Upon learning that Marcus had been banned temporarily from the discussion boards, I felt it would be an ideal opportunity to catch up with the bad boy of Yehoodi, to peek behind his larger-than-life persona, perhaps gain some understanding of this bizarre and sometimes twisted man. Whether his writings inspire anger, fear, love, hate, sadness, or lust, they have always made us think, and are never ignored.
I called Marcus and suggested an interview; he told me that he’d been expecting my call. I proposed that we meet in the evening on Halloween; it seemed like an auspicious time. As I neared Marcus’s apartment in the heart of SoHo, the masqueraded weirdness that had descended on Manhattan was enveloping me, slowing me down, as if it were trying to prevent me from reaching my destination.
I was nervous as I watched my finger press the buzzer to his suite. He met me in the lobby and emanated the charm of a vacuum cleaner salesman, easing my anxiety but making me wonder if the interview was going to be a total waste of time.
Once inside his place, I was impressed by the taste of the decor. The furniture was obviously antique, perhaps French Renaissance era. There was a giant poster of David Lee Roth in the foyer. Marcus led me into his study and offered me some ginseng tea and a chair. The walls were covered with books, many of which might have been hundreds of years old.
I had come prepared with a list of what I thought were good questions, but as my conversation with Marcus developed, I found that it was in fact he who was asking the real questions, and me who had to look deep in my soul for the answers.
Trevor: What have you been doing since being sent into exile?
Marcus: Firstly, I’d like to thank you Trevor for taking the time out to visit me on this most delicate swing issue. It shows you’re indeed a caring man for being more concerned than most about the fate of the international swing community. An arena that is indeed full of eager-beavers who must now go psychologically starved as a result of my two-week banning from Yehoodi. Such a shame, but, they must now learn to find it within themselves to continue-on in absence of their great leader. I do feel their pain. And to you sir, Trevor, I must say, you do them a great service here for being so inquisitive, and quite possibly, as a result of your efforts, you may have literally saved a few of their aimless lives from self-destruction.
And I would also like to confirm that the rumors floating around the swing community are indeed true. And that I have indeed joined forces with the infamous Yallopin’ Hounds as singer/songwriter “Drag-Queen Ester.” I’ve been preparing my singing voice, swing-out, eye shadow, vibrator. And I’ve been ironing my catholic schoolgirl uniform, and working very closely with the good Mr. G-Clef in a psychic plot to transport the swing community to new heights.
To answer your question, “what have I been up to?”—you might say that I’ve been doing psychological push-ups. And I’ve been consuming only organic foods and water (and cigars).
Trevor: What sort of childhood did you have Marcus? Could anyone have foreseen your meteoric rise to stardom?
Marcus: O` Trevor, I’m so often misunderstood – and unfortunately, ever since I was a little boy, this has always been the case. It is indeed not easy being me. It’s often very trying at times – and I often think that I might end it all. Nonetheless, I continue on as I am the carrier of a powerful message, a truthful and sometimes tactless message, and I have been inflicted with this directive ever since age 7. It was about that time that I encountered the great psychic entrepreneur Howard Hughes in the Las Vegas desert. And there, he passed me the gift of second sight. But for more on this topic, and my psychic experiences as a child, you must instruct the good patrons of Yehoodi to review this visitation in my forthcoming NY Times Bestseller, THE PSYCHIC INVESTOR (Adams Media, 1999). And/or visit me online @ www.MarcusGoodwin.com
And I was also born on a very special day too, Trevor. Leap Year—a day that occurs only every 4 years to make the calendar year catch up with the solar year. In Western tradition, a day on which women propose marriage to men. A day that harbors inexplicable associations, arrest warrants were issued on this day in 1692 for several women who were believed to be practicing witchcraft, thereby beginning the infamous Salem Witch Trials. I believe the good prophets conceived me on this special day too for this very reason. To conjure truth, and destroy evil.
Trevor: What’s it like to be Marcus Goodwin and walk into a swing club?
Marcus: Well, at first it was quite difficult for me to be “me” in a public swing setting. It was difficult for regular swingers to disseminate themselves in the presence of such greatness, and for them to look at themselves under the bright-hot lights that follow me wherever I go. As a result, they would swing-out and kick me, push into me during their Charleston routines, give me dirty looks, spew vodka-tonics at me, and, mutter really bad stuff under their breathes. And I do understand. And I know how deep down inside they’re only upset that I have made them take a closer look at themselves. That I – a perfect stranger – am the only one who has ever penetrated them so deeply, and the only one who has ever made them say to themselves, “Look at me. Marcus is absolutely right—I really am a damn idiot.” Something that most swingers indeed need to hear on occasions. If not from me, certainly, from their own inner voice.
Trevor: Way back in August of this year, in a thread titled “Marcus Goodwin,” you spoke candidly on the subject of censorship within Yehoodi.
”…If you elect to censor me, and kick me off Yehoodi for doing what I do, then, so be it. I’ll still love you to death.”
Do you really have love for your enemies?
Marcus: You may find this hard to believe Trevor, but I really do love everyone. Even my so-called “enemies.” They are really just spiritual friends in disguise. And I do accept and appreciate them for exactly who they are. Through their impudence, they give me the power and strength to continue. They are my hope.
And mostly, I have a very special gratitude for each and every newcomer swing-girl that has given me so much. They’ve been so kind and loving – and have made the whole journey so much more tolerable. O` yes—I will always have a warm place in my heart for the newcomer sweetie-pie, and I will always be there for her to assist her in-and-out, and in-and-out, and in-and-out of her, errr, Charleston?
Anyway, I really do think that what you’re referring to, as “my enemies” aren’t really enemies at all. They are really just my students. They are precisely the individuals that the good spirits have instructed me to instruct. The “clueless” and the “needy” that the prophets have asked me to freely offer guidance to in an effort to correct their miserable and misguided lives.
The prophets say to me, “Marcus, show this one that they are full of crap – and that one that they are lying to themselves. And yet another, that they are obese. And by doing so, you will have assisted them in fulfilling their life’s journey. For they are lost without you Marcus. They are lost without you.”
At this point I was startled by a flapping sound at the window. I almost jumped out of my seat as a dove flew right into the study where we were sitting and landed on Marcus’s shoulder. It looked around the room for a few seconds, looked right at me, and then flew back out into the Halloween night. Marcus seemed to take no notice of this so I continued with my questioning.
Trevor: Give me your thoughts on the Cult of Marcus?
Marcus: Interesting phenomena indeed my good man. And as for it really being “me” in disguise? That would be in poor taste to have pulled such a self-absorbing stunt. However, is COM a by-product of my own psychic energy? Absolutely. This is certainly an individual who sees clearly the value in what the good spirits communicate through me. A person who understands the value in my swing teachings. And a good creative person who genuinely knows that no harm could ever come from worshipping a leader who only communicates truth and justice. And she’s pretty good with her hands too.
Trevor: Looking back on the last year of Yehoodi, what have been some of your favorite moments? Has anything really touched you?
Marcus: My very first post on Yehoodi was a thread titled “Swing Heil.” A thread that plunged deep into the very idea of today’s “neo-swing” being a rebellious insubordinate movement of sorts – similar to punk rock in the late 70’s. O` how they laughed at me, Trevor, O` how they laughed at me.
They threw water on everything I said, and how they mocked my every word! And hasn’t this indeed become a reality? For they didn’t know that I was the psychic-swing-Jesus in disguise. A messiah in two-tone shoes and fedora, and that I had been chosen to guide them to greatness. And it is a moving experience indeed to see the resistant and blinded swinger scrounging for cover in light of the many truths I speak. It is indeed a special moment when I post – and to see them wither. And I will always remember my first.
Then there was the “Swing-Hags” thread. A thread informing the swing community that all swingers are NOT in fact created equally. A discussion that explored the very essence of our physical being as dancers – and as people.
There were so many special moments, Trevor, I can hardly stand it – I’m – I’m – getting choked up…
Trevor: You have told Yehoodistrators,
“Yehoodi now has a life of it’s own. It’s its own animal. You are just a mere founding father, not it’s protector…It is the community bathroom. You guys set it up that way, and that is the only reason you have attracted people like myself to it…If you start instilling restrictions on speech, quality people will turn away, and the community bathroom goes down the toilet.”
Marcus: The Internet is the church of what’s happening today. It’s a fresh new real-time-medium-for-the-masses that thrives only because of crowd participation (just like dancing does). And without “the crowd” – there is nothing. And this medium is more bold and powerful than any other press coverage or communicative medium we have in swing.
The Bart Simpson telephone on the coffee table rang. Marcus answered it with an inquisitive, “Yes?” and I heard a woman’s voice on the other end. Marcus spoke to her for half a minute in a language I didn’t recognize; I recoiled a little as he used his thumb and index finger to pick his nose while speaking. When he hung up he continued his previous thought as if there had been no interruption.
On the other hand, I think that Yehoodi is quite similar to that of a not-for-profit organization in the sense that it was founded with a common swing-goal in mind. Then, it found it’s audience, and upon doing so, it has grown into something bigger and better than expected. Unfortunately, the reins must remain in the hands of those who are responsible for making that happen. That is, everyone who participates in those open discussions. By “controlling” and “moderating” how people act and what people will say, it will only cause it to dissolve – and the freewheeling spirit it once had will indeed be “picked up” by certain money-loving folks who understand how to capitalize on these things. And you can bet they’re already lurking in the shadows.
Trevor: Are you the real Yehoodi?
Marcus: I’m only the messenger. Nothing more.
Trevor: How do you envision the future of swing?
Marcus: It’s funny you should ask a psychic how he “envisions the future.” After all, isn’t that what we do? I believe that “swing” has a very powerful message behind it that will soon reveal itself to the masses. A message that re-teaches common human values and ideals. Values and ideals regarding ridged sex, intimacy, and relationships that many of us have never experienced as a result of never experiencing anything like swing dancing before. I think that most of the power behind this movement resides in the couples dancing – both on and off the dance floor. It is almost exclusively the couples dancing that most attracts us to swing – and it is the couples promenading about that shall carry the movement to new heights. The “music,” I foresee, will soon follow, and, I do predict that in less than 3-years time, “couples dancing” as we now know it in swing will have made a resurgence to main stream popular culture. And pop-music will by-and-large be swing-based. Believe it. “Swing” is everything but dead.
Trevor: I know this might be painful, but is there anything you would like to say to your detractors?
Marcus: I am the “swing-Jesus,” the undisputed KING of Yehoodi, and, I am quite possibly “the chosen one” whom shall navigate this new swing movement well into the next millennium. Respect me for who I am. My “detractors” really know not what they say when they come up against my powerful forces and say derogatory things about me – and accuse me of attacking them. And I then must simply do my God-given duty, and tear into them where they breathe.
It’s not always easy carrying the fate of the swing community on my back the way I do – and I have learned to welcome these detractors, as they are part of the overall portrayal. They keep the swing-thing alive for me. And they is to make a complete ass of yourself when you place your own interests ahead of the interests of the group. They demonstrate for everyone just how impotent the human spirit can really be when placed up against the greater spirit of certain higher entities—like myself.
I am the mere messenger – Trevor – and the ill mindedness of my attackers is really the truer message.
Trevor: 100 years from now, how do you hope people will remember you?
Marcus: Like Socrates, I will be alive and well, and echoing loudly in the minds of many. And I’ll still be teaching.
Marcus then told me he had some visitors coming in a few minutes and so he showed me to the door. We hugged; I thanked him for his time, and started carefully descending down the stairs (the elevator didn’t stop on his floor). On the way down I passed what I’m sure were Marcus’s next visitors: three young Chinese girls wearing leopard skin cat suits and stiletto heels. I laughed, and said to myself, “That Marcus!!”