Breakfast with "Dahmer's Breakfast"
Bluesdad grabs a bite to eat with folk/punk band Dahmer's Breakfast
Where we left off: In an earlier newsletter, I mentioned Dahmer’s Breakfast was the one band I most feared! How could a group with this name not be a death-metal, hardcore, thrash rock band up to no good?
How we met: We both played in the Corktown Music Festival. Jonathon, the sound guy from my set Friday night, recommended I come back Saturday to see Dahmer’s Breakfast which he said was “hilarious!” So I did. Turns out DB is not some big, loud rock band. Instead, it’s a man dressed like a clown named Evie who sings and plays banjo in sync to multimedia presentations.
The concert Sat. night: My friend Pat and I came down to the city with one goal in mind—find out what Dahmer’s Breakfast is about. Our first impression? “Wow, people are showing up for DB.” It’s hard to take in everything from a live show when you’re listening to the lyrics for the first time. DB’s songs left us wanting more. You can imagine our curiosity after hearing him sing “Bible Sports Castration” from his song “This is Not a Song, It’s a Protest.”
The good news: The answers to our questions about Dahmer’s Breakfast are in his lyrics including his full name and why he calls himself Dahmer’s Breakfast. The short of it—his last name is Dahmer which made for a difficult time growing up. In his song “What’s My Mother F$#%$% Name?” he reveals personal information about himself which are sensitive topics to most. I chose not to mention them.
But why not? It’s kind of like the annoying person who keeps pressing to know your ethnicity. Somehow, it’s important for that person to know which country you originated from before they can continue the conversation. Can’t we simply enjoy meeting people and spending time with them without having to break open an ancestry kit complete with a cheek swab to know the exact makeup of a person’s DNA? I’m 4% Scottish if you’re wondering. Can we be friends now?
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Family tree? Evie mentioned “Uncle Jeffrey” several times. Was Jeffrey Dahmer his real uncle? Or maybe he was tired of everyone asking him if he was? My take? Who cares! I wasn’t trying to get the big scoop. My goal was to sit down with another musician and talk music, discuss life, share a meal, and live in the moment, and that’s what we did. Serial killers, the Corktown Music Festival, the meanings of our songs, and marriage/relationships were some of the topics we touched on during our two-hour breakfast.
The dad in Bluesdad: Evie asked me if I thought he should get married. His girlfriend of 4 years wants to tie the knot. I had plenty to say on the subject. My advice to him? Your belief/value system should match to which he said “One out of three ain’t bad” in reference to my song “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.” I had a lot more to say on the topic. You can’t be married for three decades and not have an opinion on what works and what doesn’t. Listen on YouTube: "Two out of Three Ain't Bad"
As cute as kittens: Evie listened to my song “Wild and Loose” on his way over, and I did the same—streaming Dahmer’s Breakfast on my drive into the city. Am I the only sentimental person here who can appreciate two small-time musicians listening to each other’s music on their way over to meet-up for breakfast?
The Meeting Place: I had breakfast with “Dahmer’s Breakfast” at Honest John’s in Detroit. NOTE: Inside there’s a large neon sign which reads “Men Lie.”
Theresa called it: I met a woman named Theresa at an open mic this year who said to me, “You’re different.” I laughed out loud when she said this. I do believe she meant it as a compliment, but I couldn’t help but have a little fun with her over this. Hamming it up, I said, “Yes Theresa, I am different—veeerrry different!”
Back to Honest John’s: The first thing Evie said to me when we sat down in our booth was, “You’re the first person to ask me out to breakfast.” Do you mean to tell me no one else thought to ask Dahmer’s Breakfast out to breakfast? I’m the only one who wanted the bragging rights to having had breakfast with Dahmer’s Breakfast? How can this be? I guess Theresa was right. I am different.
The funniest moment of our get-together: Me telling our server (Upper right corner) I’m a guy named Bluesdad who dresses up like a blues brother and he (pointing to Evie) is a band named Dahmer’s Breakfast who plays banjo dressed up as a clown and sings humorous songs with titles like “Ode to my Yeast Infection.”
The waitress then turned to Evie and repeated everything back like a question. “You play banjo and wear clown makeup? Plus, your band name is Dahmer’s Breakfast?”
“It happens.”
Evie had a few questions of his own: Are you and your wife still together after you put out that album for her? What church do you go to?
“I play old-couple, marital banter music and my wife has a good sense of humor” was the answer to his first question. As for the second, I explained a few things about our church and said we try our best not to be political. Evie observed, “It must be pretty cool to belong to a group where you have to be nice to each other and get along.”
But why the clown makeup? That was my question. He wore mime makeup for a song he wrote. Then it kind of grew into the full makeup look he had on at the Corktown Tavern.
Why I like Dahmer’s Breakfast: If you love a good mystery, I don’t see how you could not want to dive into his music. I mean come on—the name of the band is Dahmer’s Breakfast. If that doesn’t leave you with a bunch of questions, I don’t know what will. Most people know a band’s music and lyrics and then go see them live. My friend Pat and I did the opposite. We came in cold turkey and left wanting to listen to every song he ever wrote to discover his truth and beliefs.
Afterwards: I’m not going to lie. I did send a text to two friends when I got home. It read, “Marked safe from breakfast with Dahmer’s Breakfast.”
During: This whole breakfast idea has been a delight. I enjoyed getting to know Evie, who blushed when I sang “I’m white as cotton. I’m white as a ghost, but you got the brown eyes I love most” to our black female server. Maybe Dahmer’s Breakfast is the one who should be sending out texts: “Marked safe from breakfast with Bluesdad.”
Stark difference: Bluesdad and Dahmer’s Breakfast couldn’t be more different. I play songs with lyrics like “Tell your mama, tell your pa, Jesus is Lord of all,” and DB is coming out with an album in late July called “Are Steers Queers?” (That’s breaking news folks. You heard it from me first!) Again, little Evie is roping me in with his titles. I have to hear this one!
But we have a lot in common: We’re both local, small-time Detroit area musicians. We sing humorous songs. We’re one person acts. We’re acoustic. We’re not afraid to be different. We’re not in it for the money. “We dress for success” is another way of putting it—right? Not too many bands look like us. Plus, we both have a voice that wants to be heard—expressed through our music. Our original works leave behind a footprint—a small trace of who we are in this very big world.
Time to wrap it up: Let’s end this out with a text chat from me and Pat. Plus, we’ll include links for Dahmer’s Breakfast. I’m the blue text on this one.
Click the blue links below to enter Evie’s world!
How Evie describes his music: Dahmer's Breakfast
Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube Listen on Apple Music
Dahmer’s Breakfast (@dahmers.breakfast) • Instagram photos and videos
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Three things:
1.) Cobblestone Bar & Grille in Grand Blanc, MI runs a great open mic on Thursdays. Every week they have a featured artist for the first 30 minutes of the night. Come out and hear me play dem blues and stick around for the other acts, too. Hope to see you!
2.) My joke missed its mark last week. I said I didn’t remember the band’s name but that it must be one of the bands on the poster I included. From the poster, it was obvious the band’s name was “Rabbit Ears!” My apologies if you missed it.
3.) I’ve been asked to participate in a performance of songwriters in my hometown of Durand. I can’t announce the details until they make it official and begin advertising. If it does work out, this will be a fun event for sure!