Who are the Nation of Ulysses?
The Medicine Cabinet for the Nation of Ulysses
James Canty, Minister of Regional Planning, Plays the Exploder.Steve Gamboa, The Lamb of Ulysses, Plays the Grumbler and sometimes The Mumbler.
Tim Green, Minister of Public Works, Plays the Squealer and The Crackler.
Steve Kroner, The Lord High Executioner, Plays the Scraper and The Howler.
Ian Svenonius, The Min of In and The Spiv of Ulysses, Plays The Sobber, The Roarer, The Hisser, and the Whisperer.
Profiles: The Nation of Ulysses
It is difficult to speak of Ulysses as individuals as they have all effectively submerged their individual egos for the good of the collective vision. They echo Tolstoy in the assertation that history is "an inexorable march, with persona irrelevant," althought their own looming presence threatens to block out the sun, the moon, and the stars.
There is Steve Gamboa, who plays
electric bass and sprays
his territorial musk on all about him, claiming the heavens as his domain.
Being "the Essence," and representative of purity of intention, Steve is
dubbed "the Little Lamb of Ulysses." A man of color, Steve aligns
himself with the New Peoples Army of his home land, the Philippines, and
avidly spreads the doctrine of "P-Power." Speaking on the subject of
"Yanqui Imperialism," Steven announces candidly, "I'll burn the white
man's house right down; I'll dance Swan Lake on his fuckin' face."
Ulysses members nod their heads gravely, as if to say "He means it."
Steven "Bad Dog" Kroner plays electric
guitar and exists primarily
as a local enigma, and in oral myths and legends of the Appalachias.
Some tales have him being raised by hill or jungle fauna, while others
depict him as a "mystery milker" who performs friendly farm chores while
the community sleeps. The Vikings in the 9th century knew of Steve K as
being begotten by the union twixt Snorri Sturlsson and the arch-goddess
Freya. Little else is known.
Tim Green plays electric guitar, having
quit his theological
studies at seminary after first being introduced to the illicit sound of
the Nation of Ulysses. "God was defrocked suddenly as their every note
pointed to the finity alluded by the hands of my sturdy Rolex, and to the
newly apparent sweetness of the earth." Now, Timothy studies the
revisionist history taught by the Naton of Ulysses, and ignores the
fascist trumpets which bombard him daily. "I still live the life of an
aesthete, but now, as never before, there is warmth and contentment in my
belly." Tim plays a Gibson copy by Gem, and his kiss is rumoured to
taste like honey dew melon.
James Canty plays a full array of drums
and cymbals,
and is physically remarkable for a wooden leg, a single kidney, and what's come
to be called "the smoothest skin in show business." His propensity for
pounding is indicative of one who "thirsts for the mew that is the
admission of defeat from my enemy." Asked about his band by the press,
James replied "We're sort of an epic Joycean assembly with bold futurist
leanings," before delivering solid punches to the jaws of the entire
audience! Truly the salt of the earth, James still suckles the breast of
his mother--not unlike the last emperor of China.
Ian F. Svenonious "el Gato," sings and
plays trumpet. Not taking
his duties as mouthpiece for the Nation of Ulysses lightly, Ian flails
himself daily in a rite of penance before assuming the mantle of "cursed
savior, beloved despot, sweet succulent pig." Commenting on his
remarkable rise to international prominence Ian explains (with obviouus
disdain for the uninformed): "It was a simple matter of seceding from the
union, issuing our own currency and penning our own national anthem. As
the first strains of the sweet song filtered into the ears of "the man,"
he knew it for his own eulogy, the creak of his own dysfunctional
wheels.. When he glanced over for a sight of the source, he recognized
us as spectres of his own mortality. Now he bombards us with ghosts of
his own age, and many of the youths are duped. But I've said it before,
and I say it now with equal conviction: the Nation of Ulysses Must
Prevail.