BOO THAT MAN

notes on the Meowlitia and rising tides

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. - Helen Keller

Pals,

Today I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, which if you know me personally is an insane thing to say. But I did it because I wanted to help send my husband off for his adventure. Today, Ryan AKA Brokestring & the Empty Promises will be performing at Meowtucket, a protest happening in Nantucket because our disgusting grifter of a VP is visiting for a fundraiser.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week over here at the Llamabeam Ranch’n. Just about a week ago, video surfaced of Vance attempting normal human activities like chasing children at Disney World but because he only pretends he’s a normal human, the videos were, as per usual, off-putting. And, as per usual, he was met by crowds of boos. This video surfaced in the midst of my honey’s self-imposed month-long songwriting challenge. It was the fodder he needed to bang out one hella catchy tune, Boo That Man. With the help of his dear friend the artist known as Daring Coyotes, he put together a video and tagged a big creator to collaborate. That creator is @catsonacouch who is the petty ringleader of the Meowlitia, which exists to shame the couchbleeper himself, JD Vance.

Things snowballed from there. At my last check, on Instagram, Boo That Man had over 7.5k likes and over 90k views. And perhaps even more exciting, Ryan was invited out to put his words into action today at the protest. So, at the crack of dawn, I wished my beloved good luck and sent him out the door. Not that he needs any luck because his talent speaks for itself. I’m excited for more people to learn about Brokestring.

This week, as we’ve been watching the likes and shares and views roll in, we’ve been having an ongoing conversation about what success means, especially success of art in a capitalist society. What, for instance, does viral mean? According to a cursory search on Google, a video going viral needs at least 1 million views. On the other hand, for small time artists like my husband myself, 1k views far exceeds our normal reach. And there were more questions. Does a singular successful video lead to more views on other videos? Are we successful artists only if we make money? If so, how much money? Are the metrics of success different depending on the art? The genre? Does art need an audience to be art? If a tree falls in the woods…?

Big questions, ya know? And then there were darker, more selfish, quieter questions. Questions like, in a marriage between artists, can success for one force a wedge between both? Are we by nature of being artists inherently in competition with one another? I wondered if I was jealous of Ryan, and I wondered if it was okay to be jealous of Ryan’s moment in the sun. In all honestly, there was the smallest twinge. As Boo That Man zoomed past 25k views, I watched my last substack Body as Party Trick just barely surpass 100 views. And yet, it really was only the smallest twinge.

Certainly, Ryan deserves all the attention he can gather. He’s smart, dedicated, empathetic, committed to learning and committed to betterment. The song is excellent. It’s got a hook that worms its way into your head for days. I’ve had friends this week text me about the earworm he made. I giggled as my physical therapist today promptly echoed the chorus after we listened during our session today. But I kind of expected to be more jealous.

Instead, Llamabeam Ranch’n has been the site of kinetic creative energy. It’s palpable. The living room is full of easily grabbable instruments, and pieces of notes that relate to our project. My laptop follows me from room to room because inspiration keeps striking. Books are on every surface. I’m visibly mending clothes, and Ryan’s building a new bass guitar. The dinner’s we’re eating are spiced and colorful.

We’re not, I learned this week, in competition with each other. We’re lifting each other up. Ryan headed off to Nantucket wearing a shirt with a QR code for this page. I’m writing about his good work. When one of us wins, we both win.

Zooming out, I’m thinking about how this can be applied to resisting fascism. I’m thinking about the adage, a rising tide lifts all ships. That is not the message we’ve been taught here in the United States. In fact, we’ve been taught quite the opposite. That we must step on those as we climb to the top. That success is indeed measurable in numbers. That we can’t succeed if others do. It’s why the GOP voted for tax cuts for the richest among us while slashing funding for services that benefit the most vulnerable among us. But that’s not my American dream.

In my American dream, all the children are fed and have equal safe access to education. And because of the security and safety they experience as children, they grow into adults who do things like figure out how to make the relationship between our planet and our species sustainable for many generations to come.

The more people we uplift, we more are capable of.

If you haven’t listened to Boo That Man by Brokestring & the Empty Promises featuring Daring Coyotes yet, you can do it everywhere you like to stream music. I use Spotify so you can link right here, but if you use Amazon Music or Apple Music, it’s easy to search! If you’d like to buy a copy you can do so on Bandcamp! If you like it, consider asking your local radio station to give it a spin, and don’t forget that the fuckers in charge voted to defund public broadcasting, so if you’re able, consider giving to your local stations.

I’ll certainly keep you all updated about Ryan’s adventures on the coast with the Meowlitia.

Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments. How do we shake the mindset we’ve been taught that puts us all in competition with one another? How do we lift all the ships around us?

Go boldly, and remember, it’s not bullying if it’s powerful, rich, white, straight men.

I love you,

EBG

The cutie genius behind Boo That Man.