I Found God In Hollywood
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So, one second I'm walking home from a party, whistling a happy little tune and minding my own business, and out of nowhere three street thugs with knives jump out from another dimension, threaten me and start chasing me. I instantly change my course of action. I'm running and slipping and trying to get away as fast as I can and it won't be long before they’re all caught up and can stab me in the back while I'm running. I think to myself, do I really want to have on my gravestone, “Cliff got stabbed in the back while running away?” No, I'd rather have it say, “Cliff got stabbed in the chest REPEATEDLY and BRUTALLY by a GANG OF THUGS while fighting to the death with every ounce of his strength until he bled to death on the street.” It never once occurs to me to just stop running, hold up my hands and say, “Okay guys, here, take my $400.” I’m running to avoid having my money stolen. I’m running because it’s the first thing that entered my mind when they pulled out their weapons and threatened my life. You could call it a classic case of fight-or-flight response, an innate, survival mechanism implanted in my reptilian brain from millions of years of evolution that figured the odds would be better if I just got the hell out of there really fast and asked questions later. After about eight more very long seconds of running and thinking, I stop. I’m done running. I turn, crouch down real low and scream a death cry at the top of my vocally trained lungs. ”MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I can hear my voice echoing off the buildings. It’s the loudest, scariest and meanest sound I’ve ever made in my 20 years of life on planet Earth. It’s the kind of death cry early man might have made while being chased by saber-toothed tigers or a gang of cavemen with rocks. Most people have never experienced this kind of situation. They may have read about it, or watched it on TV or at the movies. Not me. I lived it. I was prepared to fight to the death by ripping their throats out with my teeth and clawing their eyeballs out of their face with my fingers. I was ready to fight back like a wild man out of control, if that's what it would take to save myself because my life is definitely more valuable than all three of those scum bags combined. I would’ve taken one of them and put their face on the curb, opened his mouth and jumped on the back of his head, breaking all his teeth and his jaw and permanently fucking him up for life. I was determined to take a couple of them out with me if it was the last thing I’d ever do. I wasn't afraid to die anymore. They knew it and I knew it, and they knew I knew it. I'd be damned if my gravestone would read, “Cliff was a coward.” Not me. I may be a lot of things, but I ain't no coward.
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About the Book
"I Found God In Hollywood", is a collection of 98% true stories, that are charged, and intended to be humorous. However, if the lucky reader finds that they learn something about themselves, or have a spiritual epiphany, then I guess that would be a good thing. This is an autobiographical book of funny stories, from the perspective of a musician, and pot head who goes to Hollywood to find fame and fortune and ends up with a spiritual awakening. Go figure. Sometimes God has a better plan than we do.
The book is organized into four sections. The first is a collection of 8 stories from High School. You know High School was, a lot of stress, and fun, and trouble, and big changes. My time in High School was during 1978 through 1982. The end of the 70's and the beginning of the 80's. What's so great about High School stories? Nothing really, if you had a boring, safe life. Everything, if you were me. Read on and see for yourself.
The next obvious section is about college life. Boston was a great time to go to school in the 80's. Lots of good material there. But don't take my word for it. Read it and find out for yourself!
After college came, you guessed it: Hollywood! Wouldn't that be a logical choice if you were a musician and pot head? Yup. Hollywood had hot chicks, great music scene, and good weed. Little did our humble here know what would happen next.
Lastly, the fourth section is about Hollywood AFTER, Cliff gets sober. A much different reality, let me tell you. If you think Hollywood was psychedelic ON drugs, just imagine what its like SOBER! Much more trippy of a scene. Trust me on that one.
So, this book is a collection of whacky, funny, rock n roll, stoner stories that have meaning, depth and dare I say profound spiritual implications. You don't have to go to Tibet and sit with the Dali Lama to find the mysteries of the Universe. Because quite frankly, NO ONE knows the mysteries of the Universe, including me. But, the bottom line is this: if you are interested in truth, honesty, integrity, virtue, prudence, humility...then, you can find that where ever you are. It just strikes me as a little odd, and interesting, that I just happened to have found God In Hollywood!
One more thing, the illustrations in the book are really funny too. I think the illustrations are sort of a cross between Salvador Dali, Picasso, and Mad Magazine.
About the Author
An accomplished pianist and music producer, Cliff Brodsky now adds author to his significant list of accomplishments. "I Found God In Hollywood", penned over a period of five years, was prompted by the author's sobriety – the result of a longstanding fondness for marijuana. “Weed was my God and I knew I was a pot addict long before I did anything about it,'' says Brodsky, now over 16 years sober. "I Found God In Hollywood" is an autobiographical collection of over 30 short stories that focus on the author’s youth, college life, Hollywood and sobriety. Brodsky's flair for dark comedic storytelling, coupled with a unique insight into how people think, or don’t think, for that matter, makes for an entertaining and enjoyable read. ‘The Piano’ memorializes the author's introduction to this wondrous and life-changing instrument; ‘The Diamond Ring’ is a wacky tale about teenaged kleptomania; ‘I Dropped Gerber’ touches on high school bullying; ‘Jumped’ is a story about survival and exercising your warrior instincts; ‘Fuzzy Slipper,’ poses multiple ethics issues. “I want to tell people stories about luck, fate and how things happen in bizarre and absurd ways. Then, perhaps, people will have a better understanding of how ‘everything happens for a reason’ and will know what to look for." A graduate of Berklee College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Synthesis, Brodsky has owned a recording studio in Hollywood for over 20 years and has Produced hundreds of singer/songwriter and band demos. He has composed and recorded for film, radio and TV and, in recent years, has worked with Sony, BMG, EMI, Capitol Records and Interscope. In 2006, with the help of an investor, Brodsky formed his own label -- Brodsky Entertainment www.brodskyentertainment.com, where he serves as Producer, Songwriter and Talent Developer.