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.
movies, music

The “Zappa” documentary inspired me to start getting into his music more finally…

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Last night on Hulu, I’ve finally gotten around to watching the “Zappa” documentary. A rockumentary film that was directed by Alex Winter who is famously known as Bill from the “Bill & Ted” film franchise.

Frank Zappa is a legend and icon in the music business. He’s not just a rock n’ roll musician, he’s done other genres in his career and he’s done a little more than 60 albums, maybe more than that.

I never really got into Frank Zappa music at all and I’ve been meaning to so yeah, I’m pretty late getting into his music. After watching the “Zappa” doc finally, it inspired me to finally start getting his albums so I bought his very first album, “Freak Out” and another album called “Hot Rats” which are the two perfect albums to start off with for a Frank Zappa newbie like myself.

Frank was an interesting guy. My favorite parts of the doc was the very beginning when he was showing off his vault, where he keeps his recording music all shelved at his home. I also thought his rants about the music industry were pretty insightful.

Frank said on the doc that while he has no problem making music for himself so he can like it and listen to it, he also makes it for other people which is why he made albums. The doc also showed some of his live performances and had many other musicians speaking about Frank especially Steve Vai and many others.

A longtime Frank Zappa fan may not appreciate this doc but I think it was made for people who know nothing about the guy. In other words, it seems to me the film was more aimed to the newbies. This isn’t Alex’s first directed film ’cause he’s been directing films for a long while but I believe this is his first rock doc and I thought he did a great job with it. The film had an interesting direction style, it was different than other rock documentaries I’ve seen.

It’s definitely worth watching for any music lover, though.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881578/

Kev

music

Live music is finally starting to make a comeback this year but very slowly…

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So I’m noticing nowadays that live music is starting to make a comeback finally. Only for the states that allow it and it’s looking like Gov. Cuomo is gonna bring back live music in NY later this month. He’s bringing back 100% full capacity in everything in this state which is about time really.

Already, I’m seeing a lot of bands & artists releasing their 2021 tour dates for this Spring/Summer. Sadly, they can’t tour every state ’cause a lot of states will be under strict lockdowns and strict protocols still. That’s because those states have a Democrat governor. States with a Republican governor opened almost everything up.

As soon as some states allowing live music, it’s no surprise to see that bands & music artists are already going out there. I can’t blame them, ya know? Musicians and bands can’t be staying home. This is what they’re supposed to be doing… playing music in front of crowds.

With live music coming back to NY state this summer, I would like to go to a national concert myself like maybe at Spac or the Times Union Center if I find a show I wanna go. I found out that Trey Anastasio booked a 3 night solo acoustic show at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, I’ll probably end up going to that one. I want to go to a live concert to celebrate the return of live music.

It’s great that live music is coming back this year but I hope the mask mandate gets dropped soon ’cause I can’t see myself wearing a mask at a concert for 3 or 4 hours. I’ll have a rant about the mask thing in another topic.

Anyhow, it’s great that live music is returning. They’re dying to get back out there and I can’t blame them for wanting to get right back out as long as they were allowed to. Many of them hated staying home, they really did.

I haven’t been to a national concert in a long time myself. Last one I been to was Metallica, Lamb of God, Volbeat way back in 2009. I’m not a big concert goer anymore like I used to be.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Sometimes I gotta listen to relaxing music, I can’t listen to loud guitar music all the time…

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I enjoy all sorts of music… while my main taste of music is mostly rock n’ roll and metal… sometimes I gotta listen to other stuff. Meaning stuff that are more relaxing. A lot of times I’ll listen to blues and jazz and sometimes lighter sounding music like Joni Mitchell or Bobby Vinton or any artists that sings relaxing ballads. Yeah, I dig some of that stuff believe it or not. I’m not always about listening to loud guitar playing like some may believe.

Listening to slower and relaxing music is not only relaxing, it’s also healing. It makes you feel good listening to that stuff. I’ll get into stuff like the Righteous Brothers, all the Elvis ballads, The Commodores and I’ll dig into acoustic folk and some country like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and things like that. Like I said above, I like a lot of jazz and blues and that stuff is relaxing too.

I like listening to real music. I’m not really a fan of today’s pop music but I am a huge fan of Lana Del Rey. I think she’s amazing and I’ve been getting into her a lot more. Her music is definitely relaxing stuff for sure.

If you ever look at my music collection at home, you would find a variety. I have a bit of everything but mostly rock and metal but I do have some pop, even rap music, some country and some blues and jazz.

You can’t always listen to loud guitar playing. Gotta give your ears and mind a break so you gotta listen to some slower and relaxing music sometimes. It’s just something I gotta do.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Scored pretty big on Vinyl at the Antique Fair today!!!

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Well I went to the Antique Fair at the Washington County Fairgrounds in my hometown earlier this afternoon. Scored pretty big on vinyl. Take a look at the Instagram post above to see what I got! Came home with 8 vinyl albums today. A couple of ’em were about $20, a few were about $10 and a few were about $1 – $5.

About that Robert Plant “Pictures at Eleven” album, I just looked at Plant’s discography and found out that was his debut album so it’s pretty cool. Looking forward to listening to that one ’cause I love Robert Plant’s solo music.

As far as Frampton’s “Comes Alive”, Kiss “Alive”, Janis’s “Pearl” and Deep Purple “Machine Head” goes, I already have those albums digitally so I got the vinyl versions.

The rest of the albums I don’t have yet. I’ve always loved the Carpenters so I went for a greatest hits album of theirs so I can start listening to their stuff.

I’ve always been a fan of Bobby Vinton music ’cause “Blue Velvet” is one of my favorite tunes. I’m also a fan of Joni Mitchell and trying to get into more of her stuff.

I love antique fairs but I only go for the used vinyl. I just want to start a vinyl collection of my own… new or used, it don’t matter to me, yo.

Kev

movies, music

Big name Music artists that were film actors too…

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This week I just watched a few classic movies that starred big music artists that were in leading roles of films… “Love Me Tender” starring Elvis and “Tony Rome” starring Frank Sinatra. Both really good.

Some people find it questionable that big name music artists like Rihanna and Lady Gaga getting movie roles and they get criticized for it but music stars also being actors is nothing new… it goes way back.

Here is a list of huge music stars that did movies over the years:

  • Elvis Presley
  • Frank Sinatra
  • Dean Martin
  • Bing Crosby
  • Cher
  • David Bowie
  • Tina Turner
  • Will Smith
  • Whitney Houston
  • Courtney Love
  • Tom Waits
  • Mick Jagger
  • Bjork
  • Dolly Parton
  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Michael Jackson
  • Queen Latifah
  • Tupac Shakur
  • Barbra Streisand
  • 50 Cent
  • Ice Cube
  • Kris Kristofferson

And the list goes on and on…. Why is it do you think that music stars do both music and movies at the same time? Is it ego? Is it about the money? Not really. I think it’s because they want to express their talent with something else other than music. They felt that they could do something else. Maybe it gives them something to do when they’re not touring or something. Many of them just fell in love with acting and kept at it. I also believe it’s a great way to help keep their name known and them starring in movies is a great way to market their music careers too.

Music stars doing movies is not gonna stop, that will always be around. No doubt that their music careers helped them get in the movie business ’cause without music, they wouldn’t have made it in Hollywood.

I’ve been watching some movies with big music stars in them lately which inspired me to write this topic. It is interesting if you think about it.

Kev

Uncategorized

Stone Cold bio doc on A&E, totally worth watching whether you’re a wrestling fan or not… good!

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Last night, I finally gotten around to watching the Stone Cold Steve Austin A&E doc. I was meaning to watch it on the night it came on but forgot it was on so I watched it last night via “On Demand”.

I’ve been a huge Steve Austin fan for a long time and I still admire & respect the hell out of that dude today. Yes, this guy a legend and a big name in wrestling for sure. He’s not just a big name in wrestling, he’s a big name in entertainment all around

What interested me most about this doc last night was how the Stone Cold Steve Austin character was created. When Steve first arrived in the WWE, he was at first a gimmick called the Ringmaster which he hated so much and begged for a different character which he got. Steve says he inspired the Stone Cold character off the “Iceman” Richard Kuklinski murderer. He was trying to come up with a new character name for WWE and naming all these dumb names based on ice and “cold” but Steve hated them all. Then his ex-wife came up with the name “Stone Cold” and it stuck. That name was a hit obviously. Then Steve had to create a new look for the character. He inspired the bald look by actor Bruce Willis in “Pulp Fiction” so Steve kept a shaved head over the years and then Steve grew the goatie to fit the look… that way he can look badass and look tough.

Then they came up with Steve’s ring attire, the black boots, the black trunks and black vest with the skull behind it. Now that Steve’s character was created, they had to give him something to do. Steve needed a villain for him to feud with then they came up with none other than Vince McMahon to be his arch rival. Ya know, the WWE owner/chairman was never meant to be an onscreen performer at first but he was needed. How was the Vince vs. Stone Cold feud inspired? Well according to the documentary, all employees at jobs has an evil boss that harasses and bullies their employees and all employees at jobs you work at has a boss you really hate & despise… so why not have that in a WWE storyline? Well obviously that idea worked ’cause the Stone Cold vs. Vince feud became one of the greatest of all time. WWE ratings were skyrocketing high during this time. Vince never wanted to be an onscreen performer in the beginning, he started off as color commentator but he was forced into it. This historic feud started when Mike Tyson were making those early WWE appearances.

I was impressed with that documentary. I’ve seen so many wrestling documentaries over the years and the Stone Cold by A&E is definitely one of the best. So whether or not you’re a fan of wrestling, it’s a good watch for all. You don’t have to be a fan of wrestling to learn wrestling history. This is a good doc to introduce you one of the greatest feuds of all time.

This doc definitely brought back a lot of memories for sure.

Even though Stone Cold is no longer wrestling and only makes occasional appearances on WWE TV, he still keeps himself involved in the wrestling business in other ways just to stay around it. That’s why he started his podcast which is the most popular wrestling podcast ever. Steve doesn’t do podcasts anymore so I just listen to older episodes as much as I can. His podcast show got so popular that he does his “Broken Skull Ranch” interviews for the WWE Network interview past and current WWE wrestlers. He also has his own TV show, “Straight Up Steve Austin”. Steve has also done some big screen movies over the years, he’s done some acting gigs. He’s definitely a multi-tasker.

Steve Austin is the freakin’ man and I hope to get the opportunity to meet him myself someday ’cause it would be cool.

Kev

Politics/war

Black Lives Matter won’t be going away, sit tight…

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Like most, I am getting tired of Black Lives Matter and this awful movement isn’t gonna go away anytime soon. The Chauvin verdict was no surprise but Black Lives Matter sticking around is no surprise either. These are the kind of people they are.

The thing is, those who participate think they’re doing something “positive” and “heroic” but there is nothing “positive” and “heroic” about being part of this BLM thing. This stuff is not my thing and I’m staying out of all of it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love african/American and dark skinned people… in fact, I love people of all types. It don’t matter to me. If you need a color to debate “race” which is a tiresome and boring topic then you’re the true racist. BLM doesn’t fight against racism at all… it’s just here to divide and conquer. I don’t like this movement and never did. It is also here to make you Anti-American. It spreads an anti-American message and nothing more.

To me it’s just here to disrupt peace and spread even more negativity and drama. I understand it’s mission that they think the police kills dark skinned people but it’s not true at all. Not all cops are evil and yes, there’s a few bad apples in the police force but most police are good people. If cops are giving you problems then behave, don’t break the law and then maybe they’ll leave you alone, hmmm??? I’m 44 years old and have been well behaved my whole life. Never been arrested, never got ticketed for anything and cops never really gave me shit. Don’t be a trouble maker and you won’t have to deal with them at all.

Yet, all I’m seeing here is the police force being disrespected and watered down. Getting so much hate and people treating them like bad guys when they don’t deserve that at all. Cops losing their freedoms with body cams and all that garbage. I’m sure right now that more and more people are refusing to become a cop nowadays and I’m hearing somewhere that cops quit their jobs ’cause it’s getting so bad.

Yeah, I support the cops and am the “Back the Blue” and “All Lives Matter” type and don’t care if my stance on all this offends people. Of course, this BLM thing will get worse under Biden as president, I predicted it would be.

Kev

music

Greta Van Fleet, they still get so much hate but I don’t know why, they rock!

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I was late getting into Greta Van Fleet’s music but I’m glad that I got into them. I was into them before “Anthem of the Peaceful Army” though. Someone in Facebook recommended me that I should really check them out ’cause they’re like Led Zeppelin 2.0. When I decided to check out Greta Van Fleet for myself in youtube, I was like, “Holy Fuck”. They do sound like Led Zeppelin. All the members in Greta Van Fleet plays like the guys in Led Zeppelin. It’s crazy, they blew my mind and I’ve been supporting that band ever since.

Yeah, they got Led Zep influences going on in there for sure but I also hear a lot of 60’s and 70’s classic rock vibe like the Who, Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd and such bands as though. I also hear a lot of blues influence in the band as well. I read interviews with the band online and in magazines and they’re more inspired by the blues than rock, though.

For a long time now, the band got slammed by fans and music critics for sounding too much like Led Zeppelin but that’s one of the reasons why I respect them so much. There are too many bands that sound like Led Zep out there but none of the others were able to nail Led Zep’s sound and style but Greta Van Fleet somehow did it.

The band got so tired of the Led Zep comparisons. They were flattered at first but as years went along they grew tired of it so they made an album that sounds totally different. They released a new album titled, “Battle of the Garden’s Gate” which I got this week. I haven’t heard it yet but going to. Even though I heard that album is different, I’m sure there is still Led Zep influence even though they tried to sound different than them. I’m a huge fan of this band and love what they’re doing. Their musicianship and playing is very impressive. Josh is a helluva singer, that young man can sing and that’s one thing the haters won’t admit.

People complain about dance and rap taking over the industry but here comes Greta Van Fleet, letting you know that rock isn’t quite dead yet…, though people are still hating on them.

I think they’re one of the great bands left nowadays and I respect them so much. Thankfully they stay out of politics and focus on the music. They are probably left-wingers but it don’t matter, I just love ’em for the music and that ‘s it. I think they’re talented dudes. Don’t care what anyone says.

Kev

WWE

WrestlEmania 37, Just a brief review…

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Well over the weekend I watched “Wrestlemania 37”. It was a two night show that took place on Saturday and Sunday. I thought it was a pretty good Wrestlemania but could have been better.

Look here for the card:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_37

I thought every match on Saturday Night 1 was really good, every match that night was great. I even thought Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre was fantastic even though I can’t stand Lashley and I thought the women’s main event Sasha vs. Bianca was a great match as well. I even thought Bad Bunny did a great job in a wrestling match with Damien Priest even though I hate his music.

Night 2 wasn’t the greatest. I thought the best matches of that night were Shayna/Nia Jax vs. Natty Neidhart/Tamina tag match, Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayne was great and so was Asuka vs. Rhea Rhipley women’s tag match. The other matches that night weren’t that great at all…. especially Randy Orton vs. The Fiend, this feud is getting stupid even though I’m a huge fan of Randy.

As far as the main event goes with Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan – Triple Threat Championship match… I’m sure everybody expected Roman to lose the belt last night to one of the other guys but of course, that didn’t happen. Roman won the match and retains. It’s probably gonna be a long title run for Roman. That’s okay ’cause I actually like this new heel Roman persona. I think Roman is a badass actually, I’m a fan.

I thought it was an okay Wrestlemania, just thought Night 1 was the best.

It was refreshing to see actual live fans back at a Wrestlemania, though. That was great. Watching wrestling with fans in the crowds is what it’s all about and that’s what they do this for to begin with. This is what wrestlers sacrifice everything for is to wrestle in front of live crowds.

Looking forward to watching RAW tonight.

Kev

music

Tony Iommi finally giving the other singers of Black Sabbath some well needed attention…

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So I just bought the Deluxe Versions of the Black Sabbath albums: “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” which both of those albums had Ronnie James Dio as a singer. Tony Iommi released those albums as a Deluxe Edition just not too long ago. There are no unreleased tracks on the Deluxe Versions, just a bunch of live stuff after the studio albums gets done playing.

While Black Sabbath were active, all they did was ram the Ozzy era down our throats constantly. They never gave the other singers any acknowledgement until now. Tony releases “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” as a way to remind Black Sabbath fans that Ozzy wasn’t the only singer in the band.

Yeah, Sabbath should celebrate the Ozzy era of Sabbath… now that the band is no more officially… it’s time to celebrate the other eras. It’s time to get the whole career of Black Sabbath out there. I’ve read somewhere that Tony Iommi is planning release a box set of the Tony Martin era of Sabbath real soon which is gonna be real cool. I believe there were two other singers of Sabbath which only lasted for an album or two: Ian Gillan and Glen Hughes.

I never heard the “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” studio albums before and I just gave them both a listen this week. Both albums are amazing. It’s Ronnie James Dio, I’m just starting to get into his music more too ’cause he’s one of the greatest rock singers of all time. The live stuff on those deluxe albums are really cool too so I’m glad I bought these two albums.

I’d say it’s about time that Tony Iommi is trying to get the other singers of Sabbath known again… Ozzy wasn’t the only singer of that band, remember that. I’ve loved Black Sabbath for a long long time, ever since I was young and still listen to that band now. Tony Iommi has always been one of my favorite guitarists and he is the riff master for sure. He definitely knows how to write riffs with “power” and knows how to make them sound musical… riffs that never leave your head. Tony was the master at that… while Tony is mostly well known as a riff master and rhythm guitarist, another reminder that Tony is also a lead guitarist and he played some mind blowing solos in Sabbath songs. Iommi has always been one of my top 10 guitarists. He’s a genius for sure.

Since Sabbath will never make a new studio album ever again, Tony is still trying to find ways to keep fans happy by re-releasing the old albums into Deluxe editions which is a good idea, in my opinion. That’s smart band marketing.

Kev