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"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson  "It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it." David Stanowski To find older articles; use Search or Site Map |
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Tuesday 04 October 2005 George! Like all "artistic types", my good friend, and local renaissance man, George Douglas Lee is riddled with Inner Demons. However, George is more astute than most, so he checks himself in to The Texas State Hospital For The Criminally Insane, at least twice a year, for a "tune up". This facility, in Waco, was formally run by the Branch Davidians, so it is just what George needs to relax and recuperate from his frenzied schedule! With a new CD-release tour about to begin, George was off to Waco again last week. He received some intense psychotherapy, a quick lobotomy to calm his nerves, and a complete physical. When the doctor returned with the test results he said, "George, you're full of shit!". George nodded, and said that everyone had been telling him that since he was ten years old; so what else was new! But, the doctor explained that he was not commenting on George's personality and character, he was talking about his actual physical condition! It was time for a high colonic! The psychiatric aids turned George over on the gurney, and unscrewed the cap on the large jar of Vaseline. The sound of that lid being removed from that jar of "lubricant" sent George into a panic, because he knew what would be inserted next! He bolted off the gurney, and fought to make his escape. When the Waco TV crews arrived at the locked hospital gates, they filmed the following scene,  while George's fellow inmates chanted, "Jump, George, Jump! Jump, George, Jump!" Fortunately, the Fire Department arrived just in time to pluck George off the ledge. After the appropriate sedatives and tranquilizers were administered, he looked "normal" again.  Now that George has been released from the hospital, and given a "clean bill of health"; it's time for him to go on tour to promote his new CD, "Courtyard Cafe". As a renaissance man, his performances are not merely musical in nature, they combine his writing, comedy, and acting skills to produce what has been variously called: George on Stage, George Live, glee, Plain George, Just George, Dead Man Walking, The George Monologues, George Himself, and, of course, just like Sinatra was "Frank"; sometimes he just bills himself as "George"! At a recent luncheon, George explained to me that all of his talents come from the same spot in his brain, so he shouldn't just limit himself to musical performances. I replied that I understood what he was talking about; that one spot is what they call a tumor! George pondered the idea of having it removed for a moment as he played with his food, and said that one man's tumor is another man's "enhanced" frontal lobe. The look in his eyes told me that the tumor was going to stay put. He went on to explain that he also gets "messages" from the Mother Ship through this spot in his brain! Some of his fellow musicians and artists have accused George of using his multiple-personality disorder to give his trademark "multi-faceted" performances. They were actually jealous of his "mental condition", and his "tumor"! There's just no figuring how these artistic types will view a situation like this! All I can say is George is George; he is a one-of-a-kind human bulldog who chews his way through concrete walls to get the exact effects he is looking for. At times he will stop in the middle of a song to insult the audience in a manner reminiscent of Don Rickles. This might generate a crescendo of hilarious comic insights, or a fist fight with the audience or waitstaff. At other times, he will prance around the stage in a manic state doing improvinasational scenes with characters and voices that spew forth so rapidly that you think you have stumbled into a Robin Williams performance. This can be quite entertaining, but also disturbing as you watch the characters literally take over his body, voice and facial expressions. When a song isn't properly appreciated by an audience, George will switch from a manic to a depressive state; from Robin Williams to Rodney Dangerfield. From there he will flog the audience with the guilt of giving him "no respect". This may go on and on until they plead to hear the next song! You have to give this man his due respect! The highlight of the evening often occurs when George begins a new set dressed in his Confederate officer's uniform; complete with polished saber! From there, he will begin to perform as his great-great-great grandfather, Robert E. Lee, and hold forth on the state of things in Texas since the Yankee Invasion! These monologues are so powerful and spellbinding that they would make Orson Wells and Lawrence Oliver jealous! You want to believe that George is merely performing one of his brilliant one-act plays, but then you have to admit that it looks more like he is actually Channeling Robert E. Lee! Has he brought this great man back from the dead? By the end of the evening, you will be so disturbed, but also moved by his performance that you will make a contribution to the Confederate Veterans Association before you leave the club! This is but a small sample of the range of talent of the man that Galveston calls George! As a lesson in entrepreneurship, and an independence of mind and purpose, George and Brenda Donaloio have self-produced George's latest CD, using the facilities of Disc Makers, as suggested in a Blog article back in April. I hope that they will inspire other local musicians to do the same thing!!  The CD will be available this Saturday, 08 October, at a block party on Market Street celebrating the art and music of George Douglas Lee! George will be a "roaming performer", so you will able to find him somewhere in the vicinity of the The Courtyard Cafe, The Market or The Twisted Parrot between 25th and 26th on Market Street. The festivities will run from 6-9 PM!  If you don't have a chance to attend the celebration of George's work, this Saturday, you can look for George selling this intense and masterful new CD on street corners around town, or you can purchase it on-line at CD Baby and My Texas Music!! In addition, to stay current on George's adventures, as he desperately tries to survive on a large sandbar out in The Gulf of Mexico, without knowing how to tread water; check out his Blog. This is where he reveals his latest thoughts on music, art, comedy, the theater, movies, Formosan termites, Parrot Heads, parking meters on The Seawall, high colonics, roll-your-own-cigarettes, Carpetbaggers, The Texas State Hospital, Scalawags, illegal immigrants, Yankees, The Uncivilized Territories, bungee jumping, Liberals, cross dressing, Hollywood, Austin, psychedelic drugs, Republicans, and much, much more. Send a comment to his Blog and just see what happens!! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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