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"WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!" - TOWNSHEND, 1971
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” - TOLKIEN, 1955
HOW’D WE MISS THEIR MESSAGES?
WE GOT SCREWED!
We all missed it because their storytelling was too good. That’s why my message is direct. Like a cowboy says Let's Ride! It's the modern shorthand for quickly gathering a 300 million posse online to restore everyone’s American dream OVER-NIGHT! Spelled out it means: SIGN Redeem The Dream Now ONLINE. It’s our 2nd Declaration of Independence from runaway corrupt government: our response to all our American Dreams being slowly stolen over five decades. So I'm asking 300 million American spirits to get on their browser and RIDE WITH ME at RTDNOW.COM daily. If you want it to be more exciting, think it like living the storyline from the movie ‘Cowboys and Aliens’. No worries here, I'm an American Internet space-cowboy: I won’t let eloquence slow us down. Let’s Ride!



IN THE STUDIO WITH ADRIAN
BRING IN THE KINGPIN!
I needed to write DIRECTLY and talk BIG for all this to work FAST. Like pitching a strike in bowling. So I rolled out the American Spirit again to help ask 300 million people to act immediately with me. Why? We’re all SO different, but we’re all the same really, all with the same basic needs, all with American Dreams. That’s how the first Declaration happened. And because of that, we all have our American spirit in common. To cap the moment I ‘Bring in the Kingpin!’ of American Spirits, who runs the American Hall of Spirits, Thomas Jefferson. I deliver us one of his inspirational timeless quotes, which is more relevant today than ever. It echoes the message of the earlier song Nothin’s Changin’: it’s so true.
ODD, BUT TRUE
In my first two years I’d ask my producer, or didn’t have to, if he was ‘buying’ my delivery. If it was authentic, and effective, enough. The fast way to authentic is to use the first take. When you’re not trying, it ends up meeting that standard. Odd, but, true. When I asked my sound Engineer Dean Baskerville how I did on the voice for the Jefferson quote he said, “It sounds like what I should hear when I visit the Jefferson Memorial. You should call them up and do his quotes and bring him to life”. At that point I didn’t even know I bore a slight resemblance to him. OK, he was buying it. You speak slowly to be heard and understood.
THE “A” TICKET
Born in NYC, but I grew up in Southern California from age seven. Technically poor (but happy), our family went to Disneyland at least once a year, we just purchased the lower priced tickets. A version of equality, or inequality? We all get in but don’t get the same experience. Hmmm, sounds like America’s pay-to-play no free access system was ingrained through Corporations who later took over government. Gatekeepers EVERYWHERE you turn punching your ticket and taking your money. Sounds like our daily life today: water was free, etc. They’ve monetized EVERYWHERE you want or have to go. Anyway, in those days it wasn’t a one-price universal-pass. They hadn’t yet figured out with a flat universal access more people would come at one price and they’d make more on the food and gift store sales. Kind of part of what’ I’d do for our whole economic system if you gave me the opportunity: streamline free-access. Capitalism sometimes takes a looong while to get smart, then gets stupid quickly, then like a light bulb coming on, because somebody remembers what worked best, smart again. There’s NOTHING new in capitalism. It’s how it’s implemented, or not, that determines how much American Dream every American gets. In the Disneyland buy each ‘Ticket era” the ‘bad’ boring short-line no-wait rides we’re A Tickets (Like Iceland is green and Greenland is ice to keep people away or attract them, it’s a timeless deceipt), and the best long-line long-wait rides like the Matterhorn rollercoaster, we’re E Tickets. Maybe that was for the Entitled class. The A-mazing Mr. Lincoln, was an A ticket, we always quickly sat down to hear his famous A-ddress “Four score…” and to rest our feet. So I was basically going with that mechanical President Lincoln vibe. The sweetest thing about Disneyland? It gave us all pure family time and wonderful memories I am enjoying again 50 years later. It’s forever and A Ticket! Thanks Walt! I’ve always had more fun in the cheap seats. Digging out the Disney-Lincoln voice half a century later proves I am a good listener, pay attention, and never forget.
MAKE THE CONNECTION
This is a radio theater song. It started without a name, and it needed music. Tim Ellis and I did a rough draft of this song months before his death. I asked him to give me something with a big electric guitar that said “And now…it’s time…”. He looked at me and handed me the guitar. I looked at the guitar for a moment, then banged it out. He nodded then made it sound 100 times better. Later after Tim passed I’d take that guitar sound and repurpose it for the song Our Turn in Pro Tools with Dean. This connected the two songs in purpose and music in the opera: It’s Our Turn (to Save America)-Sign RTDNOW.COM.
THE AFRICAN SAVANNAH
Now, for the red meat. Months later, I was watching one of those relaxing animals shows before bed. The ones with each link in the food chain preying on the next. “Oops Mr. Alligator, watch out for Mr. Hippo, he’ll bite you in half!” Like a public handing, we all stare in rapt attention hoping to see this actually happen. As I gazed across the broad African Savannah watching animal Darwinism unfold in rapid procession, across all species, it made me think of all the people we have in America and how in business, and politics, and in society, the one with bigger teeth prey on the small fries. In the animal kingdom they rarely kill their own: only humans do that routinely. Back to the story, that’s where the two personalities, American Spirit Hall voices I use, in call and response, come from. We have two broad categories of People-Animals in America: the live and let lives, The Givers, who are always being preyed upon, by The Takers. Until the givers all band together to put those murderers of our American Dream in jail, or put them out to pasture pronto. Like in our 1st Declaration of Independence, and now what I’m empowering 300 million of my countrymen and women to do in our 2nd: Declaration of Independence. RTDNOW: Redeem The Dream Now.
MAKE THE CONNECTION
This is a radio theater song. It started without a name, and it needed music. Tim Ellis and I did a rough draft of this song months before his death. I asked him to give me something with a big electric guitar that said “And now…it’s time…”. He looked at me and handed me the guitar. I looked at the guitar for a moment, then banged it out. He nodded then made it sound 100 times better. Later after Tim passed I’d take that guitar sound and repurpose it for the song Our Turn in Pro Tools with Dean. This connected the two songs in purpose and music in the opera: It’s Our Turn (to Save America)-Sign RTDNOW.COM.
UNSCRIPTED IS BEST
The ‘song’ had to transition from the intro to the second half: so I vocalized and Tim embellished, a wild guitar riff. Basically its what I remember great guitarists doing to warm up when nobody was paying attention: fun and unscripted. Add in the Thomas Jefferson quote and that was the warm up part of the song.
GREAT TIMING: TRAINING WHEELS STILL ON
For the back end of the song I read a speech, no music. You’ll note my timing is tight. I have good timing. But my timing on full-band songs was like having spotlights flipped on pointed to my ears, everything was so bright, sound-wise, all at once, blinding. I’d written most of this on my favorite $99 nylon string guitar I bought at R&B (Rhythm & Blues) Music when my son was taking drum lessons. When you first write a song you’re just wandering a bit finding which timing you like. My creativity outstripped my learning curve: I was moving so fast I left out the three months to nail it down part…I just picked the best song I’d written that week and rolled into the studio and said “Like it?” Great timing with a band, like Tim Ellis my producer was known for, takes many, many years, of skill and practice. I was in my third studio/band year: the big band training wheels were still on.
THE UNIVERSE HAS SPOKEN!
But where’s the music? I was speaking to thin air, which wasn’t bad; everybody says I speak better than sing. But its an opera (not the boring ‘Amazing Mr. Lincoln’ robot.) so we dove into my music library and I made the leap connecting this song, in spirit, to my song Walking With Giants. So we took the piano track (one of 20) and pasted it in whole, no edits. As we listened to it, the room went still, with a double Wow mental exclamation moment as an OHHHMMMM silent energy filled it. A buzzing filled our brains with excitement. That’s why I don’t need to smoke Pot. The universe had spoken! Tim and I just stared at each other. It fit perfectly as-is. In total length and cadence timing, it all fit…perfectly. It was as if I spoke and the piano played after, the way music is supposed to be created, so that the piano notes can accent my ‘melody’ line and place proper emphasis with my words. This was the type of magic occurring in Kung Fu Studios on my music project on a regular basis. Emphasis ‘rhythm’ it seems is personal style. I’d been doing business presentations for 35 years to the point I did them in my sleep and would have real out of body experiences in meetings as my delivery cadence got everyone into the same rhythm and I watched from the top of the room. I just transferred this skill to my opera spoken word. That’s what you hear in this speech, done in one take, no edits.
TONIGHT ON MASTERPIECE THEATRE
JP Garu’s beautiful piano made it feel like one of those old history TV shows “TONIGHT! Alastair Cook’s MASTERPIECE THEATRE!!! Tonight we visit Ancient Rome to speak with Julius Caesar before he stole everyone’s ears, then we’ll leapfrog to jolly old England to sit beside Sir Winston Churchill as he delivers his famous NEVER-Surrender speech. We will fight them on the shores, in the skies…an articulate Rocky Balboa “Yeah, just tell me when and where!” I love both characters, one real, one fictional, because their words were just a ruse to pull their opponents in, then both delivered in the ring smashing them!” While I made the quote above up for humor’s sake, that’s what my minds eye remembers, kind of how it got spoofed on SNL, and how it felt to me when I was young. So this all felt really cool to me. Actually, I love it. When Morgan Freeman hangs up his “Morgan Freeman-Morgan Freeman: God made Earth when I narrated it!” shoes narrating everything on the planet, I want to do some of that work, if you can call it ‘work’. History Channel / BBC America / Smithsonian Channel / Disney: give me a call!
DON’T BE POOR CATATONIC TOMMY ANYMORE: SIGN RTDNOW.COM
Townshend basically sang about societal problems. Like deceit and the silent ongoing trauma we experience as its depth is revealed. And how non-confrontation screws us up like his famous rock opera character Tommy. He retreats into his fantasy world like 300 million America’s have to avoid the truth have. I'm singing about the solutions to our national trauma of learning we’ve been sold out. So now’s the time, stop being Tommy, and please Sign RTDNOW.COM with me it's our turn to save America. Like JOHN HANCOCK, I am the first signer of our modern declaration and my signatures the biggest. And to keep leaning on Pete's genius, (He's like a 'rock-n-roll' Winston Churchill when you put his best lyrics together) although I may be trying his patience, "Who's Next?"
Making of Adrian's Song "Sign RTDNOW"
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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When was the last time anyone acted to restore EVERYONE’S American dream OVER-NIGHT? (Hint: see founding of America/the 1st Declaration of Independence)
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When was the last time the American people were presented with a detailed comprehensive plan to save America for every ordinary hard working citizen OVER-NIGHT? (Hint: Never, until RTDNOW)
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What is the GREAT DEAL in our time Adrian is offering every single American that only costs $1.00/month per person? (Hint: see THE GREAT DEAL at RTDNOW.COM)
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Please sign RTDNOW.COM. Add your name to the second Declaration of Independence to restore everyone’s American Dream OVER-NIGHT! Live free or die slowly. Choose: Redeem The Dream Now.
LYRICS: SIGN RTDNOW.COM
Words and Music by ADRIAN
I am alive. I AM DEAD
I am a King. I’M A PAUPER
I’m a giver. I’M A TAKER
Destroyer. REDEEMER
I am sympathetic. I AM CALLOUS
I am a slave. I AM A MASTER
I am a brother. I AM A SISTER
I’m a father. I’M A MOTHER
AND I AM SAVING AMERICA, AND I AM JUST GETTING STARTED
REDEEM THE DREAM NOW, I Am The American Spirit
“I hope we shall crush, in its birth, the aristocracy of our ‘Monied’ Corporations, which dare already, to challenge our government to a trail by strength, and bid defiance, to the laws of our country.” Thomas Jefferson, 1777
Ever since the start of our American Revolution in 1773
The world of the corporation and the citizen, have been colliding.
Our first flag was that of the largest global mega corporation of its time.
The East India Trading Company. That’s not a coincidence.
It’s like free thinkers deciding to have the first flag of your country,
Be the Exxon flag, what you we’re rebelling against in the first place.
It’s time to act. The East India Trading Company sold Tea for the Crown,
That caused the Boston Tea Party, which started our American Revolution
In the first place. It’s time to act. Basically the Crown and Corporations
Stealing from the citizen.
Think about this for a while. It’s time to act.
The East India Corporation had its own army of 300,000 People, enforcing its Corporate greed. Pummeling Free Enterprise for endless Corporate Profit.
The East India Trading Company lent money to the English Treasury,
And owned, funded and controlled, members of English Parliament.
It’s time to act. The increase of the Tea Tax,
Was so the Mega Corporations could make more money.
This is why American Citizens, hate taxation, and rebel against it.
We know, where it comes from. Its time to act.
Nothing has ever been what it seems. And not much has changed 250 years later.
Today, we face the same Corporate threat. And over the last 40 years
It’s run rampant. And unchecked, and made our country very, very ill.
To the point where our Democracy can’t function.
An our Economy and Treasury are in ruins. It’s time to act.
Endlessly stolen from, by a Corporate over-run of our government.
Its time to act. And now, the future of America, all our futures, are in jeopardy.
IT’S TIME TO ACT. This opera is your wake up call. A 300 million person
Wake up call.
You see we’ve never really achieved independence from Corporate rule.
It’s time we did. It’s Our Time. Right Now. It’s time to act.
That’s why I wrote this opera. It’s easy to save America.
Just add your name to the second Declaration of Independence
From runaway government at RTDNOW.COM and tell everyone
All 300 million of us need to tune in daily for a song at RTDNOW.COM
And we are going to save America. Take Action. It’s the American way.
It’s what our founders did. It’s what we Americans do in the Home of the Brave
When worlds collide. Take Action.
RTDNOW is the original perfect vision reborn
A TRUE GOVERNMENT, OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE
It’s time to act. Tell Everyone, its time to act.
ADD YOUR NAME RTDNOW.COM It’s time to act.
IT’S OUR TURN TO RECLAIM AMERICA FOR THE ORDINARY CITIZEN
SIGN THE SECOND DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AT RTDNOW.COM