Post by rockalizer on Aug 1, 2009 5:24:36 GMT
Lately I have gotten back in the mood to do some recreational reading. So I decided to get Ginger Geezer as another attempt to catch up with the last 40 or so years. I devoured the book in three days, even while my sons were here to visit. It is wonderfully well written, and I would have enjoyed reading it had I never been a Neil Innes fan or know about Vivian Stanshall. It's a strange coincidence that I got the book and then found Ki Stanshall on Facebook. I am looking forward to some interesting thoughts from her. I think the book is considered to have the definitive information about Viv, but I noted some discrepancies between it and my research over the past 2 years about the Bonzos and Neil. It said both Dennis Cowan and Ollie Halsall died of heart attacks. I thought Dennis had peritonitis, but that Neil had said drugs may have been a factor in the situation. I also thought Ollie died of a drug overdose, but I also realize that cocaine and many other drugs can wreak havoc on one's heart. I also was left with the impression that Viv caused the fire to commit suicide, but I was disappointed that the authors did not include any information about the investigation into Viv's death. I thought that the fire was traced to a faulty electrical outlet. That his writings, etc. were with him in the bedroom burned with him and his musical instruments, etc. were in another room so they would not burn (hence the closed bedroom door) does seem to be of some symbolic nature. I think the authors wanted the reader to believe that as they seemed to genuinely want the reader to appreciate Viv's talents. I think that's great. I was also relieved to see that several family members and friends tried to help Viv over the year and that he did get some professional treatment many times. I don't think Viv was properly diagnosed, or it may be that he was but that was not meant to be released from his medical records. I believe he had bi-polar disorder and panic disorder. He was self-medicating with the alcohol, although he did get Valium (I believe it was in the U.S. when the Bonzos were on tour). In the 1960's, doctors dolled out diet pills (amphetamines) and tranquilizers as if they were children's vitamins and made many an unsuspecting patient a drug addict. Psychiatry has progressed quite a bit since the 1980's when the new generation antidepressants were discovered, but Viv didn't seem as though he wouldn't have adhered to the proper medication schedule. That is very typical of some people with bi-polar disorder as they tend to enjoy their manic episodes. I also think that the meds would have probably diminished Viv's creative processes, and no one would have ever seen his genius. It would have been interesting if his brain could have been scanned to see if there were any differences from the norm. I think he suffered tremendously from low self-esteem because of his father, which isn't unusual. As I heard once on a report on CNN, the U.S. is almost a fatherless country. That is not to say that there aren't any good fathers, and the ones who are usually have more well- children. I can speak from experience that having a bad father definitely sets one up for problems in the future.
I was greatly touched by the book, and now I have a much better idea of what Viv was all about. I have learned about his triumphs and downfalls, and I am glad to know there were more triumphs than I originally thought. He definitely was a complex person who experienced almost every happy and sad experience in a lifetime in the span of his shortened life. More people should know more about this man.
(from Rockohand-rolled cigarettees on Innesboard)
I was greatly touched by the book, and now I have a much better idea of what Viv was all about. I have learned about his triumphs and downfalls, and I am glad to know there were more triumphs than I originally thought. He definitely was a complex person who experienced almost every happy and sad experience in a lifetime in the span of his shortened life. More people should know more about this man.
(from Rockohand-rolled cigarettees on Innesboard)