All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.

The Iaz finally explains why he left Upstate NY, the Brock responds back…

Well, look like I got onto him about his travelling adventures too much that it finally got him to write why he left:

Here’s what he have to say now:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=61560782&blogId=531310172

Iaz continues to be the subject of discussion on why the artist left the “Lata” It isn’t like I didn’t give the music a college try and then some. Any talk of other people pleading that I return to an area I actually had an loathing attitude for just makes me feel miserable. You ask why? What is so special about a county that contains one of the worst villages in my opinion. What is so special about a county that contains one of the worst roads in it. Wasn’t it discussed with the “Preservation Videos” how lousy that area was.

The villages and roads aren’t that great, I can agree with you on that one. When you live in a town where you have close family and friends. That is more important. Like your Mom for example, is more important than music and more important than anything else you like to do. If you want to stay far away from Upstate NY, never step foot in it again, that is not good karma being away from your Mom like that. I’m sure she misses you terribly and I can absolutely see right there, you don’t even care. When you have a family that cares for you, NEVER make them feel like you don’t exist to them. You’ll regret it down the road, trust me.

Let’s not forget the dredging thing going on. If the area would sign an entertainment deal with the “Lata” and work to bring in entertainment then it could become something. With the recent closure of the “Catskill Game Farm” and even several years ago of “Kaydeross Park” the “Lata” is in an area that on the entertainment side of things is lifeless and without transit that is decent is even worse.

There is plenty of entertainment around Upstate NY. You just gotta look around. You also don’t need to move to a city with better transit just because you don’t drive, this is coming from someone who don’t drive.

I really did try with the music in the “Lata” and was paid $60.00 at one gig and that’s when I felt like things were going the right direction. It seemed like I would start to head in the right direction in the “Lata” and someone would stop my forward speed. I was stuck mostly playing Open Mics in the area and recording tracks that went no where for most of last year. I was hardly given any incentive for my talent and that sent me across the line.

You can try with the music in Pittsburgh, Canada, Los Angeles, Nashville, etc. where ever you go…you will get the same playing a few paid gigs and playing mostly open mics. What about the times that I helped you in the music scene. Got you a few gigs as a return the favor of you supporting my music. If you don’t start promoting yourself good enough, if you don’t start sending your demos out to venues, you’re never gonna get anywhere. Gigs and super stardom don’t fall in your lap, man…but nope, you are always, “me, me, me, me,”, all the time. You love yourself that much, do ya?

When people act all concerned that I’m out of state it annoys me because where were you when I was performing in the “Lata” struggling with lack of sleep getting home late at night all because I wanted to perform or see this band or that artist. The attitudes caught up in the “Lata” and I could sense it that no matter how many Open Mics or talks of playing here the area was not going to let me advance and that’s why I’m upset with that area.

Wow, upset at an entire area over people’s opinions? You’re being a bit paranoid are ya? NEWS Flash – nobody really cares.

 I lost so much money doing what I really cared to at least here in “Pennsylvania” I’m doing this on my terms despite what the people in the “Lata” want me to do. But the attitude kicks the “Lata” in the face.  At least here in “Pittsburgh” I have a chance once again to head to the next level and maybe to find a decent girlfriend and be freaking happy for once if you think I was happy in the “Lata” then you were wrong.

There’s a lot of people who aren’t happy in this um, “Lata”, but we stay here ’cause we have family and friends that we care about that we don’t leave behind. Good luck on getting to the “next level”. One day you’ll be complaining about Pittsburgh in your blog whenever things don’t go your way, it’s only a matter of time.

Maybe I was content because I watched all my favorite tv shows but I was really miserable there and those who really understand the “Iaz” would know I wanted something better at the start of last year.  People needed to like really be appreciative of my talent and “Lataville” would give me the cold shoulder a lot of the times like people would talk to me but come across as one sided. Even in Open Mics in Caffe Lena people didn’t get what I was about. They didn’t like really appreciate the talent I had when I hit Open Mic. When you really are appreciative of an artist you back them in several ways instead I felt like another name on the Open Mic list instead of as a talented music artist that could of headed to the next level.

It’s just an open mic, dude. Nobody has to get anything of what an “open mic” artist have to be about. Like I said plenty of times, no matter where you go you will get that same “cold shoulder” attitude at every open mic or gig you go to. No matter the city. Not everybody is gonna think you’re god’s gift to music, Iaz. Get the hell over yourself dude. You take yourself too seriously. You’re like a retarded version of Kanye West but much worse. You think your talent is important and great to you. Kind of like that Rayford Faulkner guy.

Keep it up, brother, this is the kind of stuff that professional booking agents or clubs don’t look for. It’ll be a turn off for them and it’s unprofessional.

Kev

Thought: Tiger Woods vs. Joslyn James…

So porn star Joslyn James is out there trying to make Tiger Woods look bad. Even if Tiger’s text messages to the porn star are real, the thing that people don’t understand about all of this that there is this thing called, “agressive sex” that a lot of sex partners do out there. It’s like a dark sexual fantasy thing where the female is willing to be verbally abused and to be talked dirty by the man. If you see the man writing nasty messages to her like, “I’m gonna fuck you up bitch, whore, will get in a three some with you”, etc. blah blah blah and all that. That means she wants him to talk like that. Some people like dark sex like bondage or BDSM. Something like that. So don’t take Tiger’s offensive words to her seriously, it’s like a dark sexual fantasy thing like I explained. They may seem upset, but really they are just playing and fooling.

There are a lot of couples out there that talk like that. Sexual couples that don’t mind the nasty and dirty talk, they actually enjoy it. So don’t call Tiger a bad man for this ’cause this is what guys do in these type of things.

Kev

ProTools won’t work on IE8

This week, I just installed my old Pro Tools Academic software that I got way back in 2006. I haven’t used this program in a long time. Plan on making music again and I wanted to use Pro Tools so I can start putting down some song ideas. I installed Pro Tools. Double clicked the icon after installing, the program wouldn’t launch. I thought I did something wrong or if the program is so old that it wouldn’t work anymore. So I went googling some information and doing research. My research says that the Digidesign website says ProTools will not work for those with Windows XP that has Internet Explorer 8. They recommend those to uninstall IE8, and return to the old IE7. The reason this is happening since Windows XP is updated, the Digidesign company never figured out how to make ProTools work on IE8 yet. So I’m gonna have to go back to IE7 this weekend if I want to start using Pro Tools to record music again.

I like to use Pro Tools as to record song ideas down, like a home recording demo. Now that I have an electric guitar, I was going to throw in a bunch of rock riffs that I came up with for new stuff. Hopefully I’ll get Pro Tools working again later this Spring/Summer. I really want to write a new batch of tunes hopefully this year. Rock n’ roll songs this time, hopefully full band stuff. Might go around asking other local musicians to collaborate with me on backing me in these recordings. Bass, drums, guitar, etc. I know some musicians don’t play for free and I’ll be wiling to pay something for a collaborations of my tunes.

I don’t want to make another acoustic demo. It’s time for some rock n’ roll!

Kev

Report: Ivan Reitman is still on for “Ghostbusters 3″…

This is why people shouldn’t believe everything they read online. Huge rumours spread the web that Ivan Reitman pulled out of “Ghostbusters 3” to do a romantic comedy film titled, “Friends with Benefits” instead. Well, Sony says that rumour is bullshit and Ivan Reitman is committed with “Ghostbusters 3” still.

More on it here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-29730-Fanboys-Examiner~y2010m3d18-Ivan-Reitman-is-too-directing-Ghostbusters-III

That’s good. I can’t see no one directing “Ghostbusters” but Ivan Reitman. Ivan’s their only guy that can do these films, right. Even Harold Ramis and Jason Reitman can’t even touch Ivan’s style. It’s great news that Ghostbusters 3 is still happening and lets hope for a 2011 release date.

Kev

Edit to add: btw, “Ghostbusters 3” could do extremely well in the box office if made right, it could be just as big as “Avatar” and “The Dark Knight”, sure. I’m sure Ivan Reitman will be experimenting with the new CGI and 3D technology, most definitely.

Finally saw, “Precious” and here’s a brief review…

So last night on St. Patty’s Day, I watched the movie, “Precious” starring Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’nique. I watched it on the DVR, “Movies on Demand” ppv things. I thought it one of the most moving dramas I’ve ever seen in a long time. That Oscar win for Mo’nique was well deserved, ’cause believe me, you will be in awe when you see Mo’nique in this movie. Mo’nique’s acting skills will send chills down your spine. She is really that great. I can see why Gabby didn’t win an Oscar for her role ’cause I felt it wasn’t really Oscar worthy…but all around though, the movie was really amazing. I loved this film too.

It tells a story about a 16 year old obese girl named, Precious, which she got pregnant twice by her own father. She continues to live with her abusive mother, Mary Jones (Mo’nique’s role) as Precious tries to improve her life by getting an education.

The movie will grab you once you start to see it. It’s a really moving film. It also has a pretty shocking ending to the film. It’s a movie worth renting or buying, so next time you go shopping for movies, I’d recommend you see this one.

Kev

Film Review: Alice in Wonderland

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter,  Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway

Directed by: Tim Burton

I know I’m a few days late on this review, but earlier this week, which was last Tuesday, I did go see the movie, Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland”. Before that I went to Best Buy and picked up the new “God of War III” video game. I’m not going to start “God of War III” right away ’cause I need to finish the first two games first. I’m still at the end of “God of War I”.

Now lets get on with the review:

Plot/Synopsis: Tim Burton decided to do his take on the famous Lewis Carroll novel, “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”, which is a famous children’s novel that I loved ever since I was a kid. The plot and story is pretty much the same idea, but Tim Burton’s version is just a little bit different than so many other versions of “Alice” we’ve seen over the years. Yep, same thing, Alice discovers another world where the White Rabbit takes her and she meets all these strange characters such as the Caterpillar, Chesire the Cat, The Mad Hatter, etc. Except the only difference, that Alice doesn’t dress up in armor, and getting a sword to actually fight the Jabberwocky in the novel, but I can understand why Burton threw that in there ’cause I guess he wanted to match the idea with the poem that was written about the Jabberwocky, that was actually taken from the novel. This isn’t really a spoiler since the trailers already showed Alice in armor with a sword.

I’ll be honest, that I usually hate Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaborations. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of these guys, but when they work together on a film, I have no interest. Their work is so overrated and too mainstream, that I get sick of these guys working together all the time. I never really wanted to see this version of “Alice In Wonderland”, but I was kind of talked into seeing it…but since I’m a huge fan of the Lewis Carroll novel which is a book that I love, I decided what the hell, I’ll go see it to see if I like it or not.

A lot of people were shitting on this movie. Saying how bad it was, giving the movie mixed reviews. Not many people I’ve seen online giving it positive reviews. When I went and saw it, you wonder what my thoughts are?

Well, here’s the answer…..scroll down a bit…

I FUCKING LOVED IT!!! 🙂 Really, I was that surprised by the film. Were the negative critics watching the same movie? I thought the film was fucking brilliant! It’s exactly what a live action “Alice” movie should be! Tim Burton really did his homework to make the movie right. He must of studied the novel and seen all the earlier remakes. Burton didn’t want to fuck around and make the right version of “Alice”. This is probably the best version. The Visuals were just perfect. The way it was supposed to be from the novel. The humor is there as the book had a lot of humor in it. It had a lot of dark themes and adventure in the film just like the novel. The acting wasn’t that bad, but I thought the writing of the script was well written. Special effects and cinematography is what the film needed to get the look in  your head of what the novel is supposed to be like.

I thought Crispin Glover was a badass as the Knave of Hearts, he was my favorite character from the film. I guess Johnny Depp was the right fit for the Mad Hatter. Helena Bonham Carter did great voicing the Red Queen as she sounded evil and it made you want to hate her every time you saw her on screen.

It was a very entertaining film. Definitely thumbs up for this one.

Score for “Alice in Wonderland” = **** (4 stars as in “excellent”)

Kev

Report: Lady Gaga to star the lead in Quentin Tarantino’s romantic/comedy film?

Remember the report that Quentin Tarantino has plans to make a romantic comedy film next? Well look like, Tarantino has already started casting. Pop star, Lady Gaga, is in talks to star the leading role in Quentin Tarantino’s next film. The article fails to say what movie it is, but I assume that it’s Tarantino’s romantic comedy film that he’s planning.

This shows that it is a possibility that John Travolta could be re-teaming with Tarantino but could it be this movie? Get the clue, Lady Gaga has something to do with song and dance, so does John Travolta. John is also a singer and dancer. Are we going to see a John Travolta and Lady Gaga dance scene for the next film? I wouldn’t be surprised that John Travolta could get the male lead, and you shouldn’t be surprised either.

This would be a great acting comeback for John too, to work with Tarantino again.

http://digitalspy.com/movies/news/a209272/lady-gaga-to-star-in-next-tarantino-film.html

Kev

Report: Guitar World snubs Michael J. Fox for “Johnny B. Goode” in their “Top 10 Big Screen Moments” list…

I usually like Guitar World magazine, but I’m dissapointed in their “Top 10 Big Screen Moments” list, where they list the top guitar moments of all time in film. I agree with everything in this list, but I can’t believe they snubbed Michael J. Fox, left him off the list. Marty McFly playing “Johnny B. Good” in “Back to the Future” is the greatest guitar film moment of all time.

Check out the list here:

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/top_10_big_screen_guitar_moments

Are the editors of Guitar World living under a rock? Have they even seen, “Back to the Future”? Marty McFly playing “Johnny B. Goode” is such a badass scene. It’s such a shame that scene was left out of the list. If you’re going to do a top “Best Guitar moments in films” list and not include this in, you’re not the true music lover that you say you are.

Kev

Thought: People need to stop telling Gabby Sidibe to lose weight, I think she’s attractive the way she is…

Some may wonder what my thoughts are on people telling “Precious” star, Gabby Sidibe, to lose weight. I’ll give a quick and simple answer to that, I think it’s disrespectful to obesed people. They can’t help for what they are. They are human beings like us and they should be treated like human beings. I think it’s immature to call people fat. You are like a little bully in kindergarten picking on fat kids. Thanks to Howard Stern who started this nasty trend on Gabby.

I think Gabby looks beautiful the way she is, and yes, I could date a woman like her for sure. Like they all say, “Big women need the loving too, right?” BBW doesn’t hurt, eh? Don’t you like some meat on her bones?

If John Candy can become a huge star, then why can’t Gabby? I think Gabby will become a successful movie star, no matter her size. I haven’t seen “Precious” yet but I plan on watching it through my DVR Movies On Demand thing.

In my opinion, if Gabby loses the weight, then people would forget her. Her being huge is what made her famous.

Kev