Let me begin by filling you in on who I am. I was born and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri where I spent most of my time making art and music. At the age of 18, I moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University to attain a BFA in studio art and a Master of Fine Arts in art education. While at SMU, I traveled abroad to Spain, and was vice-president of the Student Activities Directorate which was in charge of most of the cultural and entertainment events on campus including concerts, speakers, the campus radio station, the infamous coffee house and many other festivities. After graduation, I taught at Walden Preparatory School, Trinity Christian Academy-Addison, Ursuline Academy and the Arts Magnet High School in Dallas. I also taught at the Stony Brook School on Long Island, New York. In 1997, I helped with the creation of the first ever U.S. LGBT-oriented private school, Walt Whitman Community School, which was a private alternative school near Dallas, Texas that catered to youth who identified as LGBT. My passion for music inspired me to learn the piano and guitar, and even write and sing my own songs. I can also play the trombone, and have been a member of the Tapestry Singers and helped to produce the album Window by Judy Kelly which has become one of the most important psychedelic-folk albums of the 1970’s. Music has saved my life many times. Music feeds me spiritual wealth every day. When I put on my headphones, I’m at church. For the past 30 years, I have been plagued by a myriad of diseases which have been treated with lots of pills and therapy. As time has passed, it has become more difficult as the pain increases, and my ability to retain any stamina or energy is fading. I have been dependent on a daily regime of stumbling, vomiting and swallowing too many pills. But, there is a healing that has started from the inside out thanks to the music of Alejandro Aranda aka ScaryPoolParty. During season 17 of American Idol, I was blessed enough to be a part of the millions who watched Alejandro Aranda perform each week. It was like watching a miracle transpire right before my very eyes. To those that had ears and hearts to hear him, to really hear his every whimper, his every tear, his every smile, his moment of clarity and his hope for healing, we saw ourselves. He brought not only his exquisite talents, but he brought us his vulnerabilities, his doubts, his fears and his brokenness. He brought us his path of healing – music, glorious music. I first heard Alejandro in January of 2019 when I was recovering from back surgery, and my body was enclosed in plaster like a big taco shell. I hadn’t wanted to go anywhere or do anything outside of a monthly trip to the store and weekly visits to several doctors who were trying to fix me. I had fallen apart down to my core… Until Alejandro. I listened to all his music online, and soon found that my soul was surrounded by angels singing the melodies of his music which filled my tired brain. Within days, I was working in my garden for the first time in 3 years, and walking more than a few blocks for the first time in 7 years. This past July, I made a very physically challenging trip 1000 miles to see Alejandro in Brooklyn at the music venue Baby’s All Right. The trip was made possible by a former student and a complete stranger I encountered on Alejandro’s Instagram account. I walked to every bus stop, every train platform, and up & down escalators while tackling 5 o'clock Times Square craziness, until I got to my room in Chinatown. I’m sure I walked over 20 miles in total. Alejandro's music and the man he represents to me gave me what was almost like a supernatural push to become free of my disabilities. I arrived at the venue early to assure I had a close-up view of his performance. I watched him from the closest perimeter of the stage with awe and amazement. I was determined to memorize his every word, every song and every whirling of his fingers on the guitar strings. The experience was transcendent and will be one of the highlights of my life. The healer of my soul and body did not disappoint. I left the concert with a renewed hope for my own future. It was as if something magical happened, and I was no longer just a disabled old man obsessed with this god-boy, but a fellow musician. Since I returned, my doctors have taken me off many of the pills I have been taking for almost 30 years. They have called it a medical miracle. I call it ScaryPoolParty. I would be a fool to call him a XXI century Chopin, Beethoven or Mozart, but the thought is there. We can only wait to see what the future brings for Alejandro. His pathway seems to be paved with gold, and dreams achieved through a life of joy, gratefulness and of course, his humble appreciation for our mutual love of his music, his soul and now, my soul.
Photos: Me with Marc "Goody" Goodman, his daughter, Sydney and with Brandi Goodman in Brooklyn. Outside "Baby's All Right" after Alejandro's concert, July 9, 2019.
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