Table Of ContentISBN: 9781623098360
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To the reader who is about to step forth into these hallowed
crypts of prose, I offer you a parting bit of advice: fear not! -
for truth is the wildfire of humanity, destroying the aged
pillars of hypocrisy and setting forth a fertile ground for the
creation of a new and more vivid paradigm.
Hemmingway, Salinger, Vonnegut, Najarian… all American
writers. And it is from the fabric of this intensely wrought
culture of ours that these pioneers of authenticity craft their
deadly yet nurturing lens, through which fellow countrymen
(and fellow earthlings!) may gander upon the landscape of
this reality, in all its majesty and splendor.
Can I vouch for the truth of what lies in these subsequent
pages? I cannot know because I have read nothing of their
contents. BUT, it is indubitable that this man, this Michael
Najarian, this son, brother, “big” brother, musician, financial
analyst, friend and now… author, carries with him no
mitigation, no compromise in his fanatic obsession with
relating the essence of all things, this “truth” we have
discussed hitherto. I have witnessed it. And as the mind bears
the refractory burden of this disambiguation, it perseveres and
burns much like the haunting image of a cute, fluffy bunny
being slaughtered on the kitchen linoleum; therefore, I have
no doubts in the substance that lies ahead. Strange
perspectives indeed fellow truthlings…
So once again I say, fear not! -- for the man who moments
after our first meeting made fun of me for speaking on the
phone with my girlfriend at the time bears you no ill will -- he
wishes only to cascade upon you the wisdom that only the
truly deranged enjoy. Good luck and godspeed.
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Chuck Fay
Lebanon 1972
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Strange Perspectives: Table of Contents
Foreword by Chuck Fay America
Edited by Carol Najarian
0. Intro
1. Australia I
2. Gym Rats
3. Mike Mills
4. Chadwick Stokes
5. Quincy Recycles
6. Cam Neely
7. Incubus in Germany
8. Campaign for Water
9. Steve DiRamio
10. Najarian Book of Love
11. Band Terrorists
12. Axe
13. Perry Farrell
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14. Australia II
15. Slash
16. High School Satires
17. Jerry Cantrell
18. Wisdom Teeth
19. Chuck Fay
20. Origami Love
21. Wyc Grousbeck
22. Dad Jeans
23. David Matthews
24. Sybil Urmston Gallagher
25. Trading Stocks
26. Automatic Locks
27. Justin Baumann and Ryan Auster
28. About the Author: Family and Hometown.
29. About the Author: How I came to Music.
30. Epilogue
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31. Pictures and Memorabilia
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When thinking about writing a proper book I brainstormed a
bunch of ideas on my own. Maybe I could write a novel, a
fictional story that was creative and imaginative, that
compelled people. Or I could write an autobiography, a story
of my life, weaving a tale that spoke to people, that people
could relate to. Or I could write a practical book, say on day
trading, one of my true loves, and this could help people
understand the complex beast that is our stock market, and
maybe help them make some money. So I brought up the idea
to my bandmate and close friend Chuck Fay. I said “Chuck
I’m thinking about writing a book”. He said, “Oh”. Chuck is
more of a listener, but a brilliant man all the same. Soon you
will see why. So I told him about my ideas and he deliberated
for a second. “I think people would buy a book I would
write,” I said. He then said, “I have no doubt people would
buy a book you would write. But it has to be on your unique
take on the world. People would be amused by your analysis.
For instance, day trading, that could be a chapter”. The more I
thought about it, the more I liked the idea. This way, as I may
not be able to hold someone’s attention for a full book on day
trading, or a novel, or an autobiography, maybe I would be
able to share short snippets on what motivates me, or let’s
face it, not even that, and hold someone’s attention for
perhaps a small burst of time. Thus began my project. This
compilation is entitled Strange Perspectives, as the thoughts
and experiences you are about to witness are not strange to
me, but have been deemed such by many others. I guess it’s
now up to you to decide. And to let me know. Thanks in
advance for your open mind and understanding. May this be
an awakening experience for you all.
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Australia: Take 1
It’s pretty bad when your testicle shows up on the internet
from when you were in Australia. It’s even worse when you
find out your testicle is on the internet from your Mother. It’s
even worse than that when she calls you into the computer
room out of nowhere and says, “Hey Michael, look at this,” in
a nice, calm voice, and when you look at the computer screen
there is a picture of you wearing pink ‘The Beautiful Girls’
panties, a ‘Cape Cod: Like No Place on Earth’ green mesh cut
off shirt, eye black under your eyes, and have one testicle
hanging out. “Well, that’s me singing in Australia Mom,” I
said back to her just as calmly. “No, what’s that?” she said
and pointed to the general area of my testicle. “Well, that’s
my testicle Mom”. “And what’s it doing on the internet?”. “I
don’t know, I didn’t put it there…”. “What are your kids
going to think when they see this picture of you? It’s not cool
to have this stuff floating around on the internet!”. “I guess
we’ll just have to wait until I have kids and hope they don’t
see it”. Laughter ensues from my end. “It’s not funny
Michael! I’m serious. This isn’t cool!”. More laughter from
my end. “There’s nothing we can do about it now Mom”. And
then I left the room. Surprisingly, I wasn’t embarrassed, even
in front of my Mother. In my mind, at that moment, the
experience was worth it, and if the picture was seen by my
kids, then so be it. And even now as I am writing this, I am
still chuckling about that night. It brings a smile to my face
every time I think about it. Oh, fond memories of exposing
myself in Australia. Before you think I am this weird sex
offender-esque freaky deeky dude, please give me a chance to
explain myself. I’m sure you will come to the same
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conclusion as me. And for the record, I had no intention to
expose myself, I promise.
I’m going to guess it was in the late Fall, early Winter in 2007
when we went to Australia for the first time. We had played
with a band called The Beautiful Girls in the U.S. and then
they invited us to play over in Australia to return the favor.
This was an amazing tour. We got to take a two and a half
week break from the harsh New England weather and enjoy
the Australian easy living Summer for a bit. At this point we
had become great friends with the guys in The Beautiful Girls
(there are actually no girls in the band) and we had a great
camaraderie going on for this entire tour. There were so many
cool things that happened on this tour that I couldn’t even fit
all of them in a single memoir. On top of that, some of my
experiences have been sworn to secrecy. I will briefly touch
on a few of my experiences that tour though just to build up
to my infamous testicle showing.
First off, on a work related note, I learned so much from my
still good friend and The Beautiful Girls drummer Bruce
Braybrooke. He taught me so much about professional
drumming by the way he approached the art. When The
Beautiful Girls came and played in the U.S., Brucie used my
drum kit. When I told him he could move around my set up
he replied, “Naw, I’ll just keep it as is, that looks great”. At
first I was confused, no drummer had ever said this to me
before. Most drummers are pretty anal about the way they set
up their kit, and the angles at which they put their drums and
cymbals. I told Brucie about my confusion and he said to me,
“You are a professional, I am a professional. Professionals
should be able to roll with the punches and be able to play
any set up. That’s part of the fun of it anyway. Everyone
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