There are many websites, word and video, that expose what could be “mind-altering” techniques and experiences with drugs (or other means) that affect personalities of celebrities, among others. If you are reading these posts you likely know about certain pop stars who have supposedly developed “alt-personas”–YouTube is full of these videos: Beyonce as “Sasha Fierce,” Nikki Minaj as “Roman,” and Lady Gaga saying in some TV interview “I swear to Lucifer…”…I could link to these videos but the reader should do the research themselves. Vigilant Citizen has lots of these video snippets on that site as well as that YouTube channel. Did these celebrities decide to change their personalities themselves or were they programmed? I really don’t think anyone but the celebrity themselves can answer that…and then you have the whole “Laurel Canyon” scene of the late 60s where rockers’ personalities “changed”…MK Ultra? Monarch programming? Who knows? But according to Cathy O’Brien who wrote “Trance Formation of America” (an extremely disturbing book I read in the mid-90s), several country-western stars were programmed by these methods. I kid you not.
Or, is Beyonce’s “Sasha Fierce” persona just for stage-shows (and an album) only? I am sure when Beyonce is by herself (if she ever is by herself) she gets to “be herself.” Because believe it or not, celebrities do value their privacy, even those who can’t help but seek attention. If Beyonce and others really are programmed–and I have my doubts because I need verifiable proof they really are being programmed–I am sure they are “allowed” to “be themselves” every now and then. Otherwise, they might go stark raving mad, IMHO! So I really do think Beyonce and the rest can actually be themselves at times when they are not seeking attention (or being programmed?).
In my The Prodigal Band Trilogy, for instance, singer-front man Erik, as attention-seeking as possible (until he finally grows out of it), when seeking privacy, loves to go fishing, as I point out in a few places within the trilogy.
But it is drummer Tom who mentions various “personas” within the three-books-in-one. In Chapter Eleven of The Prodigal Band he discusses them as he reveals his ‘born again’ self: celebrity persona, caring persona, activist persona, ‘just a guy’ persona. In the only snippet I will post here from Chapter Six of The Prodigal Band, he talks about this with Bobby the fake roadie (he’s actually a fan who sneaks onto the road crew), while Bobby is in Tom’s limo because the drummer does not want to be by himself. The concert at a stadium in the fictitious Bay Area city of Richmont in July, 1993, had just ended. Forkyz is a local night club. Bobby would have a more interesting role to play in the book later.
So Tom entered the limo and saw Bobby. “So I guess you’re my ‘rock star sitter’?” Chuckle. “Good one. What’s your name?”
All Bobby could do was sit transfixed on a dream.
“You okay?” What is it with fans, anyway? This guy’s no roadie!
Bobby woke up. “Yeah, I’m fine. My name is Bobby. It’s just—”
Yeh I know it’s just! “Look, you can relax. With me you can relax.”
“But why—”
“Do I need a sitter? Because when we on tour and we are by ourselves, that’s what we do. Because if we don’t, we might do something we shouldn’t do, like go off somewhere alone and not know where the hell we are and maybe miss the gig, like I did almost in 1988, somewhere. Iowa, I think.” So then Tom explained that one.
“Look, I know you are totally stunned to be sitting in a limo with some big time rocker.”
“Well, yeah! I never imagined this would happen. Like this is my dream!”
“Well, forget that ‘big time rocker’ shit. I’m just a guy.”
“Um—no you’re not!”
“Yeh, I am. We all are.” Tom then laid back onto the back seat, preparing to relax as he tried to get Bobby to. “The gig is over, right? And when the gig is over, none of us has to be someone that we have to be when the gig is on. It’s a stage, right? So we have to perform something we wouldn’t do if we were, say, at home, relaxing, watching TV, that sort of thing. We do what we do on the stage because that’s what is expected of us and what ticket buyers want. We have to live up to our egos on stage, or, say, at Forkyz tonight, because that’s what people there expect to see. So I’ll put it to you this way. When we are by ourselves with no press monkeys—you know, reporters—no paparazzi—shit those jack asses need to get a life!—no celebrities looking to latch onto you so they can rev up their washed-up careers, or wasted rockers hanging around just to get juicy info on you they’ll use to try to stab you in the back later—when we are by ourselves, including the full time roadies and groupies, then we can be ourselves and be, just guys.”
Son of a bitch, Bobby thought. He wanted me relaxed, and he just relaxed me! “But don’t you have some groupie or someone to ride with?”
“I do groupies every now and then, but don’t have one, like, say, committed. I’m not a sex hound like Jack or Erik or Keith are. They all have full time groupies. East coast and west coast. Which is why I’m usually the only one that needs a ‘sitter.’ Bry travels with the biker roadies, on bikes. Mick travels with Adam Bloodlove, who is hanging out with Mick because he’s trying to get Mick to sign him to Foray. And, oh yeh, they’re ‘partners’ if you know what I mean.”
And on and on. But though Tom had told the others he would not be at Forkyz that night, he had apparently changed his mind, for the limo drove into the Forkyz packed parking area. “I don’t really want to go in there—too crowded. I hate crowds! Now gigs are one thing. I tend to just block out the noise of the fans. But this is no gig.” Even if it kind of is. “But, like, I’m expected to be there. Even Bry’s gonna be there. So I’ll go in there about an hour or less and be right back out.”
“Oh.”
“You can come if you want.”
“Uh—no thanks. I’ll get lost in the shuffle there.”
In other snippets here I do bring up the fact that, in the books, the band is controlled some by the red crystals Swami Negran gave them. But this demonic control is usually only during concert performances so as to “win” souls of their fans for the dark side. Buy the book at these links here to find out more about these ‘personas.’
Note: My next post will be in two weeks. Or more. Busy, and may be away from computer a few days. And I am trying to complete a mystery-thriller novel based on the trilogy as well as other projects.
The Prodigal Band Trilogy © 2019 by Deborah Lagarde, Battle of the Band © 1996 by Deborah Lagarde, The Prophesied Band © 1998 by Deborah Lagarde and The Prodigal Band © 2018 by Deborah Lagarde. Permission needed to copy any materials off this page.
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