No. 150: Like A Boss

 

Bruce Springsteen's songs are like little movies for the mind. They're full of characters, drama and imagery.  I like real songs for real people.

"Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack. I went out for a ride and I never went back."
Admit it, dude: You have thought about it.

I also like the updated Wall of Sound he and his crew worked up for the "Born to Run" album and pretty much stuck to. Big. Wide. Noise. And instantly recognizable.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, April 2012, 3' x 4' (approx.)

I am not, however, a Bruce fanatic -- although I have tried to become one.

While drawing Bruce Springsteen, I did replay every single album -- all the way up to the new "Wrecking Ball." It took a while. 
For me the highlights are still the 1975-78-80 triple-header of "Born to Run, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River."  Perhaps that's because I was making the transition from high school to college when they came out, and I played them a lot.

"Where no one asks any questions, looks too long in your face.  In the darkness on the edge of town."

I confess to having four vinyl copies of "Born to Run" and three of "Darkness," with two of "The River" -- all in various states of wear. I don't do the CDs with these.

 

Again, not a fanatic.
My friend Chrissy also is not a fanatic. She's more of a Bruce obsessive: Concerts, pictures, singles, albums, Bruce posts (galore) on Facebook, Sexiest Man Alive stuff. Morphed a Bruce face onto one of her wedding photos.  No shit, people.
So I'm helping the girl out.
She gets Bruce Springsteen, my 150th drawing, which I wanted to be as epic as one of those sprawling 1975 songs.

In a failed experiment, I asked my friends here and on Facebook to vote and tell me what No. 150 should be. Thank you to all five of the faithful who weighed in for a dog, a baseball player, Steven Tyler and two votes for Bruce -- which caused me some difficulty. 

The truth is, every time I started a rock star sketch, I could hear Chrissy's voice saying "Draw Bruce. Broooooooce."
She had asked three years ago, when we were neighbors. "I'll get to him," I promised.
She moved. I never did the drawing.
Occasionally she would reply to posts here or on Facebook: "Draw BRUCE."
It could wait. Not a fanatic.
"Broooooooooooce."
I folded when she voted. And I have now kept two promises: To give away No. 150, and to draw Bruce.

"OH MY GOD!!!!! SO AWESOME!!! Look at that, you got him exactly right!!! Love the chest part too!

See? 

She's excited, she'll love it, and it'll be fun to deliver. I'm sure Bruce will have a prominent display in her home, which makes me feel great.

Of all the ones I'd wished to keep, however, this would be the one.
I have now made a new promise to myself: No more contests.

Here's how Bruce happened. The shirt and the stubble nearly drove me insane.