Blak Sabloon

       

       In high school, my twin brother, myself, and our good buddy formed a mock rock band called “Blak Sabloon”. I forget exactly how we came up with the name. But it had something to do with our buddy being into Black Sabbath, and both Mike and I detesting them.
       When we formed, or more accurately, invented, this fictional group, we did it all the way. We each created our own character within the band, who were alter egos of ourselves, and even came up with their back stories. We took old clothing, jewelry, some of it that even belonged to dad....or mom....and ripped it, colored it, used it creatively, and made our stage costumes.
       We knew how to play music, so we taped our performances (totally Old School, using cassette tape) and created a unified recording out of those tapes. Just like you would with a “real” album. We created a body of work. A sonically obscene body of work, but a body of work nonetheless.
       The true mayhem of it all was that, even though we could all play instruments, we took our musical ability and completely fucked around with it. For example, I was the lead singer. And I really can’t sing. On top of that, we would deliberately choose songs that were out of my key (if I even had a key), just so that the vocals would sound even more horrific. There was lots of screaming, made up lyrics, and improvisation. We would switch instruments. We would take songs we knew and turn them on their heads. Sometimes my brother Mike, aka AcidHead Glasscock, would start playing another song in the middle of the one we were playing, without telling the rest of the band. Sometimes we would play songs we didn’t know, just to see what would happen. It was gloriously creative and ridiculously fun.
       The band was supposed to sound bad. Awful, in fact. The worse it sounded, the funnier it was. Being decent musicians, we played the music well enough so that you knew what song it was and could identify with it and the musicianship involved. With that foundation, we knew how to push the song into the plane of the absurd, then pull it back just as it got completely out of control. It was barely controlled insane musical madness.
       The band would sometimes invite friends over for a “concert”. Throw in a few beers and bodies, and it was just a good fuckin‘ time by a bunch of hyper-creative high school kids looking for an outlet with no rules, no boundaries, and the the wide open imaginative space to go wherever the hell we wanted. And we did. Often. During these shows, some of our buddies would get up and do guest vocal appearances, which were always a gas. My brother Mike was the only one of us who could sing well, and he never sang. That says everything about what the band was about right there.
       Not only did we record all of this sonic mayhem, but we took it a step further; we created the physical album itself. We took a Mary Poppins double album and glued construction paper to it so we could write and draw whatever the hell we wanted on it. This was inventive and resourceful action in a time of zero personal computers.
       The three of us were way ahead of our time. This was Spinal Tap, years before there even was a Spinal Tap.
       The resulting labor of love, “Black Sabloon: Wasted Live! (at the Inforium)” looked like a real album. It was complete with graphic design, photos, song descriptions, and band and crew information. We even came up with “critics reviews” of the band. All terrible, of course. My character, BoneHead Glasscock (twin brother of guitarist AcidHead), was described as having a voice that sounded like “a cross between a malfunctioning chainsaw and a rhinoceros in labor”. We used “Kiss: Alive!” as our design template and created a double live album, which were very popular at the time.
       The creation of Blak Sabloon says more about me than it may appear. More than just the silly play of a bunch of high school musicians, it allowed me to bring so much of what I love, so much of what I’m good at, to create something that was different, unique, one of a kind - qualities that many people use to describe me. I got to create a whole world, with a team of people I loved, and bring all the imagination, creativity, and unbridled self expression that I could muster. It was refreshingly raw, marvelously irreverent, passionately youthful, and incredibly fun. As somebody close to me brought up, many people lose a lot of those qualities as they get older, but I have somehow managed to buck that trend and bring all of that, and more, on a new level, to my life today. And that will always be so. Because that’s such an integral part of what makes me....me.  
       The picture above is from the back of the album. It is our Officially Unofficial “Band Publicity Shot”. Of all the pictures of me and my friends during high school, this ranks as one of my all time favorites. It sums up our collective Blak Sabloon experience perfectly. There is attitude, camaraderie, youth, a fuck all sense of humor, and the implied presence of illicit substances. All crucial elements in the makings of a great Rock N’ Roll photo.
       We were sixteen.
       And the more things change, the more they stay the same.......


©2013 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.

Menage A Trois

       Today, I am off to parts unknown. Well, that’s just an expression actually. Marblehead, Hyannis, and Nantucket, Massachusetts are all quite known. But the journey there for me is not.
       Through a chance meeting at The Red Parka Pub in N. Conway, New Hampshire, back in January, I have the opportunity to be a crew member on the boat Menage A Trois, in the upcoming Figawi Regatta.
       We set sail today from Marblehead, harbor somewhere overnight, arrive in Hyannis Friday, race on Saturday, and sail back Monday. In between life on the open seas, there will be plenty of socializing, rebel rousing, and harmless chicanery at our ports of call.
       This opportunity presented itself to me, in part, because I put myself out there. I don’t hide myself. I take risks, seek engagement with others, talk to people I don’t know, and build connections constantly. That’s part of “Living Out Loud”. For me, a big part. And it pays dividends. It’s not the way, It’s not the only way. It’s just My Way. And I believe there’s something to be gained and learned from it.
       Turning up the volume of life sometimes gets too loud for some. But if you keep an open mind, maybe you will hear something beautiful when you jack it up to eleven; just as there is something beautiful in the quiet passages of life, and in the silence. Sometimes, however, there’s nothing like cranking it up, peeling some paint off the walls, and feeling the thunder vibrate through your chest, into your heart, and back into the universe once more. Forever touched, forever moved, and never quite the same.....

©2013 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.

Guest Inspiration

When we move people, with our words, with our actions, with the sharing of who and what we are, we create connections. Through these connections, we create possibilities. These possibilities include inspiration, joy, love, and countless others. When I discover that I have moved, connected to, and inspired others, it fills me with a specific life energy that I can't get anywhere else, through any other means. Like music, it gives to me all it has, while I give to it all I have. It is symbiotic. It is interdependent. It is life......

Christina Luconi is a Guest Blogger on my site. Her writing is honest, succinct, and poignant. Click on the orange text below to go to her blog on tumblr.

Day 24 of The 365 Day Experiment. In*spi*ra*tion

in·spi·ra·tion

noun \ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən, -(ˌ)spi-\

I’ve been thinking about inspiration all afternoon. It started as I was sitting in a doctor’s waiting room scrolling through random pictures in my phone, and came across a picture of Steve Jobs, circa early 80’s. I have no idea why this picture is among the ridiculous other thousands that occupy space, but it’s the one that make me stop and pause. And as I sat there and looked at the picture, and reflected on the piece I wrote about Bob Geldof the other day, I thought, this man too, truly inspired me.

And as often happens to me, one random thought quickly led to another, like a visual mind map of six degrees of Christina’s insane mind. I was still on this mental track when I was driving home an hour later, and was conversing with someone who I realize had also inspired me. Which then got me thinking…what does it actually take to inspire ME?

For one, you need to think different. There are lots of really smart people in the world, and I truly respect them. But I really have great admiration for those who are able to truly see the world through a different lens than others do. Steve Jobs clearly did this. But so do many children. My kids look at the world in a completely unique way from how adults do. They know no constraints or boundaries. They have creative freedom to build their own ideas and perspectives, without the constant reality (yet) of too many people saying, “No, that’s not right” or “That’s a stupid thing to think.” I love going to look at art with my kids, see a movie or even just people watch. Often they see things differently than I do, and I find that always broadens my own thinking. They inspire me.

Secondly, you need to be able to connect me to that different way of thinking or feeling. Richard Branson resonates with me not just because of his “screw it, just do it” attitude. It’s because he believes he can compete with much bigger brands by doing it better. I fly Virgin America every time I fly to LA because I just think it’s far superior tangible service - and it’s different. It’s a little more fun. I actually look forward to getting on the plane because the flight attendants are funny. It’s not just branding. You are buying a piece of Richard Branson when you buy one of his flights. He first hooked me with his different way of thinking, then he connected to me to his brand and how it suits my needs better.

I have become close as of late to a writer who lives his life “out loud.” Essentially, the polar opposite of how I have chosen to live mine. And yet, during the brief period of time that I have known him, he has done more to inspire me than any other “real person” I know in the past year or so. He was able to do that through the sheer honesty and sincerity of how he shares his story and work. His way of thinking was initially so out there for me, that at first I found it fascinating like one would explore an accident on a highway. And yet, the more open minded I was, and the more I listened, the more I was inspired by his words and actions. We connected.

Finally, you need to inspire me to take action.

Ultimately, “the writer” is the one who got me to start this 365 Day Experiment and open myself up - without even knowing he had done so. With his different way of thinking and connecting me to it on a gut level, he inspired me to look deeper within myself and do something radically outside of my comfort zone. And that’s saying something.

Bob Geldof got me to introduce charity work into my life and consider others less fortunate than I as those I need to be actively aiding as part of my time here on Earth.

Both my Executive Team peers and my People Strategy team at work inspire me with their insane work ethics and “we will always achieve the goal” attitudes so much that I want to push myself harder every day to be worthy of working among them.

And the chinese characters that I wear on my left ankle - the ones that read “danger and opportunity” to symbolize the word “crisis,” are my constant inspiration of always looking at the opportunity with every open door I face; to never fear a situation but rather to look it face on and own it. That inspiration, and simple perspective twist, has served me well for the better part of 20 years. I am fearless.

Inspiration is all around us. Who or what inspires you?

Fritz

     Like a naughty lover looking to be playfully punished, my computer has been behaving very badly for the past few weeks. The kind of writing I do for MuscleHeart becomes very difficult when I do it longhand, because of my particular creative flow. Thus, I have posted very little as of late. This issue will be resolved by the end of this week, and I'll resume my regular posts. Thank you for bearing with me.

Santa Claus Meets The Piatelli Twins

       This post is what’s known as a “Teaser”....
       And, adhering to my mantra that inspiration and spontaneity are absolutely vital to the nexus of creation, I, in the moment, add this, completely non-sequitur, yet invaluable tidbit:

Teasing your lover in the bedroom is so delicious, so explosively sexy, that, if you have any aversion to, or reservations about, being teased so much that you forget your own name, then please.....for sex sake.....try and get over it.
    
Thank You! That has been a word from our sponsor! Now, back to the program!
    
       This is the first picture of my twin brother Mike and I with Santa Claus. We were almost two years old. More pictures and stories to come.....

©2013 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.