It wasn't just your average fall day when I first heard the music of Transcender.  I was doing some routine listening, checking out new acts when I was completely blown away by both songs on the page.  In this case though, I had to look a little closer because let's just say there was something about this artist beyond the songs themselves that made one's ears perk up.  I looked at some of the info provided on the page and saw that one of the songs had a guest appearance by Astrid Young, who I happened to know was Neil Young's half-sister.  This knowledge was there because, well.. Neil is probably, outside of the Beatles, my number one rock hero of all time.  I put two-and-two together in my head and for the next few weeks I went around telling friends I was relatively certain we had Neil Young on the site.  The one song, Tear Hate Down, sounded like some kind of lost Neil classic from the After the Gold Rush days.  The part that sold this idea to me most was the quality of the songs.  They just went soo deep, and musically were sophisticated enough that I was thinking to myself, why did Neil save these songs, they're killer.   So.. to make a long story short, thru an artist friend I began a communication with this rather enigmatic figure, and I gotta say, put him thru more close scrutiny than any other Spotlight artist, by far.  :)   To be honest,  I definitely put up with some attitude and the like, dealing with him, that I wouldn't normally have, except for who he "is".  It probably won't insult him if I say that he's a very unusual character, reminds me of one of the colorful eccentric individuals who lit up the online indie community in the early days of the mp3, flaws showing yet bursting with angst and fresh opinions.   All in all, if you add his songs up with his writing  (his answers in this interview for instance), probably the most accurate, yet ironic thing I can say about the individual I only know as George Transcender, is that he's a one-of-a-kind artist. 

Anyway, rather than start him out with a question, George asked if he could make an opening statement, so I'm gonna let him get this thing started..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“i am not neil young”

subtitles:-----------[ “whoa is me”, the ballad of george transcender ]
              --------- [“i thought this was supposed to be about the music”?] 
              -------------------------[“sometimes i feel like cuba”]

nota bene: 
i write this preface under self imposed duress
due to the passive yet pervasive persecution received via musical recognition denied,
merely because my singing voice is similar to neil’s…

i am not neil young, never thought i was, never wanted to be anyone but myself,
not related by dna, but i’ll proudly admit to a soul/blood relation in musical spirit…
so first, let me clear a whole lotta air 
by genuflecting to the 801 lb gorilla that is the music of neil young…

now if i had a dollar for every “you sound like neil young” or,
[ someone responding to hearing my music and not knowing it was mine,] 
“is that neil young” ?; well, let’s just say i’d be chest deep in dollars,
[ and finally able to realize transcenderarts stated mission to help missing children.]…
and the only 2 things i could do to not sound like him would be to not sing, 
[ then i’d have to kill myself,] or have a vocal cord operation,
but then i’d face the risk of sounding like donald duck !, and so fuck both.]… 
this interview was bred by the increasing amount of  “shout box” comments,
“recent topics” rumors that i was in fact neil by another one of his pseudonyms,
[ a la bernard shaky,] along with numerous emails in my box asking the same question…

i here, now, want to thank scott stambaugh for the opportunity to employ
this forum [ w/out edit,] to discredit those rumors and more,
the more being to list “connections”, coincidences and downright trivia, to wit:
that his sister sings on a few of my songs – “connection”…
that neil and i are both scorpios, [ for those subscribing to such things,] – coincidence…
that we both desire to record under full moons – coincidence…
that we both have @ least 3 related med conditions, 
[ brain, back and hearing,] [ that i know of,] – coincidence…
that we both have similar sounding vocal cords while singing – coincidence,
[ an acute/critical appreciation would assert my cord timbre sounding thicker, richer.]…
that when neil came out with ”trans” in the early 80’s, i felt compelled to request of friends who had previously nicknamedly referred to me as “trans”, 
to cease that habit of affection, [“thanks neil”.] - trivia…
that neil dug brando the actor’s stand alongside native americans in visits to the taken over alcatraz, and that i befriended the subject of 1 of my b/w photographic portraits,
[ see transcenderarts b/w menu “yaqui-apache”,] who was behind the steering wheel of the boat that ferried brando back n forth from alcatraz – coincidence…
that neil’s “pochohantas” mentions brando, 
that i wrote “bury my heart at wounded knee”,
[ after reading dee browns same name seminal book,]
which features the topanga canyon coyotes on the intro, 
that neil and i both lived in “t-o”, [ albeit my stay being very brief,]
and that buffy st.marie wrote a song with exactly the same title 10 yrs after mine,
that she was married to jack nietzsche, who wrote a synth passage i “borrowed”, 
[ about 20 seconds worth,]  [ and the “only” thing i ever “borrowed”,]
from my favorite neil song – “trivia”, [ “hi neil, hope you’re grinnin’ @ that last one”.]…
that i’m friends with an attorney 
who worked for the firm that won neil his lionel choochoo train case – trivia…
that during the mid 90’s prep for my “songs for parents of missing children” cd,
a musician came to my house to audition, 
[ his interest in my material inspired equally by the material and the vocal cords,]
who described recording at neil’s ranch, [ i believe he said neil was on tour,] 
w/briggs being on his last legs, meeting pegi and the kids and how nice she was etc 
and generally going thru his experience there, tho he didn’t get the gig w/me – trivia…
that i stopped listening to neil’s music completely in 1985  for 2 reasons;
i came to the realization that his continued influence would taint my emerging style,
admittedly a good sized neil chunk,
tho w/numerous variations from my own veins,- dis-connection ?, [ aka fork in the road,]
and 6 months prior to “landing on water”, an album from iceland came out with 1 of my songs on it whose album cover was way too eerily like the cover of “landing on water”
which was, as i said, released about 6 months after mine – coincidence…
even had a beloved danny whitten-like now drug dead friend, 
[ remaining nameless,] 
[ for who i wrote the still unreleased “to an addict”,] 
and a jack nietzsche-like keyboard/arranger type, [ remaining nameless,] 
who betrayed me to the depths- coincidence…and enough of this…

in my first public interview, [ this being the 2nd, almost 7 yrs later,] 
shortly after “songs for parents of missing children” appeared in 2000 of the common era, national public radio asked if i wanted to do an interview, to which i replied “yes”…
it wasn’t 5 minutes into the event when the host asked the inevitable question,
“it’s been said by many that your music sounds a lot like neil young”, 
and the next words outta my mouth were “here we go again”, 
in a somewhat sarcastic yet humorous tone of resignation, 
and then proceeded to leave it at this 1 liner: [ and i paraphrase myself here,] -
“any serious songwriting musician who hasn’t been influenced by the music
of neil young is either a fool, a liar; or both”, and left it at that… 

so with all this stated, what’s left to declare ?... 
that i consider neil’s music the gold standard in all categories is stipulated by now…
he was the first artist whose “down” songs made me cry, 
and because his artistic honesty/integrity was so fucking consistently high for so long, 
it’s like one of those monster sports records you know is never gonna be approached, 
much less broken, [ joni was the only other artist to bring tears on a consistent basis.]…
the first song i considered “filler”, [ for neil,] was “motorcycle mama”, and it was then 
that i realized this cat has now been proven musically fallible, 
[ human,] 
yet the disappointment was tempered by the outrageous non filler to filler ratio,
until ’85, when, as i mentioned, i ceased listening to his music, 
[ and to eschew music you treasure is no easy sacrifice,] except for some things like 
“rockin’ in the free world” or “harvest moon”, which would drift into my line of hearing on the very rarely turned on contemporary radio stations…to clarify a bit more, i also stopped listening to anything but classical since ’85 with the same reasoning; that any other songs i would hear might influence my songwriting style, and the same went for reading, after polishing off most of dostoyevsky and hesse and a hundred others as a young man, “bury my heart at wounded knee” was the last book i read, [ i believe it was ’80/81,] as i feared my developing literary style would be affected in the same manner…

the similarities between neil and i probably outnumber the differences, certainly
artistically if not politically, ie, the right wing thrust on “hawks n doves” i chalk up to a man tryin’ to find his way and that a bit of “pissin’ in the wind” was goin’ on there,
[ since most of my pol-leanings are far to the left of his,] 
yet the music was still so fucking brilliant…and speaking of differences in opinion,
i hope you’ll stick around for the interview q and a that follows this intro, as with
just a bit of patience and forbearing, you might discover some things interesting
enough to use as seeds, and hopefully not ammunition…
there are cowardly character snipers out there, those who would vilify due to their bein’ on “the losing end” of truth; those lowlife vindictive souls who feel they need unhealthy
attention; yes, i’ve tasted their wind all my life, ain’t nothing new…
and i’m sure somewhere down the line, 
someone who really doesn’t understand art will refer to me as “the poor mans neil young” or whatever their feeble mind can conjure, but truth be told, i could not give a whit of a fuck about what others say, as it’s all about the music to me,
whoever’s name is stamped on it…

i cannot count the times folks have related to me how “your music made me cry”, 
and there is no greater validation for an artist than to know his work is intense and honest enough to produce that line, to know you constructed art so powerfull
as to elicit the most intense human emotional reaction of cathartic tears…
but know that while i may compose substantially in a dark vein, 
i live in the light
of positive projection, [ notwithstanding the space taken up by healthy cynicism,]
smile easily and look for the good in all people as a first reaction…
fools who waste time by comparing artists, 
[ clapton versus stevie ray, picasso/cezanne, apples and oranges etc,] are not hip,
miss out on what’s real, and in the process, dilute the sacredness of art…
all comparisons are odious, as it’s all about, [ should be about,] the song, the art,
the gift of illumination that it gives you…
accept it for its singularity and you’ll appreciate it more…

on by best days, i view neil as a peer,
tho with that being said, i have my doubts that despite whatever “tear hate down”,
[ currently # 24,] may rack up on his lwwtoday songs page, 
that it will not see the light of the lwwtoday home page 
and into the top 10 for the majority to hear…
were that to transpire, this seasoned cynic would be surprised in the xtreme, 
and a concurrent faith in both neil’s integrity and humanity would rise in stock... 
we’ll see what we shall see…

i hereby declare the forgoing to be true n accurate under the penalty of my conscience…
 

 Scott:  Do you remember the time in your life when music became really important to you ?

George:  yes, it’s etched so deeply that it would probably withstand alzheimer’s disease,
but before i lay it, i want to express that in order for music’s importance to reach that level, it had to be prefaced by a foundation...that foundation was in the form of irish/scottish lullabies sung to me as a baby and as a little boy to soothe my savage breast, [ born intense ?,] by my now recently deceased mother, 
[ see transcenderarts b/w photo menu, “alzheimer’s series 1-4,] 
and during that period, being drawn to certain songs from the mostly turned on radio 
that imprinted, and which from about age 9 on, had me singin’ along note for note...
the period when music felt as emotionally integral to my very existence as love was 
occurred when i moved out of the house i’d lived in my entire 16 yrs and into my own apartment, lengthy enough in distance to be thought of as far away; 
alone, [ except for my dog,] for the first time in my life...
it was, in effect, a 2nd and final severing of my umbilical cord so to speak...
to be so young and completely on my own, [cept for my aforementioned dog,] 
was a daunting experience...i began literature in that pioneer cabin, [ that’s how i pictured it, as i was self isolated for the first time in my life.]...
in order to attempt writing my deepest feelings, i needed music, 
as certain music made me cry, and tears were cathartic 
and catharsis is empowering if seen thru to resolution... 
and with the album playing, after comin’ home from long hard labor, 
in complete darkness, i began writing, 
[ on large sheets of paper to compensate for the lack of visible lines/margins,] 
for the next 6 months or so, [ the pain of first expression so intense,] 
until i finally broke thru to a higher level and wrote with the lights on...
it was during that 16th year that i began playin’ guitar,
maybe the cheapest piece of shit 6 string acoustic to exist, 
[ which i still have - - yrs later and is now emotionally priceless to me,] 
along with whatever album i had on, and from then on, 
realized more and more as time passed 
how primal and universal a need music is to the human psyches growth of compassion, 
and just as importantly, its maintenance... 
 

 Scott:   Reading your site, and listening to your songs, it's obvious you have rather strong political opinions.  If you were a member of congress, what issues would be your priorities ?  :)

George:  firstly, i’d respond by substituting the term “political” with the word “moral”,
[ semantics hopefully being the universal translator here,] 
and then assert “rather strong” to be an understatement...
as a self defined non violent anarchist, i’m stretchin’ very hard to imagine myself part of a gov whose precepts and rules were constructed by white racist males while they were,
[ and btw still are,] engaged in the ethnic/cultural cleansing of the native americans...
the question is akin to asking 1 of the worlds most adamant agnostics what he’d change about the theocracy he strains each and every single day and nite to remain afloat in, 
so i’ll do like we do when we view a fictionalized movie or film, i’ll accept the working premise and give this somewhat generic response, 
boldfacing the paramount words central to everything that flows from there 
to be used as touchstones of understanding @ least proper sequence imperative...
part of “thinking globally” is beginning each day with the remembrance that today, 
30,000 children will needlessly die on this “shared” planet, and since i prefer focus of
solution over control, [ time always the determinate,] the priority issues would be
all things affecting children, children and children, raising their value to the divine...
children’s physical, emotional, [ read *spiritual,] and intellectual welfare... 
to quote the tagline in “nine one one response”, 
[ transcenderarts- literature menu-poem,]
“a poisoned soil will always produce a poisoned harvest”, which is, as with any and all things, able to be reduced to having children’s futures as sequentially first in planning
and writing into all legislature enacted...
[ *spiritual = non theistic, [ pure/altruistic,]  kindness, goodness, compassion et cetera.]...
but in a world system where one cannot legislate morality,
well, that’s where the cynic comes in,
tho never forgetting that the cynic is like a gold coin covered in rust...
[ scratching away the rust, “ay, there’s the rub”.]...
 

 Scott:   Why in your opinion is mainstream music so lacking ?

George:  i’ll stipulate to your assertion that mainstream music is “so lacking”, 
and that mainstream, by definition, [ mine @ least,] has always been lacking;
that’s why it’s termed “middle of the road”, it takes no chances, employs no courage 
and appeals to the masses that don’t want/need courageous art in their lives 
as it causes them to evaluate their own lives too much…
additionally, in 1980 or so when disease ridden, soul infected mtv appeared, 
it took away an integral component of the listener having to imagine for themselves 
what images if any they were to visualize while listening to their faves…
watchin’ monitor images, [ and fast edit montage 99 % of the time no less,] 
takes from the purity previously allocated to closing your eyes and listening,
or dancin’ w/out watchin’ images as the musical case may be…
since then, 
the mtv trickle down devaluation of the spirit of music has only worsened matters, breeding music of less and less substance, music less personal 
because you didn’t supply your own stamp of bonding with it 
by closing your eyes and purely listening…
in 6 short words, music is an aural medium, period…I
 

Scott:  In your song Happy New Year USA, one of the interesting lines is "your television love will never touch you with its kiss"  
I sense a nostalgia for America pre cell-phones, 300 cable channels, etc.  How would you rate the progress of American culture ?  :)
 

George:  you have a good sensing device scott, and it is not a nostalgia, but rather a disdain for anything which in the wider view, [ after the trickledown,] dilutes the human touch,
[ see transcenderarts computer use policy statement on my home pg.]…you got a planet full of people talkin’ into a fuckin’ cell while doin’ everything but havin’ sex,
[ that’s probably next on the list !,] while they could be making a more substantial contribution to the upward evolution of their species by looking into the eyes of the person they’re talking to, or having sex with, and so on, and that also includes so forth !, 
[ the artist wrote with a wide grin.]… 

as for the “progress” of american “culture”;
my view considers that phrase semantically challenging…
american empire is the vanguard of all that is wrong with culture,
and diplomacy tells me i should stop there, cause to expound would only lead down the road of explanation as to how the fuck can the worlds riche$t “culture” allow
30,000 children to perish unnaturally and in agony from the face of the planet;
every single day, year after year, generation after generation;
and so i would chose the more apt “regress” of american culture,
[ as to where the nail head is.]…
 

 Scott:  Do you perform live, any interesting experiences in that realm ?

George:  don’t perform live because, now get this:
the booker says they can’t book me cause i’m not known,
to which i reply how am i gonna get known if you won’t book 
me” ?
fuck all these catch 22’s; @ this stage, 
i need the assistance 
of a small posse of ethical yet assertive hard-assed representation…

as to pt 2 of the q:
i’m reminded of a nyc greenwich village gig i did way back on a summer fri nite
with a packed house in a well known folkie club which was run by a well known folkie,
[ will remain nameless,] who gathered the 3 performers on the bill that nite before the show started and declared to all in no uncertain terms that, “there will be no one accepting encores tonite”, [ i assume it was a time factor or some such.]…
i was the 2nd  performer of the 3, and in the middle of my first song of a short set of about 5 or so songs, i heard the annoying sound of talking comin’ from way back in the club…i stopped, waited for a second, and then with a velvet glove, gave an impromptu 30 second lecture on how i’d be damned if i’d continue in an atmosphere of disrespect and how i drove 30 miles into the fucking hot july city to play for you folks etc, to which there was a response of absolute applause…i then continued with a blistering, intense set, and after i announced this was the last song and finished it, the encore started…since it didn’t abate, i respected the audience and played 1 more…when another encore started and didn’t let up, i played another song, which led to a 3rd encore…after completing the song, i left the stage to raucous appreciation, and right in my pathway were the other musicians and the club owner who by this time had fire in his eyes…and just as he was about to curse me out for defying his rules, i said in a loud enough voice to all to hear,
“take the money you owe me for this gig and shove it up your ass” !, and walked out of the club, not to perform again for many years, as my baby boy was born a month later,
and i wanted and needed to imprint and bond full time… 
 

 Scott:  You write about truth.  Do you consider yourself introspective, and where would you rank yourself in the area of self-awareness ?

George:  a serious songwriter by definition must be introspective, 
[ and since i am a serious songwriter.]…

and with my tongue in my cheek, 
i would rank myself # 67 in a world of 6 billion in self awareness…
 

 Scott:  You have some strong opinions on 911, who do you think the perpetrators are ?

George:  this is a question of gravity that requires the reader to slowly chew and digest the answer,
if only because the brevity of the answer requires i take shortcuts…
i’ll start this one with the short answer; american/british foreign policy…
and for that to make sense, i’ll start w/this example…
the poem i penned round midnite of sept-11-2001 is entitled “nine one one response”,
as in the 911 emergency response call # for help in life and death situations…
on the way to its dissemination on the worldwideinterweb, some surface thinker 
changed the title to “9/11 response”, [ as in sept-11 response, and that is incorrect.]…
this anti war poem, [ see transcenderarts literature menu poem “nine one one response”,] 
drew the fbi into my life i believe because of the tag line 
“a poisoned soil will always produce a poisoned harvest”… 
that poem is the progenitor of a sculpture in process and of the song “tear hate down” 
which lays the wider view 
and asserts that when the powerless and impoverished feel threatened enough,
they will lash out with the only means at their disposal,
[ one mans stealth bomber is another mans suicide commercial airliner.]…
an act as violent as that bears testament that the east feels cornered,
[ with merit,] by the west’s neo-colonialist designs and intolerance for anything but 
the judeo-christian model, and does not perceive islam to be inclusive of that model,
[ and hey folks, there is actually no true separation between church and state !, 
which is intrinsically a core component problem here.]…
america’s current interests in the mid-east can be extrapolated 
from within a reading of “the project for the new american century”, 
the regional domination and preemption doctrine designed to foundationally act 
as an oil insurance policy for american/western interests for the coming century,
[ that’s the summation of the policy, its essence.]…
and when i think of sept-11-2001, these phrases reflex in my mind:
“for every action there is a reaction” etc, “what comes around goes around” etc, 
“the love you give is equal to” etc, not to mention “a poisoned soil” etc…
i can only hope to make it clear that in a non violent radical philosophy such as mine, 
the truth needs to be acknowledged first before the aforementioned soil is cleansed…
the truth is often hard to handle; and jingoistic slogans, provocative posturing,
[ and i’m not talkin’ trivia like the “functional” fetal alcohol syndrome victim current american presidential office holders “bring it on” testosteronic rantings, but rather the inherent arrogance of a “culture” who owes its place on the n.american continent
to the extremist policy of native american ethnic cleansing,] 
[ read genocide,] 
will only lead to escalation,
[ “tear hate down” ie; “unless you break the chain, then reaction breeds reaction” etc,]
which is where gandhi’s non violent methods, [ or whoever you ascribe it to, 
be it thoreau, king jr, or others before and since,] 
come in as the only answers, even if it means death,
which btw is not, [ contrary to the theistic belief system,] the ultimate sacrifice…
seems when push comes to shove, human evolution always takes a downward flexure…
wisdom is the thought, but courage is the action/inaction, 
[ whatever the case may be.]…
reader, know that my aim here is not to offend, but rather to offer/express 
a deeper understanding of what led to that event in respect to the question posed…
critical thinkers realize you cannot “support the troops”, 
[ who are doing the actual murdering,] and not support the war; 
it is the quintessential oxymoronic example, akin to being in 2 places @ 1 time…
all one has to do is investigate extensive available documented evidence,
empirical and substantial, circumstantial patterned evidence vis a vis america’s
financially incestuous and military base deals for protection with saudi arabia,
[ 19 outta 20 jackers were saudi’s, not iraqi’s,]
and myriad other plays to be assured/convinced we are in empire mode hardcore,
and domination/empire mode will inevitably bring upon itself xtreme reaction,
especially by the “have nots out in the cold”…
so to sum: we need to look long enough into the mirror long and hard enough
so that the eyes of the soul staring back understands both emotionally
and intellectually, [ those rare seminal self realization life changing moments,] 
that americas agenda is empire driven and by definition, immoral @ its base…
all empire is inherently de-evolutionary, be it rome, germany, america, n.korea or china,
and this goes as well for any and all theistic empire, [ 1 coin needs 2 sides.]…
this crow-line explanation is 1 aspect of making my position known,
but i really don’t have the patience for it, 
[ hence it becomes embedded in poetic literature,]
[ see transcenderarts literature menu cd description,]
and so rather than write these rare public words, 
i encapsulate it in the writing of poem “nine one one response” 
or song “tear hate down” and others of those and other mediums…
bottom line/s: you can’t strive for an egalitarianism society
and be a contributing member of empire simultaneously;
they’re mutually exclusive and opposite ends… 
read gandhi, thoreau, emerson, noam chomsky, edward said, jeffery sachs, arundati roy;
scholars who can write it straight better than i can, and w/out my poetical disabilities, !,
they will serve us all well…

i can only hope, [ he wrote w/a sly and knowing grin,] 
that your readers/listeners truly desire to elevate the discourse 
and don’t regret some of the q’s because of some of the a’s they’ve produced…
 

 Scott:  What do you consider the single most important political issue ?

George: since i adhere to the dictum that you cannot legislate morality,
i can only answer that q with a general statement which says that the rights and welfare
of every infant/child be sequentially placed first and foremost “politically”…
and believe this or not, i consider myself apolitical,
ie; “a vote in the system is a vote for the system”,
and the ever unpopular “the problem is not the officer, it’s the office”,
[ which doesn’t get that moral failure bush off the hook, 
he’s just hangin’ there with all the others that preceded him]… 
yes reader: just because gandhi did it in w/big time non violence in a 3rd world country
does not mean it cannot be done in the seat of empire…
 

 Scott:  What are your thoughts on the cult of personality as it relates to music ?  How valid is it for listeners to put the artists under a microscope in addition to indulging in, consuming the music ?

George: well, as soon as the word “cult” appears, i know it’s a negative pursuit,
whether it relates to theism, music or anything else…
your use of that word is spot on, and yet it’s not my intention to cast aspersions;
still, this subject is quite a sticky one…
recently availed myself of your telling me about neil’s “hyperrust” fan site
by visiting for the first/last time just to see what was goin’ on in there…
discovered way too much involvement in the personal issues of the artist and his life,
yet realized fans, [ fan is short for fanatic,] want to get as much as they can 
about someone whose art has assumedly changed or influenced their lives…
leaves that tabloid taste in the tissue of my upper palate, reminds me of the e channel, 
smacks too much of celebrity worship, and being a reasonable primate, [ agnostic,] 
knows inherently that nothing should be worshipped 
except infants and children up to a certain period of life experience…
the way i see it in this particular case is that neil’s catalogue is so large, [ substantial,]
that one who truly appreciates the music at its deepest level has enough material to listen, 
[ rotation wise,] from his earliest work and on up to the present for the rest of their lives
without having any time to indulge in dissection of personality…
1 topic i found too close to home was the discovery 
about how much neil “fans” disliked america’s “horse w/no name”, 
[ and finding it the probable cause of a foolish lifelong neglect of transcender’s music,]
because many initially thought it was in fact neil,
and that  rationale is contrary to the spirit of music, [ i’m sure neil would agree here.]…
and lest i offend more than i already unintentionally but probably have, 
i’ll end this question as 1 best left in the hands/minds of mental health professionals
by saying “cie la vie” or “different strokes for different folks” et cetera, 
and hope against hope it calms the readers now unnecessary raging internal storm…
 

 Scott:  Have you ever had any UFO or other experiences of high strangeness ? 

George:  “no, not yet” to the first part of the question, and an emphatic “yes”! to the latter, ie;
people keep mistaking my music for neil young’s music !...
[ high strangeness comes in many guises.]…