The Bad Penny (beta)

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“The desire to make something different for the sake of being different or recognized for intellectual prowess is not only pretentious but reductive and asinine. That’s the death of art to me. Great art is made equally for fulfillment of the self and to give back to the world which we are infinitely indebted to for allowing us to be or exist in the first place.“

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Today marks the end of a very, very long journey completed by a young group of particularly talented musicians. It seems almost mythical, the story we’re about to relate to you, but rest assured that every scintilla of it is true. Even if it was relayed to us by fresh-cheeked rock ‘n’ roll fans who could pass as teens. And even though they hail from Los Angeles, where fiction is often truer than the so-called truths that its residents tell one another.

Before we tell the tale of Mildred, which concludes tonight in Colorado, consider for a moment how shitty it is that society derides young people for being idealists, for having dreams, for wrapping themselves in a warm blanket of hope that they’ll lead a pleasant life because that’s what innocent human beings such as them deserve. Pause for a moment to reflect on the damage done to young people, perhaps aspiring artists in particular, when their parents or teachers or counselors decide to lower their expectations out of a misguided abundance of caution. Dreams aren’t always dashed or crushed by the failure of the individual who had the audacity to concoct them. Oftentimes dreams are disregarded because it can be a pain in the ass for the caretakers of children to help youngsters achieve them.

Fortunately, reassuringly and inspirationally, this is a story about a group of young musicians who stuck to their guns and didn’t cede their aspirations as soon as the going got tough. Much to the contrary, what you are about to read is — with all due respect to military veterans and disabled people — the act of resilience personified. And boy, can’t we at least all agree how that is in such short order these days?