Bruce Svoboda - Grapple

I want to thank Svoboda’s daughter Michelle Massey Goldberg for helping to put all this together and sharing Bruce’s story the way he would have wanted!

Michelle and her mother circa: '71.

Garage Band Genius:

The Many Faces of Bruce Svoboda I did not meet my birth father until I was in my 20s. We have the same blood type, AB+, and we are nocturnal creatures; always pale and dark circles under our eyes, come alive at night, worship the Moon. According to my genealogy and DNA research, I inherited 52% of my DNA from my father. Sadly, all of this was discovered after his passing in 1999. I remained close with his mother, Elsa, after his death and learned most of what I know about him from her. She loved her only child infinitely and had a lot of records, tapes, promo photos. He was the superstar that never was, always just one deal away from fame. He lived in Texas, but moved to Colorado Springs for much of the 70s. The 80s saw him move to Palm Springs. (Guess he loved springs??) He said Sonny Bono was the nicest person he had ever met. Evidently Bruce’s pastries and cakes were exemplary. He was the catering manager at one of the big hotels in PS for most of the late 80s.

The life of the average frustrated musician is as follows:

Crappy roommate situation, crappy day job and weekend and/or nighttime gigs. Plus, the bigger the band, the more ways to divide the pay. Day jobs supported the music bug but just barely. Bruce was a pastry chef, delivery driver, catering manager, plumber’s assistant, secretary, cashier, mortuary assistant, janitor, bartender, you name it. He didn’t mind because he was still waiting for that big record deal. Always had a band together. Played by ear. Guitar, bass guitar, drums, organ, keyboard, ukulele, bongos, harmonica. Wrote short stories about 1800s Texas in his spare time. He was obsessed with Davy Crockett and the Alamo. His IQ was off the charts, like 185. He had been advanced at least one grade ahead of time and graduated at 17. Many rejected scholarships followed; he just was not interested but graduated salutatorian from his high school. One proposed scholarship was from Rice University but not for music. He refused to commit to anything non-musical.

I truly believe he was too intelligent for this world. He was on another planet from birth. Us earthlings just couldn’t keep up. Bruce chronicled his own life best in this piece written for publicity in 1976. He explains the garage band days and gives a complete discography up until 1976). I personally love the songs and listen as often as I can. The Snail by Grapple, Ethereal Genius by Grapple, Writing on the Wall by The Five Canadians (they were allegedly Canadian, but sang in a Texas drawl— “I see the writin’ on the waaaahhl”), Don’t Tell Me, Never Alone. He was truly an unrecognized, and yes, ethereal genius. <3 A Compendium of Knowledge Concerning the Corporeal Essence Known as James Bruce Svoboda alias 457-82-**** alias Kid Koleeto **For what it’s worth, the contents of this folio, all, or in part, and the arrangement thereof are protected by United States Law, COPYRIGHT 1976 by James Bruce Svoboda**

Great Aunt Dorothy and a tiny James "Bruce" Svoboda.

The Five Canadians.

The Five Canadians.

Rex Liberty.

Grapple.

Giving Tree.

Edgework.

Dakota Brown