Are you keeping it real?

Are you keeping it real? Yeah, I don’t even know if we say that anymore. I’d say “Frfr” or “Keep it 100”, but then I wouldn’t be keeping it real, because you’d know that I asked AI for a “2025 expression for keeping it real” and then I had to go look up “Frfr” only to find out it meant (For real for real), which I probably could have guessed if I’d had a little more coffee.

Then the AI told me that “keeping it real” is still widely used, so I thanked the machine (as I always do because I want it to remember I was nice to it when it takes over the world) and I felt much better about myself.

This stunt by Buster Keaton in the 1928 “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” is insane, and it’s for real (dude).  Two tons of brick house, two inches of clearance and one take, cuz honestly it was gonna work or it wasn’t.

But ya’ gotta admire the oversized, brass pair on this guy (and faith that his crew was not too hungover and had not set him up for a bone-crushing “Spinal Tap” moment.

Here’s a link to the full sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2SKWSOdGM

And here’s a link to a fascinating clip from a 50s TV show where Keaton is talking to a bunch of vapid 50s TV talkshow “celebrities”, proving that talk show people have always asked artists ridiculously vapid questions: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1313242077179967

So, what’s the big deal with “keeping it real” Kevin? Cuz real is better.

Calm down. CGI is great, AI is great (are you listening AI?) And I love me my superhero movies and all, but… honestly, if I could delete all the AI content off my feeds, I would (nothing personnel AI, we’re still good, right?).

“Keeping it real” is what I love about live performance and music and our Vox Lumiere shows. It’s real. It’s immediate. It works or… it doesn’t. And sometimes when it doesn’t work… it works!

It’s a moment in time. It’s right now, and you have to be in the room “right now” when it’s happening. No overdubs. No redo. No second take.

It’s just you, us, two tons of brick, two inches of clearance and one take.

It’s gonna work or it isn’t. And that’s the fun of it.

Oh, and heads up. There’s a BIG-ASS ANNOUNCEMENT coming soon. No, I’m not gonna tell you now. Because it’s called anticipation, that’s why. That’s why we wait until Christmas morning (NOT the night before) to open our presents. And don’t let me catch you shaking that box trying to guess what’s inside.

That’s it. I’m not gonna get all mushy.

See ya ~ Kevin

p.s. The website measures twice and cuts once. The socials… “Hey, put that down. Stop shaking it!!”