Telling the Truth and Burning the Flag

Release of The Royal We

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It’s a proud moment. It is. I worked really hard with it and the time has come. I’ve spent months and months finessing and fine toothing this and here it comes. My writing is where I want it to be, it engages, it flourishes, it’s odd and it has a pace. The words on the pages land effectively, there’s a rhythm and a personality, there’s color and attitude and there are no apologies. And that’s where the feelings start, I’m scared I’ve said too much. I’ve always been an oversharer, it’s a reaction I have to a tight lipped world.

My writing in a big part comes as a response to the world and where it’s gone. Like most of us, I’m let down. I’m repulsed and indignant. Particularly with America. They’re a part of why I write and why I wrote what I wrote. I write in response to their agenda. Racism, bigotry, deportations, Christianity, pride and money and greed and the waving of that ugly dumb flag. They’re going to be that outright and flagrant and in our faces with their presentation? They’re going to say things out loud, they’re going to spin their hate in a place where children are listening? Their intention is to sow their ugly oats in public? Then game the fuck on, people. In this day and age, I can let go of my fear and any reservations about oversharing. Like I said, no apologies.

In my book I talk about drugs, I talk about sex in public places, I talk about subversive behavior, I talk about the things that have made me who I am. I share candidly about drug addiction, cruising for sex as a child, shoplifting, making bomb threats, outlandish expectations, young passion, hopes and dreams, dreadlocks, dismantling the powers that be, the things I grew up with. These sentiments, the things I tell, they’re coming from a place of growth, of spirit and of liberation. They’re inspirational. The things that keep my artistry flourishing, these are sources that break down walls and dismantle boundaries, they’re feelings that encourage compassion, they’re unapologetic sentiments that beg a collective nurturing. My intention is to encourage myself and my people to become better.

My good intentions don’t come without a price. I write about things that people are going to hate me for. My Christian cousins are gonna be talking about it over Thanksgiving dinner. Like, honestly, fingers crossed, that’s entirely what I’m aiming for. Not the cousins specifically but as we settle into this world where right-leaning bullies hide behind doors and throw things at the free thinkers, I want to be among those that proudly and defiantly throw back. Leaning into my provocative self and what I’ve done and what I do, I come out fighting. Fighting the tedium and the vitriol, the hate and the ignorance with a truth and a passion and a sense of spirit that adds to the rebellion of dismantling the establishment. Not to overstep or to exaggerate, but my book is subversive in that way.

The memoir is a tricky terrain, for sure. I don’t love the art form. There’s a supermarket book with photographs in the middle, it all comes down to the photos in the middle. The ‘tell-all,’ you know the kind I mean. That specifically is a million miles away from where I wanted to go with this. Those of you who know me, know me, I aim for high brow. To lend my voice to that sub-genre has been complicated for me. More than anything, visualizing a finished book I’d write, I didn’t want to be in the ROCK section, I want to be in POETRY or PROSE. It’s a tricky ask and not altogether warranted. The truth of it is, though, the book I’ve written is a tell-all, it’s just not that kind of a tell-all. It tells but at its core, it’s passion and prose and poetry.

There are name drops and characters. There’s Courtney and Kurt and Axl Rose but only because I couldn’t not. The flavor these people and their names have added to my story are part of it all. The trappings of the genre of the memoir though are confining and rigid, the writing I’ve written will hopefully challenge the genre and the reader that picks it up. I think the book reads well, it follows the course of a narrative than anyone can relate to, I just want to be appreciated for the craft I’ve employed here.

My memoir is called The Royal We and it takes place mostly in San Francisco. That’s the core of the book, it’s the place and time in my life that I pulled from. The adjectives and names and memories and feelings that come up when I look back on that city in the day. The day before the internet, in a time when we read flyers on telephone poles, looked up places on maps, bought records on whims, gambled on decisions and came out on top. There was a freedom to how we lived and to do that as a child was one of my most fortunate trajectories. Bicycle messengering, starting a band, sticking opium up our butts, swapping clothes, trying wheatgrass, provoking bullies, stealing meat from grocery stores, riding the bus for free, forming a community and becoming heroes. Who I was and where I got to be when I did it was a privilege. Sharing that is a privilege. I’m so happy to be able to be honest about these times. The book truly is an archive and telling of what that place in history was. It’s gone. It was and I lived it.

Starting in November, the book comes out and there’s no going back. Pre-orders for the book are open. There’s a super cute bundle that I’m proud of. It’s the book I’ve written, the hardcover, all 253 pages of it, autographed by me and then also a book of poetry I’ve written. The book of poetry is called The Drugs and the Drugs and the Drugs and it is beautifully ensembled and laid out and artistically directed by one of my favorite artists, Christopher Garett. There’s also a tee shirt that I designed. The front of which is a cheeky reference to Herb Caen and his column in the SF Chronicle in the 80’s (IYKYK), the back is an assemblage of names and personal homages to SF in the 80’s and 90’s, calling out clubs, local heroes, and bands that I worked into the shape of a graphic crown, a reference to the title of my book.

So get the bundle or get the book by itself. This remains a proud moment and I appreciate any attention you’re willing to give it. I’ll be on a book tour starting in November after the official release of The Royal We. See you then.

Love you all,

RB

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