While cheeseburgers, chainsaws and Rock & Roll have little in common, Jesse “The Machine” Green has somehow managed to combine them into a fantastic, inspirational presentation which he has presented to students. For Green, his journey into success and happiness is a unique one worthy of sharing with the world.
Green, a New England artist and speaker, visited Westford Academy on Wednesday, Nov. 15 to perform his show “Chainsaws, Cheeseburgers and Rock & Roll”. Green gave an informative, yet poetic demonstration of his life story that showed WA students about the ups and downs of life, as well as the perks he gained and learned along the way.
“The thing that I want everybody to take away the most is that [they should not] be afraid to fail [and they should not] be afraid to try,” Green said. “Everything is built up in our heads.”
Green has spent significant parts of his life in tough situations that seemed unescapable, starting with a job that he felt held him back. Afterwards, he left it, and went on to gain an art degree at UMass Dartmouth, where he discovered his passion for creating wood sculptures. Eventually, Green ended up landing a show with National Geographic which focused on his craft in carving wood sculptures, and is still available to view now. As he traveled around for his show, he started meeting more established and famous celebrities.
“Based on the reactions I get everywhere, [the most recognizable person I’ve talked to] is Snoop Dogg,” Green said.
Aside from the wooden sculptures, he also played the harmonica for a band that he was a part of, “Fevah Dream”, collaborating with more than 100 bands throughout the entire United States, as well as personally traveling solo across the continent for his own shows.
As Green was presenting these facts about his life, his efforts did not go unnoticed, as several students remarked on how it affected them personally.
“I thought that the way he described his [life story], from almost no money to having a very successful career, [to] basically becoming kind of a celebrity was inspiring,” sophomore Chris Sutedja said. “It showed how you could change your life.”
Others were confused about Green’s presentation but still was encouraged by his words.
“It was a pretty good [presentation] and he seems to be pretty happy with what he has,” freshman Brighton Ng. “It was inspiring to see him do pretty cool stuff. I think it makes me want to be ambitious and chase whatever I want to do.”
Although people were confused by Green’s title, as many thought that he would physically cut and sculpt a piece of wood right before their eyes, they were not disappointed by the presentation.
“I expected him to actually take out a chainsaw and sculpt something in front of us, and he didn’t do that,” sophomore Aanika Mysore said. “But his story was really inspiring. I thought it was pretty creative the way he had so many pictures, and it was almost like slam poetry. I really liked his performance even though it really wasn’t what I thought would happen.”
His slideshow, which has been continually built and extended for the better part of 10 years, hopes to encourage students to reach for the stars.
“There’s always people out there that can give you more and more, everyday I collect more and more wisdom from people out there who are much bigger than myself,” Green said.
Jesse Green’s show will be sure to truly affect the school and he hopes that this will influence the school for the better.
“Certainly for you and the people around you, and you wanting to be somebody that people are looking for, not somebody who’s just shuffling around happily,” Green said. “It’s really vital you take that chance.”
