasn ’ t occurred yet , he simply said , after this presidential election , he figured it was time . WE didn ’ t ’ discuss politics tonight , I had a feeling we would need more time for that topic . Breeze told me that . His intent in writing the book was to share some of his intimate beliefs about life , the world , and the journey . He spoke of referencing his views on expectations versus realities and how they can be polar opposites . Although there was no discussion about timeframe for completion ; my personal hope is that he finds a sublime ending , for more than just his book .
You can see excerpts from his book here - http :// thechroniclesofthemusicman . blogspot . com / 2011 / 07 / feed-rich . html
We talked some more about things … lots of things , like school . He went to an absurd amount of schools before he went to college , simply because his family moved around a lot . He went to college at Franklin and Marshall , and I found out that Mr . Smarticle was 5th in his class and went to college on an academic scholarship . His football career which allowed him the opportunity to play in college as well as professionally in England was cut short . He sustained a career ending knee injury . He ultimately became depressed to the point where he felt relief was out of his reach . The conversion from athlete to musician was the transition that probably saved his life , or at least his mind . At one point that evening I heard him say that music was a good “ fall back ” if football didn ’ t work out . I should have realized that someone with two exceptional skills that are so different from the other would most certainly have the brain of a smarticle . By now the crowd
February 2017
was getting anxious to hear Breeze , and quite frankly so was I . After a few minutes of greeting the guests , shaking hands with some old friends , and acknowledging his roots , Breeze picked up his acoustic Takamine and showed us all why he is so successful . It ’ s always about the music , and this man certainly IS his music . Breeze did primarily cover songs during his show , and told me earlier that he selected that set because he had to . Every musician knows that to keep a crowd interested they need to perform the songs that allow the fans to be able to sing and dance along .
Breeze fingering his Takamine The room transformed from a group of folks dining and drinking to a solid swell of rhythm . With songs from at least 4 decades and artists ranging from Johnny Cash to Nirvana ; Breeze made sure everyone in the audience was taken care of . His rendition of Bowie ’ s Major Tom and Princes ’ Red Corvette were definite highlights , and the emotion in this singer-songwriters voice when he performed the original song , Kate , from his previous band , The Honey Buzzards , gave me chills . If you ’ d like a moment at the show , check out our Facebook page and take a look at the video of Breeze doing Johnny Cash ‘ s Folsom Prison Blues . Maybe he missed a lyric or two throughout the evening , and I ’ m sure that one or two chords were a bit off , but that didn ’ t take anything away from the entertainment value of his performance . Breeze did three amazing sets , and in between each one , he walked the bar , shook hands with old friends , and even stopped for multiple photo ops . His family , his friends , his business associates , all made an

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