Ethos Statement of Giant Lusca

• Racial Equality

• Feminism

• Freedom From Poverty

• Responsibility

• Hard Work

• Kindness

Giant Lusca has a set of guiding principles. I wrote this to articulate these principles. Sometimes the song lyrics and the stories that I tell on the blog may be jagged and raw, even appearing on first take to be mean-spirited. I hope you never find anything in the work that you feel to be an expression of cruelty or hate. That is never the intention. Upon first consideration the songs may seem poorly conceived and I will certainly make mistakes in the ideation of these works. But I use a kind of idiosyncratic precision-- regardless of visible brush strokes and glue. The ethos statement is designed to establish the core beliefs of the project. This post will expand on the core ethos. I’m going to try an experiment in brevity, here we go.

Racial Equality:

People are not objects or property. Racism is an expression of fear and weakness. True strength comes from personal daily efforts to dismantle this sickness-- from within. The first step is the acknowledgement of the legacy of racism, and then acting with good intention; recognizing hate and using all of one’s power to reduce it.

Feminism:

The belief that women are equal to men. Practicing this belief is what counts. Again, people are not objects or property.

Freedom From Poverty:  

The primary driver of human suffering is poverty. In most cases, mental health issues, addiction, and violence all come from the not-so-secret sauce of poverty. Living on the street will make you crazy. It is time to stop behaving like temporarily embarrassed millionaires. There is another way of perceiving and acting in our world.

Responsibility:

Artmaking is risky business! Successful artmaking means taking responsibility for what has been created. This means that… Once something is released to the public, the perception of the work takes on its next dimension, which results in a loss of control; but also, where the value & meaning potentially increases and deepens. The artist must answer criticism with understanding and respect. Acknowledge flaws in the work. Responsibility means being honest with collaborators and operating without scheming.

Hard Work:

A method of managing efforts through organization and disciplined practice. To be flexible and calm when plans fail or attention alters. It means being present in one’s efforts. Hard work is the realization of potential. In order to work hard, one must identify and immediately deal with insincere and diversionary criticism. Gossip and trolling behaviors are never the tools of hard work. Neither is calculated self-deprecation with the intent to achieve leverage over others. The body and mind must be maintained and healthy.

Kindness:

Kindness is practicing empathy and self-control. To recognize legitimate potential in those who have been written off by others and to help people grow-- without implicit or explicit demands for credit. Kindness is understanding that a personal feeling is not an absolute truth. It is to avoid insincere polemics and reckless social bullshitting, as this can get out of control and lead to the suffering of others. A kind person never takes enjoyment in the shame of others. Kindness is to oppose a system of thinking which holds individualism as a primary value.

…

Not knowing about a band has its mystique, but human nature will eventually fill in the gaps of any narrative. Mystique and elaborate artifice is a kind of fakery in most cases. I’m not gonna do that. Instead, I have chosen the Path of the Square, as I was never one of the cool kids. As always, I’m willing to step right into it-- a mop top home-haircut kid with enormous smeared eyeglasses slipping down the nose. There I am, showing my loot to the Gasparilla pirate and still making a good time out of the parade.