The Importance of Being Fishy.

Tonight I rode my bike all over the city. From one end to the other. From piazza to palazzo. It is not huge, but it is big enough. Plenty to see. Every time you turn around you glance up and you are gazing at some huge palace or church with your mouth hanging wide open. Amazing. had a great dinner of grilled lamb and too much red wine. Riding my bicycle so drunk through the streets of the city. Up the cobblestones and down through very narrow little streets and passage ways, Cars and scooters almost hitting me every second. So much fun. I believe I actually survived. Because I am sitting here attempting to type.  

Earlier tonight I met a guy from china named Qi who is studying film in college in London. We met on the street taking pictures of each other. We laughed about it—being here in Florence really is like a dream or an acid trip or something. You meet people from all over the world. You just kind of bump into them. Invited him to go to Pisa with us tomorrow. He asks who are you going with? I answer: oh just some guy I know who is here from Israel studying medicine. Crazy. Just visiting Florence for the weekend. We hung out. Talked all about film and music. Rock music especially because I was so interested in the music scene of china which he says is still very underground because rock music is still banned by the government. I asked him how do the people express themselves then without rock music? He just stared at me for a minute like I had said something so profound. It was eerie. He almost cried. Very moving for him. Perhaps it was the fact that we were standing in front of the mammoth Il Duomo cathedral made of all green red and white marble. He says, "you are not like most rock singers in America. You don't have tattoos. You are studying Italian in Italy. They don't do that. you are intellectual rock singer." He mentioned Kurt Cobain just being on drugs and being a bad influence. I didn't even know people thought about stuff like that??? I reminded him of guys like Bob Dylan or John Lennon. That once upon a time we had intellectuals in rock music. But our current system of commercialism over career artists discourages this now, but it still does happen—think Chris Martin or Thom Yorke. but maybe he just doesn’t hear about it in china. All people hear about in the world is our real commercial stuff and artists only get like one or two albums and then they are thrown away for the next big fad. 

I told him how envious I was of china’s rock music scene just getting started now. how exciting. “I will make you guys a great video for your new album. It is important for people to experience different things like you and your band. We make you very different and unique Chinese video for American singer of band who studies other cultures just because he wants to. I take your picture now. Very important for people to see you,” he says. We talked for a long time. I call this chapter ‘the importance of being Fishy.’ I never thought about me that way. I always just kind of took me for granted. As obsessed as I am with myself I don't give myself much credit most of the time. But the way he looked at me, the way he paused before he said anything, it was very special. I felt proud. I felt honored to be doing my own thing. To be doing it my way and not the way of the rest of the rock music culture in America like he was saying. all the typical rock singer guys are so the same. I realized that it is true I relate more to Caetano or Sting than anyone else now as kind of my archetype of what a great singer songwriter is. more of a traveling troubadour, who just happens to write and sing songs. Rather than anyone else. so maybe I don't have to cut my hair and wear a goatee and a crew cut like all the other guy singers on MTV. I suppose that could be why I have always been so fringe and not hugely successful because I am so not what is in the mainstream. But I don't care now. I'm just so happy to be doing it my way. I think now it is a very limiting box to try to fit yourself into just to try to make fame or money by fitting into that box for MTV. Next week I will see Caetano here in Florence. And francco batiato also. Very exciting. 

The picture he took is below. it was sunset on Ponte Vechio where my new apartment is. he's an artst. I cannot wait to see the video he makes.