here's the short history of me born in
1961 went to high school never went to
one University for a semester American
University in Washington DC didn't like
it knew I couldn't afford four years of
student loan didn't want to hang out
with people who were enraptured by
Stroh's beer and marijuana this wasn't
gonna be for me so I hit the streets and
pursued the minimum wage jobs that I'd
had all through high school and that was
for me that was me in the late 70s the
last straight job I had was 1981 head
manager of a haagen-dazs in Georgetown
in Washington DC on Wisconsin Avenue at
the intersection of Wisconsin and o'the
Street making three seventy five an hour
four dollars an hour or something like
that working 40 to 60 hours a week I had
a small apartment which I shared with an
old pal of mine
I had a small record collection an
ailing VW automobile and a little tiny
life with my minimum wage job which I
rear I liked and I looked at my life and
realized this is probably as bad as good
as it's gonna get for me I might quit
this place and go work at my friends
record store because I like to being
around records that I could probably run
his store very well knowing what I knew
about retail at that point and then I
got a very lucky break because at that
same time I was very frustrated I said
well this is gonna be a very tough life
it's gonna be a life of a lot of
standing on my feet a lot of work taking
it from other people
and having very little to show for it by
Friday you know Friday evening and then
Black Flag the famous band whose friends
of mine they played in New York I was in
Washington I took a ride up to go see
him because they weren't coming down in
my town I jumped on stage and sang with
him that night a song because I had to
go back down to DC and go work like some
awful shift they called me a few days
later at the ice cream store and said
you know we're looking for a singer
because the rhythm guitar player wants
to I'm sorry the vocalist wants to move
down to rhythm guitar you tell I've told
the story before and we're holding
auditions you want to crack at this
because we saw you on stage the other
night you're pretty wild I looked at the
ice cream scoop in my hand
and my chocolate bespattered apron and
my future in the world of minimum wage
work or I could go up to New York and
audition for this crazy band who is my
favorite what's the worst that's gonna
happen to me I miss a day of work ooh
there goes 21 bucks and I get humiliated
in front of my favorite band yeah
humiliation and young people kind of go
together I was used to it and so I I
took a train up there I walked into this
practice place in the East Village I'm
standing there with the band with a
microphone in my hand they said pick the
tune and I sang every song they had you
know improvising most of it two times
through we did the set they said okay
you have a seat we're gonna go have a
band meeting
whatever that means and they came back
like 10 minutes later said okay your end
I said what do you mean they said you're
the singer in Black Flag I said so what
do I do they go he'll quit your job you
pack your gear you meet us on the road
here's here's the tour itinerary here's
the lyrics we'll see you soon so fairly
numb I went back down to Washington with
this passel of lyrics in my hand went to
my boss and said I'm not exactly
quitting but here's this thing that
happened and he said it's your shot I
said yeah he said take it and that was
late July 1981 about 30-some years ago
and that's what happened to me I won the
lottery and I was in this band Black
Flag for years made a lot of Records
played a lot of shows learned a lot
started writing sort of publishing
company in that time and in the 80s
Hollywood directors started coming to me
like you're crazy you can you act I'm
like yeah I'm starving can you pay I
mean I'm looking for work and never
forgetting what I have to go back to $8
you know haagen-dazs so I said yes to
every acting job yes to every audition
worked on my little publishing company
started doing poetry readings and
speaking dates in the 90s want to do a
voiceover yeah and so I said yes to
everything
worked like a crazy man realizing guys
like me fais
at the time so I was around a lot of
great bands and rarely did they get over
the wall people much more talented than
Oliver be I don't have talent I have
tenacity
you know I've discipline I have focus
and I know without any illusion where I
come from and what I can go back to and
that's why I said a while ago in the 80s
I saw what was happening with money I
was watching it shift very quickly I was
watching the middle class go away and I
was a 23 year old maniac but I got it
and that's when I realized you better
get plan b c d e f and g otherwise
you're gonna starve to death in the
America
the America is not a place you live in
it's a video game that you that you
survive you know I'm not only an
American I'm an American esteem Erica in
spite of what it wants to do to people
like me and so through saying yes to
everything realizing people like me have
to write it three times and other people
have to write it once that I have to
show up early I'll probably get lost on
the way to the location and that I
should probably watch shut up and learn
rather than shoot my mouth off I am
where I am right now which is a vastly
different position than I was 30 years
ago 20 years ago in ten years ago so it
is basically a story of a lot of luck
but taking advantage of opportunity
working really damn hard knowing there
was no choice for me but to work really
hard and that's it and that's not a
unique story what was unique is I got to
be in my favorite band like they came to
me and said hey we're auditioning people
I was like because had they not plucked
me out of Washington DC a great town
what would have happened to me I
probably would have gone to work for my
friend's record store which would have
eventually folded which it went away and
then what I would have done I don't know
maybe gotten some female pregnant and
been a young dad I don't know
you know the America would have happened
to me and so I got a lucky break but at
least I did something with it the
repeating factors of my life have been
application discipline focus repetition
you know a gig a gig again what are you
doing tomorrow 8 o'clock on stage we're
doing the night after I'll be on stage
what about 2 months from now I'll be
still on that same tour because I manage
myself I know where I'm going I might
finish it
I might not survive it but I'm the one
booking