Swami X

Swami X (also known as Ex-Swami X or X Swami X) is the stage name of an anonymous psychedelic hippie comedian who frequented Venice Beach and the campuses of UCLA and UC Berkeley from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s.

wami X's Public Persona and Oeuvre

In his heyday, Swami X usually appeared in his characteristic costume of sandals, dirty bell-bottom blue jeans, an Indian shirt and tie-dyed bandana do-rag, with long, graying hair and a bushy gray beard. Generally unannounced, he would casually stroll into the venue, usually accompanied by a far younger female companion, and wander over to his usual spot. [ [http://wikimapia.org/1844324/ Swami X's regular spot] as found on WikiMapia] There he would stand, greeting passers-by and chat with anyone who chanced to stop, until a crowd began to form. He would then launch into his customary monologue.

His schtick was a zany combination of political satire, potty humor, clever double entendres, sexual ribaldry (far too bawdy to be characterized by innuendo), and local or campus in-jokes. Repartee and audience participation were part of his act. Anyone could yell out a question, asking the Swami's opinion on current events or political situations. His response invariably would turn the subject back to sex. [See Sweet William, 'X Swami X, The Sidewalk Comic', Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, p. 170 (Dec. 23, 1979).]

Nothing about Swami X can be taken seriously. In his own words, says the Swami X, "this is not an act, this is real life. I am a fucking nut". As with most buskers and street performers, little of Swami X's oeuvre was recorded, but sample clips do exist. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02s62DV8o40 Swami X live on Venice Beach] , video clip on youtube] [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2E9VqCBnr4 Swami X live in West LA] - Part I, video clip from youtube] [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EcvgJKWz8Q Swami X live in West LA] - Part II, video clip from youtube]

Among his more memorable comments are:

::"They say you are what you eat. If that's true, then I'm a nymphomaniac."

::"Nixon says he wants peace with honor. Peace?? All I want is a piece of ass!!"

::"Spigothead Agnew" (the then Vice President).

::"If you're in bed with a nymphomaniac and a cop bangs on your door and says "open the door right now", you don't say, "Just a minute, officer, I'll be right there." You say "Get lost, motherfucker! Come back next Tuesday!"

::After extolling the virtues of some coveted item of value, such as a new Corvette, he would say "I'd trade it right now for an orgasm in 20 minutes".

The most often quoted line attributed to Swami X is : ::"Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer." [http://www.quotegarden.com/sex.html Sex Quotes and Sayings]

The "Sex is not the answer" bit has been quoted in numerous compendia of pithy observations and sex jokes, usually with a reference to "Swami X" as if his identity were self-evident.

Venues

He was often found on college campuses up and down the West Coast of the United States, such as on the Kerckhoff Hall lawn next to Bruin Walk on the UCLA campus, or on the sidewalk of Bancroft Avenue near Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, [ [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/2006/12/climbing-mountain.html climbing the mountain] , "pynchonoid", 01 December 2006, blogspot.com] but Swami X's usual venue was his home of Venice, California, where he was affectionately known as the "Mad MC from the Brooks Avenue Lawn". [ [http://www.virtualvenice.info/music/streetperf.htm Street Performers ] ] He was (and still is) a fixture on the beat or hippie scene at Venice Beach, and the many references to him in published works about the Venice Beach scene in the 1970s and 1980s are a testimony to his general notoriety and ubiquity in West Los Angeles, California. He also performed in Greenwich Village, New York, and at Hyde Park, London.

Background and Personal Life

Little is known of Swami X's childhood. About all he has ever said on the subject is, "My whole problem [i.e., his current condition] stems from the fact that my mother refused to breast feed me in public--for my 21st birthday." ["Swami X Speaking at the Venice Peace and Freedom Center, September 23, 2006" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2E9VqCBnr4] ] According to Robert Yarra [>"Golda Foundation Prior Award Winners: X Swami X" [http://www.goldafoundation.org/recipients.html] ] ,

[Swami X] was born in Philadelphia and grew up on the streets there. His dad was a tough Philly cop. After getting in trouble with the law (mostly for stealing cars), Swami had a choice of either going to jail or going into the Merchant Marine. He chose the latter and shipped out. When he came back to the states, he spent 20 years in an Ashram in Washington, D.C. He then started his stand-up comedy in Berkeley, Venice, Hyde Park in London, and in Seattle.

In the 1970s, Rich Mann captured him in his usual spot at Venice Beach as follows: "Looking to the heavens, [Swami X] says, 'You promised me Paradise, and I was sent back to Venice?'" [Rich Mann, "North Beach 90291: Rich Mann in Venice", 1983, ASIN: B00070RPEW, (includes a photograph of Swami X performing in Venice c. 1980), [http://www.virtualvenice.info/print/booksL-P.htm description] ] Another observation by Pat Hartman, who espyed him on a Sunday morning in Venice: "Swami X and his lady (in her leopard skin bikini and bellydancer's fancy waist-encircling jewelry) sat on the steps of Billy's Boarding House playing chess. I saw 15 kites that branched off from various points on one main string." [Pat Harman, Ghost Town: A Venice California Life, September 1981, [http://www.virtualvenice.info/writings/years.htm] ]

Swami X celebrated his 80th birthday at the end of 2005, and still lives in Venice, California. ["Free Venice Beachhead", Issue No. 292, page 3 [http://www.freevenice.org/Beachhead/Jan2006/Jan2006.html issue index] , [http://www.freevenice.org/Sites/iblog/B1692947617/C1478424889/E20060118190202/index.html text version of article] , [http://www.freevenice.org/Beachhead/Jan2006/Beachhead-Jan2006.pdf PDF version which includes photograph of Swami X at 80th birthday party] ]

Based on his own testimony, Swami X smoked copious amounts of weed, indulged in copious amounts of sex, and ingested copious amounts of halucinatory drugs over the course of his career. As he said in a video clip of a public appearance in Venice on September 23, 2006, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." ["Swami X Speaking at the Venice Peace and Freedom Center, September 23, 2006" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2E9VqCBnr4] ] , Nonetheless, he appears remarkably fit and cogent at the advanced age of nearly 81.

ee also

*Busking
*List of well-known busking locations

Notes

References

* Pat Hartman, "Call Someplace Paradise" (Xlibris Corporation 2000), ISBN 0-7388-2005-9, [http://www.virtualvenice.info/writings/reviews.htm review]
* Jeffrey Stanton, "Venice California: 'Coney Island of the Pacific' " (2005), page 273 (available at http://naid.ucla.edu/venice/articles/bookstore.html)
* Patricia J. Campbell, "Passing the Hat - Street Performers in America", 1981, Delacorte Press, New York, ISBN-13: 9780440068242 & ISBN-13: 9780385287715, OCLC: 7461199
* "The Spirit of Venice, CA", an Audio CD published by Priority Records (March 10 1992), ASIN: B00000E7DU (contains an audio version of a spoken word performance by Swami X) [http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Venice-CA-Various-Artists/dp/B00000E7DU]