Rock the Meme

I'm lifting a rockin' little Meme from Becky at Canucks at Large, who lifted it from Jozet at Halushki, who lifted it from . . . oh, well, you get the drift. Work backwards amongst yourselves if you want to see some really entertaining results.

Basically, the Meme plays out like this:

1. Click on this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first title on the page is the name of your band.

2. Click on this link: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your
album.

3. Finally, click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. You then take the pic and add your band name and the album title to it, then post your picture.

Sounds like fun, no? So I gave it a go . . . a few times. (And I'll admit I hit random a few times for my last picture after failing to save the first one properly; I forgot to open it and then save it, essential for a full sized picture.)

After a few random clicks, it quickly became clear to me that my first band was a rock band. I mean how could it not be with the ultra rockin' name of Smoke Bomb. And apparently my fellow bandmates and I thought we were deep, real deep, like deep as a puddle, man, because we called our first album "able to express emotion" and slapped a picture of a contemplative man staring out the window of an old bus. It doesn't get much deeper than that.

The album went platinum of course, probably because of its deepeness, but, as so often happens with rock bands who reach fame and fortune too quickly, egos soon clashed, tempers started to flare, and too many self-indulgent, angry cries of 'You just don't get it!', 'I don't need you, you know!' and 'I'm the real talent in this room!' were heard backstage after shows. So we broke up. A one album wonder consigned to being an asterisk on future editions of music television specials asking "Whatever happened to ... Smoke Bomb?"

Such a sad demise.

But I pulled myself together, regrouped and founded a new band, a mellower band, a band called orthogastropoda. In an attempt to keep things less stressful backstage, I planned a more easy-going touring schedule for the group so that we could relax and linger a bit in the towns and cities in which we played. I still had high ambitions for my new group, in spite of our slower pace, and insisted that we call our first album "I'm on my way".

It died on the shelves. In retrospect, I think it was the album cover. I knew we should have gone with a professional photographer instead of hiring the drummer's kid brother to do the artwork!

Needless to say, orthogastropoda broke up. It probably didn't help that the band's name was constantly mispronounced and never fit comfortably on the t-shirts we had made up . . . made up by the bass player's girlfriend, I might add.

At this point, I was tired of dealing with amateurs, and the break up of my second band convinced me that I should try for a career as a solo artist. Although no record company would sign me, I knew I had talent, real honest-to-goodness talent. So, to show all those record execs what they were missing, I reinvented myself as Lord of the World. So with my guitar on my back, I hit the pub circuit trying to live up to my new name. My cousin's friend's friend, Bud, had a recording studio in his basement, and he let me record my first solo effort --"I said I don't know!"--for a nominal fee. It was an album close to my heart, heavily influenced by my love of obscure, quirky folk tunes, and I sold them at my shows for £5 a pop:

Ok. I sold three. Yes, three. And the purchasers were all drunk when they bought them, and I suspect they and their beer goggles were more interested in me than my music. So I gave it all up and have recently decided to become a psychic instead.

Yes, a psychic. With my cool green tin hat on, I'm absolutely convinced that I can speak to the dead. So call me for a reading! Please, call. As an incentive, I'm giving away a free copy of my CD for the first ten people who book an appointment. And, yes, I accept all major credit cards.

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To kind of nudge the meme forward, I will tag a couple of people: my friend Cynical Nurse L who is trying to get a new blog up and running at Tales of an Occasionally Grumpy Nurse -- maybe this will give her a kickstart; Kyla at The Journey, who may be in need of a giggle after being in quarantine since her trip; and Painted Maypole, whose theatrical experience should make for a highly creative result.

If anyone else decides to give it a go, please let me know. It really is a fun one!