Eddiebingo Intro

So, I've started this new blog thing for Eddiebingo (myself). I said in my last post that I had no idea why I hesitated to make the thing in the first place, but in reality, I have no idea what I"m going to write in it. I guess I'll just write about things that come to me every other day - just off the top.

Let's see - first things first, I guess. Intro.

I grew up in Grand Prairie, TX, USA - a suburb about 10-20 miles outside of Dallas, depending on where you're standing. As a shy kid and somewhat unathletic, I wasn't really considered "popular", at least in my opinion. Maybe I had too high of expectations. I did have a good deal of good friends, though, but hardly any of them I kept in touch with, until the advent of Facebook, and my reluctant signing up.

I thought I would earn some points with tha ladies if I had a little more cash in my pockets, so I went on a tear and snatched every stereo out of every car I could find throughout town. It eventually led to my getting snitched on, and I joined the Navy at 18 shortly thereafter.

I don't know what my fascination with Asian girls is, but I really wanted to go to Japan (partly because I would be closer to my Thai girlfriend at the time). I ended up at a base outside of Yokohama, and found out very quickly that I loved being there. There were several adventures to be had, and even more stereos to steal! Eventually, my lack of discipline and hatred of authority coupled with my newfound love for alcohol got me kicked out of the Service, and through a series of bad judgement calls, I snuck my way back into the country with a military ID that I never returned, and a one-way ticket. Finally nearing the expiration of the card, I was facing deportation, and married my Japanese girlfriend at the time. I was fluent in the language by this point, and I got a job at a huge company in Tokyo.

I was still about 22 years old, so I was not even close to settling down. I had never had a cigarette until I was 18, and never drank alcohol until I was 20 (eh, maybe a few here or there). Parents, don't be too strict on your children - religion is not the answer.

While I was at the company in Tokyo, Sagawa Distribution, I made friends with another American that was doing hip-hop out of his house named Dave. I always liked hip-hop, but I never believed that I could do it myself - the idea never came to me; I was too entrenched in social anxiety and low self-esteem. Going to Dave's on Sundays, drinking Suntory Whiskey, and freestyling was a new experience for me, and before long I was filling notebooks with amateur and ripped off lyrics. Those times had a profound effect on my life. I began to learn how to record myself and make slipshod beats on his equipment, and it wasn't long before I acquired my own - a Zoom effects processor, a 15 second Akai sampler, a busted dynamic mic, a Roland beat machine (I forgot what it was called!), and a Tascam Portastudio MKII. I started making a few simple beats and songs, and still do to this day - but the machinery (and lyricism) got a huge upgrade over the years.

Long story short, I ended up bartending in Tokyo for a half-year, divorced my wife because she was no fun, and partied hard. Of course, without a wife, I had no reason to stay in the country in the government's eyes. At the expiration of my tourist visa, I got drunk one night and missed my flight home, and was deported. My new girl came with me.

I went straight back to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and continued to live carefree - living in a hotel with my girl, and hitting the next door pool hall every night. Swimming at friends's apartments, and being loud and obnoxious, making music. It was kinda fun explaining backwards Texas cultural differences to her in Japanese. At parties, some fights broke out here and there. She had never seen that before!

We broke up shortly after, and after the money and the excitement was gone, I went to stay with my family who had moved to the Cedar Creek Lake area of east Texas. I hung out with my brother 24/7.

I had never lived in a place like east Texas, although my Dad's side of the family resides in parts. It was worse a culture shock than going from Dallas to Japan. It didn't take long before I could identify speed addicts while driving by at 40 or 50 miles per hour. Jamming Biggie Smalls, Outkast, and Brotha Lynch Hung, we would have parties, rapping and battling, and there were always fights - sometimes our fault, sometimes not. The county sheriffs would pull us over about once a week, it seemed. Sometimes we would go to jail, sometimes not.

It was around this time that I noticed a shift in the paradigm that is Texas. Money was everything to everyone, and friendship, parties, and hospitality were out the window. After losing my ridiculous job at Wal-Mart, I decided to get some dope and make a little money. It went great for a little while, even though I stayed relatively low-key. I was doing fine, and no one was the wiser. After I had stashed a little money away, I decided to get out of the wretched sinkhole and move back to the Dallas area and go to school for audio production and songwriting.

The economy was getting a little worse, but not terrible. Making money was simple, but I often had to go back to the Lake to serve people, and it took a few years, but I finally got caught with the dope! So with a new felony and probation, I continued to try and make it in Dallas (well, Irving).

That brings me to the here and now. I don't know how I've managed to stay in Dallas (and out of trouble) for so long. Part of me thinks that it's because the economy is so shitty and it's so easy to get arrested, that I never leave the house! For the first time in a decade, I've had insurance and current inspection and registration stickers. I started a website, Poor and Angry, and just upgraded the studio recently. And I'm still making music, even though I'm getting old as all hell. I don't care, though - age ain't nothing but a number.

Whew! So that was the Eddiebingo catch-up story. Got that out of the way... I purposely left out some details so that maybe I'll have something to write about in the future.