11) PEPPER SPRAY

Despite the song's lyrics which basically address date rape I didn't purchase my pepper spray at the 7-11 for that reason. I purchased it because it had become brutally apparent that the nation had become increasingly hostile and I didn't feel the same sort of comfort that I used to feel in truck stops, restaurants, stores and roadside attractions across the United States. I mention on the very first song on this album my pondering the 'Stand Your Ground ' law. Truth. A number of my so called liberal friends purchased guns. It had come to this.

I think prior to the humbling naive thing I considered myself a 'people person '. Some might laugh at that in light of my stage persona but really it was true. I travel the world, I shoot the breeze with cab drivers, airport workers, waitresses, motel personnel all the time. You want someone's life story? Ask them how many hours they worked this week, how's the boss, you get to see the wife much? Invariably once somebody knows you're sympathetic to their plight they'll open up big time. The shared road of the proletariat. But it changed in this country. At least my thinking did, but I wasn't imagining it. Before, I think 99% of the time I would walk away from a conversation like that, just a light exchange with a stranger cuz I'm a firm believer that small talk isn't small, you can get a LOT of insight into someone's moral code by just asking about their day at work, and I would leave these encounters thinking 'That's a good guy. Just trying to put food on the table for his family.' But, as I said, things done changed. I'll give you an example of my altered thinking. This was just prior to the pandemic, ol' Twittler was Prez. I was in an airport waiting for a plane. Across from me were an elderly couple, she was in a wheelchair. The old timer was attentive to her, I could tell they had a deep affection for one another. Respect. It was winter, I had on a hoodie and a leather coat, my guitar and a couple bags. Everytime you get up you have to take everything with you, just to go to the men's room or get a pretzel. Did I mention I'd like to meet the person who designed airports? Did I mention that I'd like to rip off their arm and beat them over the head with it? Anyway I got up and took a few steps and I felt a tap on the back and I turned around and it was the old geezer with my knit hat which had fallen. I said thanks and kinda nodded at the old doll, like, 'Hey good work man, can't be easy, God bless ya '. And he smiled knowingly. Now, prior to goofball in the White House I would have walked away and thought, as per usual, 'That's a good guy.'  NOW I think, he COULD be a good guy, but I have to ask him some questions. And if he doesn't answer them correctly he's a fucking Nazi. I'm sure there were a lot of Germans who treated their wives very well and then drove to work to a concentration camp and participated in the genocide of Jews. In the words of that great comic wit Gomer Pyle, 'Surprise, surprise, surprise!' So, I tread now with caution armed with pepper spray.

When I showed the pepper spray to Detroit as we were embarking on a tour he remarked 'Every woman in my dorm has one of those.' I was like 'Excuse me?' He said it's as common as cell phones and backpacks. No woman goes to a club in Manhattan without pepper spray.

Again this is all me in my apartment and then bringing it into Matt. The big fun on this one was the utilization of the Whammy Ricochet Pedal by DigiTech, you know the roller coastering siren like effect you hear Jack White and Tom Morello use? I remember beating the shit out of my bare foot pounding the on and off button. Then I brought the jumbled mess into Matt and he turned it into what you are hearing. Really proud of this one.