Jun 16 : "Cardboard Box" - Panophonic (Clifton Heights)

On Friday last week I headed up to the "Nut Hut" for the first time. This was to see Panophonic which I hadn't seen in quite a while. "Panophonic" is a solo project of musician, Tom Lugo, who has multiple bands and music projects going simultaneously, such as Under the Wire and Stellarscope, to name two, along with a record label, Patetico Recordings.

This was a night when his solo project was in the spotlight. Two other outfits played after him.

It had been a while since I had heard Panophonic live, and there were some changes. Tom used to advertise that coming to his shows, "Your ears will bleed". And indeed they did. ... But the music has mellowed out a little, and I found that I bled less last Friday.

Naturally I hadn't heard Panophonic play in so long that almost all the work was new. One of the new songs he played was "Cardboard Box", which is about being homeless, a timely topic.

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6/27/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their page!

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Cardboard Box

Pack my bags I had to go
I’d venture out into the cold
Walked aimlessly down the streets
With no particular place to go

I will beg, steal, and lie
I’ll do anything to get by
In love and war it all is fair
I am broken beyond repair

I’ll weather the rain
I’ll endure the pain
Of your judging eyes
Wonder if you would survive

Ask me if I really care
I speak my mind, I swear, I swear
Ask me if I really care
I bore more than you can bear

Pack my bags I had to go
I’d venture out into the cold
Walked aimlessly down the streets
With no particular place to go

I will beg, steal, and lie
I’ll do anything to get by
In love and war it all is fair
I am broken beyond repair

Lowest of the low
Crawl back- into my hole
It doesn’t- hurt anymore
My bed is the cold concrete floor

Ask me if I really care
I speak my mind, I swear, I swear
Ask me if I really care
I bore more than you can bear

Just last night CBS' "60 Minutes" did a segment about the "100,000 Homes Campaign", a nationwide effort to first ascertain who the most vulnerable people in the homeless population are, and then match them up with property owners. Some landlords receive federal subsidies to participate in this program with the residents paying a small percentage. But the journalist also interviewed other civic-minded landlords who set aside a percentage of their units at low cost or no cost specially to participate in this program.

The "60 Minutes" episode discussed the high success rate of the program and showed very dramatic "before" and "after" pictures of the participants, talking about the dehumanizing effects of being homeless (as we heard in Tom's song above), and how people's lives are completely transformed once they've become situated in a home of their own. Here is the link to the "60 Minutes" segment: 100,000 Homes: Housing the Homeless Saves Money?

Tom is a man with a strong interest in various social issues. In addition to the lyrics about homelessness, he has also followed up with actions on the issue of hunger, by generously donating both music and merch from Panophonic and Stellarscope to our non-profit, West Girard Communty Council to raffle off at our first fundraising party for our Food Cupboard. This event took place a few weeks ago.

If you'd like to check out more of Panophonic's music, here is the link to Tom's Soundcloud page, where he has samples of music from his various projects::: Tom Lugo's Soundcloud page (CLICK HERE)