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.
Stallone news

Happy 74th birthday, Sylvester Stallone!!!

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stallone-trump

I will always be a huge loyal fan of Sly Stallone’s film career! I just respect the man so much. Yeah, he has made some bad films in the past admittedly but Sly himself is not perfect… even Sly himself publicly admitted that he doesn’t like some of his own movies but he is a talented actor, screenwriter and director.

I like a lot of his movies but my absolutely favorites will always be the first Rocky, the first two Rambo films, Cop Land, Cliffhanger, Cobra, Get Carter and “Creed II”. They were his best work, in my opinion.

I really dig Sly’s new white bearded and white hair look and it’s looking like he’s keeping it. I guess he got tired of dying his hair black all the time… unless he’s only keeping this look for a movie role, though???

Sly is still stuck at home like the rest of us ’cause Hollywood is out of work. Well, Sly got to spend his birthday at home at least.

Happy birthday, Sly!!!!!

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Yeah, I know how liberal hollywood is and I know how wacky celebrities can be nowadays but I continue to watch movies anyways…

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There a lot of people out there that boycott Hollywood nowadays because of how liberal and crazy movie stars can be nowadays. I agree… the world in Hollywood is definitely wacked as fuck but I continue to watch movies ’cause it’s what I do. I’ve always been a huge movie buff my whole life and I can’t see myself stopping. I’ve been a movie addict and still am to this day admittedly.

I continue to watch movies ’cause I love storytelling… and even if some of these actors/actresses are very liberal people and they can be kind of crazy in real life, they are still talented people.

It is definitely possible to keep politics and personal lives separate from entertainment. Yes, stars like Tom Cruise and Nic Cage are nut jobs, no doubt… but I continue to watch their stuff ’cause they make good films. I know Harrison Ford is a very liberal guy but he’s still an awesome actor and he’s been my favorite for years. You can still like someone and not agree with them… I wish those conservatives on twitter would think about that.

Yeah, Stephen King is a die-hard liberal and kind of a jerk in real life but I still love to read his books and watch his adapted movies. Still a fan. I don’t have to agree with them but can still support their work. Try it sometime, ya know?

I just like to watch movies for the good stories and good acting, ya know? It’s the art I care about more.

I still like going to the movies and I still like buying them too.

Here is something you all may not know about me yet… I almost wanted to get into the Hollywood business myself. I played around with learning how to write screen plays a little bit and there was a point in my life where I researched film directing schools. I almost wanted to be a screenwriter/director myself but that dream wasn’t turning out so good at all so I became a musician instead.

I still love the movies, though… watching films is another passion of mine ’cause you all probably can tell. I wrote a lot of online reviews over the years. I love talking about movies. I can talk about movies all day.

I like to watch all kinds of movies but I mostly like to watch action and horror more than anything, though. I do like to watch drama, thrillers, westerns, war films, romance, family/kids stuff, etc. It doesn’t matter to me really. I like to watch everything from old movies to new stuff. I try my best to keep up with all the new releases as much as I can. I’ll never stop being a movie buff. Ever.

I do miss going to the movies since movie theaters been closed in NY due to pandemic but I still watch the new stuff by buying BluRays from amazon… that’s what I’ve been doing lately. When I buy films on BluRay, I buy stuff that I’ve seen before that I liked a lot or I’ll blind buy a movie that I’ll think I like… I’ll do it either way. I’ve always done that with DVD too. And now that streaming services is a thing, I try to watch as many movies as I can through those too.

When movie theaters ever open back up, I’ll definitely start going again.

Kev

Health and Fitness, Politics/war

Looks like I’m gonna be without a gym for a while longer thanks to douchebag Cuomo…

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Everybody kept thinking that gyms were going re-open in NY ’cause of Phase 4 but Gov. Cuomo was never clear or not on if gyms were a part of phase 4 re-opening in NY state. Then Cuomo responds claiming that gyms are not part of Phase 4 which is bullshit since Phase 4 clearly falls under education, recreation, arts and entertainment. I mean, you would think that “gyms” would fall under “recreation”, right? Then Cuomo claims that’s not he what he meant, huh??? This also includes malls and movie theaters staying closed that would fall under “arts” and “entertainment” in Phase 4.

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2020/06/30/omitted-from-phase-four-reopening–gym-owners-gear-up-to-sue

I’m not gonna lie that NY being without gyms during this stupid lockdown is getting to me a little bit. I am going a little crazy, honestly ’cause if it weren’t for this stupid lockdown, I would have been going to the gym all summer continuing to get those bodybuilding gains and bringing up pr’s in powerlifting.

As you can see in the article I posted above, 100’s of gym owners are angry about it too and they’re suing the state to fight back… hoping to get the gym’s re-opened.

There’s no reason to keep gyms closed ’cause it’s all about control and power, in my opinion. Keeping gyms closed and forcing people to not get any exercise is not cool. A lot of us can’t have our own home gym ’cause of no space or can’t afford our own home gym.

This really sucks for weightlifters. Not being able to lift weights and lose all your progress and lose all of your years of hard work? Ugggggghhh… I’m not ready for that. It would suck that we had to go without gyms for the rest of the year but we can get gyms back open… we just gotta keep pressuring Cuomo so I’m glad all those NY gym owners filed lawsuit and fighting back.

I hope the gyms get back open this year ’cause as soon as it does, I’m going right back on the first day and I’ll be working harder than ever on the weightlifting. Yeah, I probably lost some muscle and strength but I’ll work really hard to get it all back.

There really is no reason to keep gyms closed as long as masks and social distancing works. Lefties can go out there and protest and destroy things but we can’t get in a good workout??? Yup, you can’t get covid-19 rioting and looting but you can get it going to the gym. Fucking unreal. Liberalism is getting more and more insane.

I miss the gym badly though ’cause it’s like my 2nd home really. My home away from home. It’s what I do to get away from everything. Weightlifting my passion.

Kev

movies

Finally got around to watching “The Mule” and thought it was great… Clint Eastwood still got it with acting after all these years…

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Over the weekend, I finally gotten around to watching Clint Eastwood’s latest acting role, “The Mule” and which he also directed. I’ve been wanting to see this film for a long while since I’ve never gotten a chance to see it in theater although I wanted to. So I figured I would order the BluRay from amazon since NY State is in strict lockdown still.

I watched this over the weekend and thought it was another winner for Eastwood. Freakin’ loved it actually. This film has gotten mixed reviews but I thought the whole film was fine to me. I don’t have any complaints at all… the film had good acting by the whole cast all around, good direction by Eastwood and good writing too.

“The Mule” was inspired by the real life story of Leo Sharp, who was actually an old man who smuggled drugs for a Mexican cartel. Of course, Clint’s version he plays Earl Stone, a horticulturist and Korean War veteran who got himself into drug smuggling for a Mexican drug cartel ’cause he was desperate for money and Earl didn’t know what he was getting himself into after all that time.

The film is a crime drama yes but it’s so refreshing and different to see a crime drama that doesn’t include a lot of violence and tough guy cops. You won’t see any of that in this movie at all. Seeing crime dramas with tough guy cops and intelligent detectives that can solve difficult crimes quickly can get old and tiresome. In this film, “The Mule”, you’ll see something that can happen for real.

While the entire cast did a great job with the acting, I was of course most impressed with Clint. Oh man, Clint can still act even at 90 years old. People always questioned his acting skills at an old age but he can still do it and he can prove them wrong each time. Clint can still do leading roles pretty well. I was kind of shocked to see that Clint had a lot of screen time as you’ll see him throughout the entire movie pretty much. I don’t think this will be his last acting role either as I think he’ll keep acting as long as he’s still alive. What I’m saying is Clint still got it. He can still play the grumpy old man kind of role really well.

I thought “The Mule” was one of his best new films for sure.

It’s going to be interesting to see what’s next for Eastwood now that he’s got “Richard Jewell” and “The Mule” out of the way which are both excellent movies. No new film has been announced by Clint yet but I’m sure he will find something. I love Clint Eastwood movies as I’ve always been a massive fan and trying to watch as many as I can. There’s so many older Eastwood movies I’ve never seen before and trying to get to them. Keep in mind, though, I don’t enjoy every Clint film I’ve seen… he did make a few stinkers like I said in a post before but he is an amazing talent for the most part.

It’ll be interesting to see what he’ll do next. With America in a pandemic and I’m sure Clint is stuck at home like the rest of us, I’m sure he has a lot more time on his hands and I’m sure he’s going through a bunch of scripts to choose his next project. I’m sure Hollywood will get back to work real soon, hopefully.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Just think if David Bowie performed live again if he didn’t pass away, I think he would have still had it for sure…

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Doing all these David Bowie songs for my tribute for him, got me thinking about this. What would it have been like if Bowie didn’t pass away and he didn’t have that health decline. What if he was able to perform again? If he got to perform live again, I’m sure he would have still got it. I’m sure he would have killed it on stage like usual.

If I remember correctly, Bowie stopped performing on stage in 2004 for a few reasons. 1) He had too many heart attacks due to his heavy smoking, heavy drinking and his past drug use. Those were also the reasons why he couldn’t sing high anymore as he got older but he still could sing, though. 2) He also had a daughter with his wife Iman so he looked at as retiring from touring as an opportunity to spend more time with his family.

Even though he hasn’t performed a full show before he passed, he did a few special guest appearances with David Gilmour and Alicia Keys, that’s about it. After those two performances, you never saw him on stage again.

About 10 years after the release after “Reality”, he came out with a new album “The Next Day” and the follow up album after that, “Blackstar”. Why did Bowie release two new studio albums after years of no touring and no releasing new music? Well since he couldn’t perform, he could still sing and make music so he thought he would quickly make a few new albums before something was coming for him ’cause he knew death was coming. He just knew it and predicted it earlier so he released new music ’cause he knew his fans were wanting something new musically from him. Since he couldn’t perform live and couldn’t tour anymore, he thought he would give them something, ya know? I think David just really appreciated the fans support and he loved his fans so much so he gave back to them by giving them new music.

If he got to perform live and tour again, IF HE DID, I’m sure he would have killed it like usual. I’m sure he would have been performing his greatest hits and his new material.

Bowie never got to perform his new songs from “The Next Day” and “Blackstar” albums but I guess the closest you’ll get to see him perform his new stuff was that Michael C. Hall performed “Lazarus” on TV in honor of him. Michael’s performance of that song was dead-on, though, it was amazing and he killed it… Bowie would have been proud of that performance I’m sure. Go youtube it if you haven’t seen it before. Just think if Bowie himself got to perform “Blackstar” and “Lazarus” live if he had the opportunity, I’m sure he would have floored a lot of people. Bowie never got to perform on TV again so I guess they had Michael C. Hall do it instead.

I’ve been a die-hard Bowie fan for years ever since I was young. He’s definitely an inspiration/influence for my own singing, songwriting and guitar playing for sure. It was pretty much him that made me want to start writing my own music really and a lot of my own originals were Bowie inspired.

I got two more Bowie songs for my online tribute and I’ll get them online at some point this weekend. Just rehearsing them to death and I’ll get them online when I can.

Kev

music

Sammy Hagar in hot water for saying he’d rather get sick and die than not playing live….

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Sammy Hagar is one brave man and has a lot of balls for saying this that’s for sure. Ya know, I think Sammy has had it with this “stay at home” order and he’s had enough with it. I think a lot musicians out there had enough and getting fed up so now they’re finally starting to vent about it.

Sammy says he’s willing to sacrifice himself and get covid-19 if that’s what it’ll take to get him to play live again. The liberal world is attacking him for this.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/sammy-hagar-performing-coronavirus-despite-risk?fbclid=IwAR2T8EdYk5cJ8YYuHdB3dMLLg9boDn_sPz5-7aOxtL0rosG4X816vbpWpJc

Ya know, I can’t blame Sammy for saying that ’cause he’s a musician. A musician’s job is that they can’t be staying home… they gotta be out there on the stage performing live in front of people ’cause it’s a lifestyle and it’s what they do. It’s also a passion for them and it’s what they do for a living. That’s what these musicians become musicians for is for them to play live in front of people.

A lot of venues like arenas, small theaters, stadiums, etc. are still closed and a lot of bands/musicians are out of work for that reason. If they aren’t allowed to play live then their careers could be over for good.

Well, I’ve seen somewhere that they’re starting to play around with the idea of “drive-in” concerts. Ya know, like how you go watch a movie at the drive-in theaters but instead you’re watching bands in your vehicles at concerts. Most are saying that’s a dumb idea and I think so too.

Like most, I’m kind of worried about the future of music myself. I don’t go to concerts anymore but I still love live music. I think live music will make a comeback somehow.

Why can’t they do what professional wrestling is doing? Ya know, they perform wrestling shows with a crowd of a small capacity and that’s an idea with the national music industry. Why don’t they play concerts for small crowds at the smaller clubs? The band can perform behind plexi glass as a way to protect themselves. I think that’s a better idea than “drive-in” concerts.

Yeah, Sammy is in hot water for saying that but I can’t blame him once again. I just hope he doesn’t back down from his comments and apologize to the easily offended. Hopefully he sticks to his guns on this.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths

RIP: Joel Schumacher 1939 – 2020…

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Joel Schumacher movies aren’t for everyone. He’s another one of those directors who you either loved or hated. His movies over the years either got mostly positive or negative reviews. I’m sure a lot of you forgotten that he gave us a lot of movies that we all loved especially the classics, “The Lost Boys” and “St. Elmo’s Fire” those two movies which are part of the Brat Pack in the 80’s.

“The Lost Boys” a cult classic 80’s vampire film that starred Corey Feldman and Corey Haim in the leading roles… the film also starred Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and a young Alex Winter. The film was a smash hit in the box office when it first came out and it is still the most loved horror/comedy type of film even to this day. The DVD/BluRay sales of that film sold pretty well over the years. If you’re a huge horror fan and don’t like “The Lost Boys” then what’s wrong with you? It’s definitely one of Joel’s best films in his career.

Joel was also responsible for taking over the Batman franchise as he directed “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”. He took over the franchise after Tim Burton and Michael Keaton no longer involved. I thought “Batman Forever” was pretty good but hated “Batman & Robin” like everyone else.

Joel gave us other great movies too like “Falling Down” with Michael Douglas, “8MM” with Nicolas Cage, “Phone Booth” w/ Colin Farrell and he did another classic “Flatliners” with Kevin Bacon. He also did a few films based on John Grisham books. He also did the 2004 remake of “Phantom of the Opera” which was also pretty cool.

Schumacher was a great talent and he was one of those who wasn’t afraid to make the movies he wanted. I thought his best films, in my opinion were probably “The Lost Boys”, “Falling Down” and “8MM”. I’d like to add those three films to my BluRay collection at some point.

Another sad loss in Hollywood. Schumacher was great.

Kev

Kev Brock music

Thinking of doing a live virtual show for my original songs too… probably will…

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I’m now thinking of doing a live virtual show/concert for my originals too. If I’m going to do that, it means I’ll probably have to go back and re-listen to all my older songs and re-learn them all again. I’ve probably forgotten how to play most of ’em. I’ll play a lot of my older songs that I used to do when I used to gig a lot and I’ll try to write some more new ones too.

I know my listeners/fans want to hear my originals ’cause there are people that actually do like to listen to my originals despite the many critics and haters that I have.

Maybe I should bring the old songs back ’cause admittedly, those old songs did help get me out there gigging a little bit. I’ll bring back “Evil Fred”, “Time Bomb”, “Mr. Tough Guy”, “Suicide or Murder”, etc. All of it.

Time to have some fun.

Kev