This was an unexpected tribute, but ol' Bergy keeps popping up. It will be his birthday in a matter of days, and he is the king of Tribute bands- so Berg it is.
Many of you knew Ryan as my boyfriend of several years, even more of you knew him as Prof. Berg (aka Daddy Berg), and still some of you may know him as the mastermind and performer in bands such as Chariot, Kittens Chariot, Chocolate Chariot, and the lesser known French Chariot tribute band, Chariot Avec Le Jambon.
However you came to know him, if you have had the pleasure of spending time with him, you were most certainly entertained.
Ryan has taught me many things over the years, especially the year he was paid to do so. Important life lessons like: how to successfully use bacon in a ceramic sculpture, how to power-ride roller coasters after having just eaten a giant turkey leg and three churros, how to apply googly eyes to a water color painting and then turn that painting into a dangling band performance highlighting "things kids like"while quietly singing Elton John and Iggy Pop songs, the best way to apply fake eyelashes when your face is extremely sweaty, how to appreciate a good Kyle Minogue song, and the list goes on and on.
I have watched Ryan make some of the most bizarre and beautiful things. He is the only person I know who can open a bottle of glitter, scan an old Slade record album, roll out some jelly pens, toss it up on a wall with a pretty bow, and make everyone coo.
Even if you have never heard of Mark Bolan, Chicory Tip, or Klaus Nomi, his work , in all its forms, will sweep you off your feet and bring you to tears- often at the same time.
The thing that has always amazed me about Ryan (other than how often he has to go pee) is the lack of separation between life and the things he makes. He moves seamlessly between, music, painting, clay, cooking and racquetball. With everything he does and makes, he finds a way to relate it to the next. He just knows how to bring it all together in a way that allows for anyone to connect, and often be inspired.
He could be talking to a student about a drawing they were working on, all the while making reference to the meatball sub he had made for himself the night before.
All of the things he makes are extensions of himself, characters to tell a story, and shed some understanding on the sometimes happy/more often lonely people we are. From sintars, to Big Boy, Ernie and Bert, to Powdered Wig man; he has destroyed the line between living and making, between paper and performance.
This has been the greatest of Berg Lessons, with one exception.
Years have passed since our days in Stink-hole Hookerville (Tampa, FL), and the lovely USF; but a decision Ryan made shortly before we went on our separate ways has stuck to me like those goddamn eyelashes.
I suppose it has been more of an example then a lesson-
Ol' boy left his highly coveted, ten-year track position in a field of which he was highly qualified and experienced in to move to LA and make films.
Ryan had very little experience with film, if I remember correctly, he just really liked watching them a lot.
Lets be clear, he was not new to the stage, and he had highly developed visual skills and vocabulary, but he had never made a film or written a screen play.
He tossed around the idea of going to film school, or taking production classes, but instead he just taught himself.
He went out and bought a nice camera, final cut pro, some screen writing software and went to work!
It has been a little over two years, and he is freakin' doing it!!!
RB. I think about your decision everyday. When I visited you in LA last March, it was this decision that inspired me to go home, quite my job, and learn how to design and make furniture.
I have been broke ever since, I smell like lacquer thinner most days, and I have nearly sanded the tips of my right fingers off, but damn it feels good to be (a gangster) making things again.
I have always admired the way you trust yourself and your ideas, and now knowing how that feels, all I can say is ....... Thanks Christmas Man, I love you
to see what I'm talking about go to
1 comment:
Well said. You both inspire me.
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