Imagine a song cycle about what became of the cute couple in the window of Frank Holmes' Smile art work....Peter Lacey did, and the result is his new EP, Grinmace. The questions that we all ask about growing older and what happens to us as our memory becomes more filled with the losses that life presents, and how to stay balanced are examined in this work. Peter's "Golden State of Mind," which opens the song cycle, has several layers of meanings lyrically. The music bounces along in a pre-Smile, more God Only Knows sort of feeling. Peter's lyrics address the complex idea of emotions, aging...("Golden State of Mind") and staying upbeat as life presents more and more setbacks. As a therapist, people often ask me how they became nonstop pleasure seekers. The answer is that once a person has known pleasure the extent to which it is remembered and imprinted for a lifetime, the challenge is always how to "get back" to the experience. The Smile Shop ostensibly offers to turn a frown into a smile, and the idea of selling pleasure is in itself a humorous idea. Who sells pleasure? Well, there are comedians, entertainment conglomerates, mood altering experience dealers, liquor stores, and the numerous vendors of "illegal smiles." Those folk risk the wrath of society to bring you that special feeling.
There is an implicit tension in our emotions between pleasure and pain. That pain can be neutralized is the question Peter tackles in his instrumental entitled "Hey-Day"' Listening to it, it conjures a picture of people staying busy so as not to have to reflect on the pain they are feeling. Brian Wilson's Eugene Landy experiences come to mind. If Brian stayed busy enough, it seemed that he would reprogram his brain, according to Landy's theory, so that the pain would be replaced by new skills that were pointed toward "purposeful activity." As if simulated songwriting would turn into real songwriting....as if reparenting would erase 31 years of damage done by a father who was chemically dependent and mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive. As if practicing chewing his food and thoughtfully preparing it would redress his affection for wolfing down a steak or birthday cake...his own or someone else's. As if exercising would replace years of avoiding physicial exertion.
Today, we know that emotions are combinations of certain DNA protein chains based in the brain. We also know that the hypervigilance that many people experience as anxiety is transmitted genetically from father and grandfather to son. Despite wonderful advances in medication to deal with depression, post traumatic stress, and anxiety, as well as the various schizotypal disorders, it is quite possible that even with Rolls Royce caliber psychotherapy and medication, people who are anxious, bipolar, schizophrenic, or depressed are still going to have exacerbations periodically. Peter's song "Slump," which is part of the short trilogy with Hey-Day, and Closing Time, explore these themes." What does this mean for someone who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other types of hypervigilance? For the person referenced in "Slump," it means that there is a degree of genetic melancholy, nervousness, or mood fluctuation that may be lessened, but not eliminated by therapy, staying busy, or medications. On one level, Brian Wilson's life arc is apparent in the Grinmace EP, beginning with optimism and having "world by the tail success," then followed by the confused and muddled experience that Brian had as the Late Sixties progressed. It is difficult to deal with expectations created by life's success when the person getting older begins to second guess his life's path, and it's effect on others. Peter references two aspects of The Beach Boys' own history in "Slump"...first, the demands of a large company wanting more and more musical "product," and second, the apparent inability of The Beach Boys themselves to make good business decisions regarding their finances.
"Closing Time," the third portion of the brief trilogy, references a period in a person's life when success is but a memory, and getting out of bed daily is a challenge. There is a feeling of being like Sisyphus, rolling the rock up the hill, hoping it will stay on the hilltop, only to realize that it has rolled down again, and that the task is unceasing and hellish in its relentlessness. Closing time....the time when hopeless men and women come together in bars because they need to have someone to cling to, all alone, thinking that somehow this other wounded soul will make things brighten. As Peter says "our demise shared...." The Smile Shop couple has aged, their shop is not doing what they set out for it to accomplish, and business is slow and dying. What to do?
Peter and David Beard's "The Time of Our Lives" addresses the life moment where our identity clashes with life changes. What happens when life presents sour citrus fruit? The adage many people use is "make lemonade." Or as Mister Rogers says daily on PBS, "make some good from something bad." Life goes on, and how we cope determines how we feel. When life's purpose is not evident, what changes do we make in getting older and also having people expecting different actions from us? The Smile Shop couple and Brian Wilson both whitewashed the windows, locked the front door, and looked for answers. For Brian, the pain of life brought a divorce, estrangement from family, and loss of a father, two brothers, and his leadership of The Beach Boys. Songs became opaque, and youthful themes gave away to despondent and sometimes dark musical and lyrical themes. The cornerstones of this period are tunes like It's Over Now, Still I Dream of It, and My Diane.
Peter and Stephen Kalinich's "Our Light" speaks of that state of mind and emotional place where the only hope is escape. For many people, this is when chemical or activity dependence ensues. The "portal" or the "invisible door" that is spoken of in this song is the realization that relationships, as painful as they potentially can be, whether with people, pets, or a Higher Power, are the spice of life, and no means of escape, however initially rewarding are lasting. The emotion that probably typifies this the most often is grief. There comes a time when our parents, siblings, and sadly, even sometimes our children may die before we do. The "portal" they pass through does not permit us to accompany them, and this paain and loss may be the most profound of all. When we realize that our parents have died, and we are truly devoid of guidance from them, there is a moment of reckoning that we have to face. We have our own best judgement, and possibly our spouse's, if they are still with us. Our children begin to become our parents, and our journey grows shorter.
"Paradise Cove" is the final tune in this song cycle, and brings us to where we began. We "come about hard and join the once and often spring we gave." Surf is up, and the child is truly father to the man. The Smile Shop couple have retired. The Golden Years referenced in "Golden State of Mind" are now upon us, and we have to relearn how to play again....not only with our grandchildren, but also our peers. Paradise Cove, is the spot where the first Beach Boy album cover was photographed, and it is now the image that Peter has chosen to exemplify that time when the aged become young again, and the children take over day to day worldly complexities. As Peter intimates in his closing song, every day we are given at this time in life is a gift to be cherished. We never know when the time will come to walk through the "invisible door." Brian's tune "Summer's Gone expresses the same feeling. Peter's Smile Shop couple sit on the beach and watch the Sun disappear over the horizon. The song cycle is finished, and our story concludes. Peter's experiences and music continue to resonate deeply with the Beach Boys' saga, and the human experience as a whole.
Grinmace may be found at Itunes.
COPYRIGHT 2012 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved
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