"Reach out and touch faith. Your own personal Jesus. Someone to hear your prayers. Someone who cares." — Martin Gore, 1989 For the most part, despite being liberal minded and an ardent believer in the vitality of voting, I tend to lean closer toward the apolitical side. However, as a Washington, D.C. native — where talking politics is about as synonymous to drinking water — I've managed to adapt to its congressional culture throughout the years. With that said, one of the strangest aspects I've experienced with living abroad is the absence of frequent discussions regarding government issues. Yes, an ex-pat can always grasp the political environment of a residing country, but there's usually a certain lack of passion involved when the matters don't directly concern one's country of origin.
Take the latest government resigns facing Bulgaria, a country where I've been living for the past four years. Protesters in the thousands have been hitting the streets of the capital city of Sofia, pressing for an end to corruption and dictatorship. The demonstrations, which have been peaceful thus far, were first instigated by the Socialist government's choice to elect media powerhouse Delyan Peevski to run the national security services. The people objected, which resulted in Peevski's speedy eradication. However, Bulgarians have since demanded the removal of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski in its wake. These recent protests have been the talk of the town — no doubt. And though my lack of political knowledge regarding Bulgaria impedes me to fully examine the issues at hand, it doesn't take a genius to see that the country desperately needs a savior to put an end to the fraud and tyranny going down. Speaking of saviors, you'd better brace yourself for this one, folks. During the month of June, the Sunflower Capital of the World proudly received a searing sermon on the mount from one of the greatest electronic bands ever, while my girl from the north country started a whole new ministry, just as I was secretly delivering the word of God to one of America's most notorious Mafia crime lords. Here's the truth . . .
"So we're different colours
And we're different creeds
And different people have different needs
It's obvious you hate me
Though I've done nothing wrong"
— Martin Gore, 1984
AFTER SPENDING MOST OF JUNE ALL BY MY lonesome self, Sarah, who was on a business related journey to the States, returned to Sofia with exciting news. And no, she wasn't pregnant. You see, for the past month a big decision had been weighing heavy on her mind to either stay at America For Bulgaria, the non-profit organization that initially brought her here, or to start a NGO with a stronger focus on Roma and minority related issues — both of which are near and dear to her heart and in stark contrast to what I'd stated earlier regarding ex-pats being politically passionate for a country other than their own. Well, after weighing the pros and cons, my girl from the north country chose the latter.
And if you don't mind me swiping a quote from my main man Stan Lee, "with great power there must also come — great responsibility." That said, it was quite understandable that Sarah was initially worried about taking on the new duties of hiring and supervising her own staff. There was also the issue of acquiring her own office space, which would be located in Sofia's City Center and then later remodeled.
Real estate can be a tough and complex market in Sofia, as the majority of home and office owners choose to rent rather than sell. However, within a few weeks of starting her new NGO, Sarah was able to purchase a wonderful space right in the heart of the city. She also remembered having a great architect right underneath her nose; a cool and talented dude named Lubo, our close Bulgarian friend (whom you might recall from previous episodes), who was quite eager to work with Sarah's organization and ended up doing a magnificent job remodeling the new office space. From previous episodes (see 15) you may recall that the idea of working on Roma or minority related issues is a controversial subject to tackle for Bulgarians and other Eastern Europeans. But within a few weeks, Sarah managed to hire a wonderful staff of Bulgarian women willing to go toe to toe for the cause.
Now, I'll bet your wondering why my girl from the north country omitted the male species from the mission. Well, she didn't. In fact, hiring Bulgarian men was uppermost on her agenda — not because she's sexist or anything of the kind, but having a few man around the office would be like killing two birds with one stone. You see, besides a healthy balance of views coming from both sexes, having a male social worker would also serve as a positive role model to young Roma boys — which is vitally important to the Roma community. However, and quite unfortunately, locating a skilled Bulgarian male willing to work on Roma issues is like finding avocados in the Sahara desert. And to be perfectly fair, male social workers, in general, are a rare commodity in most places on Earth. On the other hand, once the new NGO is off and running, I'm certain more than a few worthy Bulgarian male candidates will be knocking at the door. Stay tuned. . .
"All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm"
— Martin Gore, 1990
YOU'RE ONLY FAMOUS IN YOUR BACKYARD may certainly ring true when American readers scratch their heads upon learning that catching a glimpse of Azis is one of my great highlights in Bulgaria. Arguably one of the most famous figures in the Sunflower Capital, the flamboyant Roma chalga-singer is perhaps best known for his controversial shocking videos and feminine attire — not unlike Marc Bolan, David Bowie or Culture Club's Boy George did back in the day.
Anyway, it all happened while driving Xena to the local cleaners. Azis, accompanied by a female companion, was walking a foot-sized chihuahua toward the crosswalk at the northeast corner of Doctor's Garden — an ever growing chic park located two blocks from our condo. Sporting his signature platinum locks and goatee with acid washed daisy dukes, Azis looked me straight in the eye. I was quite stoked getting attention from a Bulgarian icon. It was like celebrity status on celebrity status! Well, me being the usual star struck American, I sped around the park, hoping to seek an autograph. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at the adjacent corner where Azis and company were headed, they'd already made it to Zaimov Park. With that said, while my American readers may not be familiar with Azis, they will surely recall Depeche Mode, the hugely successful English electronic pop band that recently brought their Delta Machine Tour to a sold-out Stadium Locomotiv in Sofia.
RELEASED IN MARCH OF 1990, Depeche Mode's Violator was one of the soundtracks to my senior year of high school — and one of the few all-time classic albums of which I can proudly say that I'd purchased upon its original release. Having said that, after a 25 year wait, I was more than eager to see the band play hits from the album that created the musical backdrop to one of the most important moments of my life.
Due to Sofia's usual gruesome gridlock, Sarah and I arrived fashionably late to a packed Locomotiv stadium and squeezed our way to the front of the right side of the stage. The band, who consisted of principle songwriter and guitarist Martin Gore, keyboardist Andy Fletcher, and lead singer and crowd pleaser Dave Gahan, was already introducing themselves to the gratifying Bulgarian crowd with a live rendition of "Welcome to My World" from Delta Machine, their thirteenth and latest long player.
Now in their early 50s, Depeche Mode played and moved around the stage like they were still in their teens — often teasing concertgoers with a trip down memory lane. The set list featured hits and album tracks such as "Just Can't Get Enough" from their 1981 debut Speak and Spell, "A Question Of Time"from the critically acclaimed Black Celebration, and several tracks from my senior year soundtrack, including "Policy Of Truth," "Halo," and "Enjoy The Silence" — one of the groups most masterful recordings that still sends goosebumps down my spine. The concert's highlight for me was "Personal Jesus," the lead single from Violator. Inspired by Priscilla Presley's book Elvis and Me, the now classic recording was surprisingly a minor hit in the UK and US. But for me it was simply huge. I'd say, equally important as any life changing music by the likes of The Beatles, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Sly Stone, Arthur Lee, or Curtis Mayfield, as it also opened my mind and changed my life for the better.
This brings me to the touchy topic of religion, which I rarely tackle in the Blog-O-Daria series. You see, when "Personal Jesus" was released in the Summer of 1989, I had just turned 18 and was quite often confused with regards to faith. By that point, I was unconsciously leaning toward agnosticism and the song's lyric, which Gore once revealed is about "being a Jesus for somebody else," would prove to be a guide to a more a philosophical view that faith or religion doesn't necessarily have to be dictated or shared, but can be anything personal that lies within one's own heart. On that note, you can say that Depeche Mode was like my own personal Jesus on the night of the concert. They took me to church with their stellar performance of the song, while I reminisced over many heartfelt memories from my senior year.
"The grabbing hands
grab all they can.
All for themselves —
after all, it's a
competitive world.
Everything counts
in large amounts."
— Martin Gore, 1983
IT'S NO SECRET. Bulgaria's sunflowers don't always face the sun. With a dark past and present history of corruption and violence, ranging from its infamous Cold War period Man From U.N.C.L.E. style umbrella murders to this month's botched assassination attempt, there's good reason for the aforementioned protests. But let's face it, folks. The story is the same, no matter where you go. A criminal lives the highlife for a certain amount of time and in most cases, he or she will eventually pay the price. This age old lesson is played out in The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 crime drama starring Marlon Brando as the fictional Mafia crime boss Don Corleone.
Widely considered the greatest and most influential film of all-time, it wouldn't be until late 2007 that I was persuaded by my older cousin Greg to finally watch it. "Son," he insisted, "you aren't a real man until you've seen The Godfather." Although I felt like a real man before and after watching the Coppola classic, my cousin's manful statement promptly realized in me that the film, along with its equally great sequel (avoid the third at all costs!), deserves all the praise and then some. In fact, it's currently ranked at number 2 on my personal list of The 100 Greatest Films To See Before You Die! — right behind Star Wars, of course.
With that said, after recently winning a role in an upcoming documentary, I was taken by complete surprise after learning that I would be portraying a real life character directly involved in the life story of one the so-called 'Five Families' of the original Italian-American Mafia from which The Godfather was originally based on via the Mario Puzo book of the same name.
Directed by Simon Fellows, God The Father: The Michael Franzese Story explores the rise, fall and rise again of Michael Franzese, son of Sonny Franzese, underboss of the Colombo crime family. Now, when considering the aforementioned statement I just discussed regarding faith and religion, the character I play in God The Father will certainly end up being my most ironic role ever. You see, my scene involves me portraying a prison guard who secretly gives the Bible to Michael Franzese, which eventually results in his affirmation into Christianity.
In fact, the seemingly hypocrisy of it all nearly made me give up the role. However, it didn't take long before giving it a second thought and reasoning that, since stumbling into the wonderful world of filmmaking, I've had the pleasures of playing soldiers hunting down giant spiders and crocodiles, smart alecks getting sucked into geysers, and cold blooded street gangsters — all of which I am really not (okay, perhaps I do hunt giant spiders sometimes). So why now did it matter that I was slated to play a person who witnesses the word of God to a hardened criminal? It shouldn't. In fact, because it's so unlike me, it may end up being my greatest screen role. Besides, being that it was a retro documentary, I didn't even have to cut my hair.
So, days before shooting, I prepared myself by studying classic prison guards in cinema, such as Paul Edgecomb in The Green Mile and my boy Pornstache from the latest Netflix hit Orange Is The New Black. However, my observations would be in vain upon learning that the man who actually lived through the real life scene in God The Father would be there on set helping to supervise the film and instruct me on how the role of the guard should be portrayed.
But before meeting and working with Michael Franzese, I'll admit to being more nervous than a chicken in a KFC slaughter house. I mean, it wasn't like I was working with George Lucas or Spike Lee. If I were to botch up their films, the least they'd do is fire me. But if I were to screw up a part in Franzese's film, he'd give me an offer I can't refuse!
However, I couldn't have been more wrong. Michael Franzese was truly one of the sweetest people I'd ever met or worked with in my life! He had an overtly warm and friendly demeanor, which made us get along like long lost pals. The ex-crime boss even relayed personal stories to me from his dark past and I confessed a few of my own.
And even though Franzese admits to not remembering the name of the prison guard who gave him the Bible, he could easily recall exactly how it was done — word for word. With this crucial knowledge, I was able to seal the performance of the jail guard in just a few takes — pleasing both Franzese and the director.
Oh, and I guess you're probably wondering if it felt weird for an irreligious person like myself to be handling the Bible or witnessing Christianity to someone in a film. Well, the answer is no. It didn't feel strange at all. In fact, it felt quite natural for me. But don't go getting any crazy ideas. I'll be staying agnostic, for now.
