Over the years, I’ve noticed a lot of people make a lot of assumptions about us musicians. For instance, they say:
We’re lazy. Which is both true and not true. Over the years, I’ve generally worked a regular 9-5 and then put in another 30 or so hours per week on music. Since I’ve gone full-time with music, it hasn’t gotten too much better. I don’t always get a ton accomplished as I tend to do a lot of things at once but it doesn’t mean I’m not working. Musicians are some of the hardest working people I’ve met. But, they also can be a bunch of lazy stoners, which brings me to the next point…
We’re all stoners. Look, have I smoked my fair share? Sure. But, I actually don’t smoke much these days as it really affects me weirdly which I think is due to the Asperger’s. It didn’t use to but I think that’s because weed is like fruit. The stuff that eventually makes its way to rural Wisconsin is just not as good as the stuff you get when you live in the state where it’s made. So, living in Portland, OR the last few years, it’s like a different species out there and it really kicked my ass. I hear Coke is better in Georgia too which further proves my theory.
We’re all liberal weirdos. Again, probably a majority are (I myself am a subscriber to that lefty, communist rag “The New York Times”) but it’s likely a minor majority. I’ve definitely met my fair share of musicians that tend to check the “Republican” box on election day. Just like “normal” people, musicians come in a wide array of colors.
We hate sports. Yes, most of the musicians I know don’t like sports so it’s a fair stereotype but, for me, it’s not true at all. I love sports. I’ve written about them many times on this blog over the years. Being from Wisconsin, I love the Brewers and my Packers (yes, I’m technically an owner because of their “stock” sales). I also root for the Bucks but, being from Wisconsin, basketball is thoroughly in third place on the pecking order. Which is a little weird seeing as the Bucks have brought home a championship and the Brewers have not (yet) but that’s the way it is. But, even in liking sports, there’s a few that are even further looked down upon. Which brings me to the random shit I love portion…
Random Shit I Love #1: NASCAR
This has an especially prescient meaning now that I’M IN A FUCKING NASCAR VIDEO GAME! Yep, you read that correctly. No, I didn’t suddenly become one of the best race car drivers in the world. I know, disappointing. But, my song “Let’s Go Out Tonight” is going to be featured in the upcoming NASCAR Heat 5 video game which comes out in July. It’s so fucking unbelievable that this is happening. I used to spend hours playing NASCAR video games, especially NASCAR RACING 99 (and that clip doesn’t even show the crazy advanced setup options that I’d spend hours tweaking like gear ratios, camber, weight distributions, etc.). I’d run real fucking seasons of that game, like legit racing 500 miles at Daytona, 600 at Charlotte, etc. I had a steering wheel and everything and would spend the three and half hours racing those 500 miles. That’s not to mention the practices, qualifying, etc. before each race. I was obsessed. I could spend hours just designing the car. Placing logos and decals until they were just right. So, to hear I will be in a NASCAR game is unreal.
I’m such a big fan of NASCAR that even my wife, Brianne, now has her favorite drivers (Chase Elliott, also my favorite, Brad Keselowski and Matt DiBenedetto) and her least favorite drives (Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Joey once got irritated with us during a music bingo night we were running/hosting. Weird but true story). We also pull for Ricky Stenhouse as we’ve met him a few times and even got to race go karts against him (we both lost badly). Though, I can’t say I love the new mullet he’s rocking even though I kind of do. Brianne does always fall asleep during the middle of races (something about the steady engine sounds puts her right to sleep) but she’s always ready for the beginning and end bits.
And even though I disagree, I get the “they only turn left” crowd. Brianne used to think I was an idiot for liking NASCAR until she finally watched some races and understood the amount of strategy, skill and not just-turning-left-all-the-time-ness of it. There’s so much that goes into it and one mistake, even a tiny one, can ruin your day. An entire raceweek can come down to a decision of whether to take two or four tires. It can be decided by a split-second choice to bump another driver out of the way and whether that move is done at the proper time or too early or late. It could be decided by the racer that starts behind you on a restart. There are also many races that are determined in the days leading up to the race by the mechanics and engineers. Or it could be decided by a faulty air gun. There’s so much that goes into it. I love it.
I am also that guy who roots against the wrecks. I always think of the months they spent preparing for the season and the entire week they devoted to getting the car as fast as possible, only to see it taken away in an instant by poor decision, slip of the steering wheel or through no fault of their own. I’m probably also a little sensitive to crashes seeing as I had back to back relatively minor car accidents that left me with a monthslong battle with the resulting concussions. Apparently, “getting your bell rung” so many times when I was kid playing sports was not a good idea and had long-term affects on my poor brain, or whatever is left of it at this point. But, I’d still play sports 100 times out of 100. Maybe next time I’d just stick with baseball and skip the football, though. Although maybe not. Pretty much all the life-advice I ever needed came from playing football. I can’t count the number of times I’ve told Brianne to “trust the process” or “take it one day at a time” or “you gotta overcome adversity” or any other of the things that have been ingrained in my being from my playing days. For the record, I played wide receiver and sort of a linebacker/safety hybrid. I also wasn’t very good. Good enough to start for our tiny 150 people per class school, but that’s about it. For some reason, catching baseballs came very naturally to me but catching footballs was never something I excelled at. I was… adequate. I strived for adequataquatulance (bonus points for anyone who gets this reference) in the football catching world.
But, back to NASCAR, I grew up a Rusty Wallace fan, moved on to being a Tony Stewart fan (we got witness, in person, Tony’s last Cup win in Sonoma a few years back and then spent 3 hours driving back to the hotel, which was only like 15 miles away, as there’s only 1 road in and out of that race track…) and am now a proud Chase Elliott fan. So, obviously I’m pumped to be on the soundtrack to a game which has my man Chase on the cover.
Random Shit I Love #2: WWE
Is the reason I do Facebook live shows on Thursday because wrestling is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Probably. OK, yes. Honestly, before coronavirus times I didn’t watch wrestling religiously. I watched when I could but Mondays and Wednesdays were often band rehearsal nights or night I’d use for other music related things. Fridays were often show nights so I rarely watched me any Smackdown. But, now that I have more flexibility in scheduling (read: don’t really do shit most nights anymore), I rarely schedule things for those nights.
Just like NASCAR, I’ve been a fan of WWE since I was a little kid. From Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan (yes, I had ONE OF THESE PILLOW THINGS) to Stone Cold Steve Austin and D-Generation X to now Seth Rollins, Asuka and the Man, Becky Lynch, I’ve always had my favorites. Although, it’s weird that these days I’ve started leaning towards the villains (or “heels”) more. Not sure what that’s about. But, I root for Set Rollins, Asuka, Bray Wyatt more than anyone else. Probably says something about me but who knows. There was a large portion of my life that I didn’t have cable so I couldn’t watch but now that I have cable again, I’m back, baby. I can’t wait for Money in the Bank this Sunday.
Growing up in the 90’s, I loved when the Rock (aka Rocky Maivia) was first getting going and was greeted by “Rocky Sucks” chants each time he would make an entrance. Seriously, can you imagine a time when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a guy people hated? But, I was an insane fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin and D-Generation X. I don’t think there was a boy I knew back then that didn’t just walk around telling everyone to “suck it,” much to the chagrin of all the parents and teachers. At every party in High School, someone would eventually be drunk enough to do Austin’s signature beer smash/chug. Good times…
And no, wrestling is not fake. The injuries and the toll it takes on their bodies is real. Are the matches predetermined? Sure. But, so are the plot points of all your favorite TV shows. I love fake drama (which is why I need to catch up on the all musicians Bachelor season called “Listen to Your Heart”) and WWE delivers that in spades. Wrestling is like comfort food for me and allows my brain to turn off (something I struggle with like many of you out there). I need things that can shut down my brain or I’ll go crazy obsessing over every little thing. I’ve spent entire days doing nothing but having a meltdown in the old brainbox. Those are not fun days so I need things like wrestling in my life to help me cope (probably unhealthily) with that.
I also think I like wrestling because of it’s similarities to being a musician. These guys and gals are out there 3-5 nights a week grinding. It takes a lot of skill, hard work and luck to get anywhere in the industry. When you see them, they are usually presenting an amped up version of themselves. You have to struggle through long years of making little money to get anywhere. Many, unfortunately, deal with drug and/or alcohol issues. They’re overall performance on any given night is dependent on those around them. Those are all things I’m quite familiar with and are very analogous to being a musician.
Anyways, now you know a couple facts about ol’ Bradley that maybe you didn’t before. I’ll definitely be writing about other random shit like this in the near future, kinda like a get to know you during coronavirus. Or because these are the things that are slowly taking over my brain these days.
(dictated but not read)
