05 Clement

Brian J. Kenny

“In 1992, I had my head cracked open by a guy with brass knuckles on Payne’s Creek Road in Red Bluff, California. I believe his name was Mickey Cortez and he was with a guy named Jason Berg and a few other guys. I was very nearly killed and I went through a period of wanting to exact revenge. This was a deep burning desire to exact a deep, painful revenge. My friend Jeff Armosino set me straight. He told me that the revenge would not be nearly enough. It would begin an endless cycle of violence. Armo put it plainly, “you have already won, You have a future and these guys are stuck here. So, ten years later I run into one of the guys, he is working at Costco, I have my baby daughter in a Baby Bjorn: I go red with rage, I am looking for a weapon, I am going to brain this guy. I realize my insanity, I calm down, I notice he ha a wedding ring on… I walk up to him, point to the scar over my eye and ask him ‘does this look familiar to you?’ he looks blankly at me. I say ‘I figured, have a good day.’ I go home an write this song…”

Brian J. Kenny - 2012

This is from Brian J. Kenny’s 2004 album “Adventures in the New Normal.”