On October 17, 2003, I sent out a somewhat thought-provoking (at least to me) article, called “The Internet is the AntiChrist”, via email to a handful of friends. I decided to name the email and populated the subject line with the words, “Mariachi Static: Could’ve been the whiskey…”.
Mariachi Static came from the Warren Zevon song, Carmelita.
I hear mariachi static on my radio,
and the tubes they glow in the dark.
And I’m there with her in Ensenada,
and I’m here in Echo Park.
Could’ve been the whiskey came from Wasn’t That a Party by The Rovers.
Could’ve been the whiskey, might’ve been the gin.
Could’ve been the three or four six-packs, I don’t know,
but look at the mess I’m in.
Needless to say, my friends who received the email were sure that I had lost my mind. This only encouraged me to write more.
However it was that I’d gotten there, I stuck to the format and kept writing. I wrote about everyday things, I wrote about my favorite wines, beers, airplane travel, things that were wrong with the world and our country, threw in some song lyrics here and there (because I think in song lyrics). One way or another the readership grew. At one point, I was emailing the weekly “newsletter” to several hundred people. Many of these people were forwarding the email to others. It was not unusual to meet someone new and have them say, “oh…you’re the guy who writes the newsletter”.
I used to be so big and strong.
I used to know my right from wrong.
I used to never be afraid.
I used to be somebody.
Others were offended for not being on the email list. It’s hard to say how many people it eventually reached…but we were Big in Japan.
Things are easy when you’re Big in Japan,
Oh… when you’re Big in Japan.
Takash! May! Call me.
Mariachi Static came to an end on October 3rd, 2008, almost exactly five years after it started, with the “episode” titled, “I remember…”. It’s difficult to say if I was burned out or simply became uninspired. Nevertheless, the Static had ended; and although several people have requested more, I think it had its time and we need to move on…enter Archie.
So, you ask me, who is Archie Kobain?
Well… He doesn’t like the mainstream media, believes that almost every news source on the planet puts a spin on things instead of simply reporting the facts and letting people make up their own minds. He loves that digital resources like YouTube, weblogs, and wikis are empowering the average citizen to bypass or even compete with traditional news sources. He enjoys having wine, beer or cocktails with friends. While many of his friends have found that they drink less as they’ve gotten older, he would like to drink more. At the same time, he respects those who choose not to partake in alcoholic beverages. He enjoys music, particularly live music. He’s been attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN every year since 2008. Wishes he could attend more music festivals or other live music events. Deep down, he’s a technology guy, probably wishes that he wasn’t. He’d be much better off riding a motorcycle from music festival to music festival, or maybe sailing around Mexico or the BVI, but hasn’t figured out how to finance that lifestyle yet.
At the end of the day…
I’m happy just because
I found out I am really no one
– Archie
Archie Kobain 