Hey everyone, I haven't forgot about working on my book. I really wanted to focus on completing my album first, which I just released, www.mikenajarian.bandcamp.com, and now I am determined to finish up my book in the near future. Here is a snipet from the Chapter about Chadwick Stokes (I have a chapter on the major State Radio characters individually). I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!
An odd thing that made me remember that Dispatch concert I went to in college was that I went to the show the day I got my left nipple pierced. Yeah, I had a nipple ring. I had it for about 8 years. I had it from when I was 19 until I was about 27. Anyway, that was a painful experience. I never had anything else pierced, ever. Not my ear, not my lip, or tongue, just my nipple. The girl who pierced me told me I had to relax when I was getting it done or I was going to pass out when she actually pierced me. I remember the whole day and the concert very vividly. Almost the most vivid of any concert I went to that long ago. Its strange how it all panned out.
Back to Chad. Chad taught me almost everything I know about properly writing songs. I thought I had it down before I met him. Not even close. He is the structure master. He arranges songs like a true professional. He has an amazing grasp of melody and harmony and what your ears want to hear. He is the definition of a great song writer. Really study how he puts songs together and you too will see the genius. I am lucky enough to be able to see this process at work and be present during the decision making.
Chad is also a great singer. He is one of the best singers out there right now. He has great pitch and a very unique but awesome voice. This true combo of talent and uniqueness that appeals to the masses is very rare in a singer. Chad is exceptional. Combine that with his songwriting and firm grasp on playing the guitar and you got a winning combo. Chad was never the greatest guitar player, but he really nails his parts and that’s what matters when you have a golden voice and write great songs. He plays tight enough on guitar to compliment the sound and throws in some cool licks and tones to boot. It works for him. And that’s the most important thing, to make your songs work. On the same token, I think he is a better guitar player than he gives himself credit for. If he had an affinity for learning to shred instead of writing songs, then I’m sure he could get to the level of shredding he wanted to.
Putting all this background in perspective, and seeing who we are dealing with, my main story about Chad is a favorite of mine.
The story begins and ends in a bathroom in some city in the Mid West. Maybe Milwaukee or maybe even some place in Iowa or Idaho or Minnesota. Well, you get the point, some place like that. It is in a little diner place somewhere. The weird part about the diner is that it had 2 stalls in the bathroom and a urinal. So was it a diner after all? Maybe, maybe not. But who really cares at this point. It doesn’t have too much to do with my story. The point of the story is that I was finishing up taking a pee and then Chad walks into the bathroom. Chad usually has one pair of pants on the road (that he will wear for the whole tour), frequently has his curly afro flowing and unwashed, and definitely wears 2 different socks with his Chuck Taylors or boots or whatever shoes he is wearing. Point being, he is a sight to behold, and even looking at his feet from outside the stall (when he is taking a poopoo), you notice his wild and unkempt style because he is wearing 2 different socks.
On a side note, I can’t really say much better about my own style on the road. The road is a fierce place and Chad always describes it as ‘survival’ to get through a long grueling tour. Often times there aren’t showers available to us and I go several days without a shower and wardrobe change as well. Like Chad, I actually don’t mind the feeling of being unshowered. Some people must shower or they don’t feel right all day. I don’t mind it. Maybe because I clean myself so thoroughly when I shower that I am twice as clean as the normal person to start. Yeah, that must be it. Similar to Chad’s theory of survival he also has the same philosophy for major shows we play. Whenever we finish playing a big show he always considers it a success if there aren’t any major train wrecks that happen during the show. Like an amp blows out, major equipment or production malfunctions, major mistakes that make a band stop a song with a big thud of embarrassment. You know, things that stand out to an audience member as really amateur. He definitely trusts us as musicians to know we will be tight enough to play alright if there is nothing major going on. Which is cool because we all take being professional musicians seriously, and want to perform at a professional level every time we go out there.
Back to the bathroom. Chad walks in. I am finishing up my pee and begin to wash my hands. Chad makes a B-Line to the stall and sits down. We were kind of in a rush at this point, about to embark on a major drive and had used up most of our allotted meal time already. In effect, this was a risky move to go in and take a crap right now. If it didn’t come out right and ended up being a 10 minute extravaganza then Sybil (Chad’s wife and our tour manager) might throw a small conniption fit because of Chad holding the band up. But this time Chad was on a mission. I’m pretty sure the way the conversation started was I pulled that middle school prank of wetting a paper towel and tossing it into the stall of the person who is taking the poop. That way this wet object comes flying in and hits you preferably in the face, or even better, the private area. I think I missed Chad completely with my throw but the throw did get Chad into a very introspective mood.
"If I had to give you one piece of advice," Chad suddenly said. At this point I am all ears. Chad rarely gives serious tips and as I said before, Chad is the independent music promoting master. I am ready to take this advice and soak it in for all its worth. This could be the golden moment, where he hands me the key to independent music freedom. The way he said this was the lead in to enlightenment. Like we were going to share a peak moment together and enjoy this advice in perfect harmony...
