You see Joel Osteen everywhere, who was just at the Times Union Center in front of a packed crowd, giving his usual preachings. The celebrity pastor who is an author and all that stuff. I was gonna do a long blog rant, why I don’t like the guy but I think this blog already did it for me. That’s a great blog post that I agree with totally. So no need for a long explanation from me.
I don’t understand the popularity of this guy, why so many people like him so much.
Kev
Musician Birthdays: George Benson (US singer/songwriter, jazz guitarist. Famous for the hit, “Give Me the Night”. Born in 1943), Andrew Lloyd Webber (UK composer of musical theatre. Famous for composing music for “Phantom of the Opera”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Evita” and more. Born in 1948)
– In 1956: While driving to New York for appearances on ‘The Perry Como Show’, and ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, the car that Carl Perkins was traveling in was involved in an accident putting Perkins in hospital for several months. The singer received four broken ribs and a broken shoulder, his brother Jay was killed in the accident.
– In 1965: ‘Bringing It All Back Home’, Bob Dylan’s fifth studio album was released. The album reached No.6 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan’s LPs to break into the US top 10, and it also topped the UK charts later that Spring. The lead-off track, Subterranean Homesick Blues, became Dylan’s first single to chart in the US, peaking at No.39. The album’s iconic cover, photographed by Daniel Kramer, features Sally Grossman, wife of Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman, lounging in the background. The artefacts scattered around the room include vinyl LPs by The Impressions and Robert Johnson.
– In 1971: US police arrested all the members from The Allman Brothers Band for heroin and marijuana possession.
– In 1975: Led Zeppelin started a six-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Physical Graffiti, the group’s fourth US No.1 album. On its first day of release in the US, the album shipped a million copies – no other album in the history of Atlantic records had generated so many sales. Physical Graffiti has now been certified 16 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 16 million copies.
– In 1978: The Rutles’ ‘All You Need Is Cash’, an affectionate spoof of the Beatles’ career, was broadcast for the first time in the US.
– In 1980: Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall, (Part 2) started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart. The track, which was the group’s only US chart topper, was also a No.1 in the UK, Germany, Australia, Italy and in many other countries around the world. Pink Floyd received a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group for the song, but lost to Bob Seger’s Against The Wind.
– In 1984: Queen filmed the video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ at Limehouse Studio in London, England. Directed by David Mallet, it was a parody of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street with the band members dressed in drag. Guitarist Brian May later said the video ruined the band in America, and was initially banned by MTV in the US.
– In 1986: Heart went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘These Dreams’, it made No.8 in the UK in 1988.
– In 2009: Lady Gaga Started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Poker Face’, her second UK chart topper and a No.1 hit in over 20 countries.
When you want to be a musician, it maybe a little hard to find out who your real and true fans are, but you’ll find out soon enough. How? If they actually listen to your music, going to your gigs, and staying by your side no matter what happens, that’s when you know you got a true fan. People staying loyal to you and not giving up their support, is being a true fan.
You will also get the negative side of things. People pretending to support you just to be nice. People support you at first, and then they quickly become your enemy (or hater, whatever you want to call it). I got this all the time over the years. Someone will act like they like your music, then they’re publicly talking trash about you behind your back on a social networking site somewhere.
You will always get mixed reactions in the music world. Every band and musician deals with this, not just me. Getting mixed reactions and opinions about you is actually good for your career. When people are talking about you good or bad, you gotta be doing something right? It means that people are paying attention to you and it’s a sign that you may be pretty popular.
You will get fans and lose some. There’s nothing to get heartbroken or sad over this small stuff. You just continue to do your thing and play the music. Write songs however you want to, not caring what anyone else thinks.
Kev
Ernie Williams, first picked up a guitar at the age of 13 in the 1930’s. He was originally from, Virginia, where he was living in a shack on a Virginia Plantation. He became inspired by the blues and wanted to become a bluesman. At the age of 19, he moved to Harlem, N.Y., to pursue his dream in music. In the 50’s, he would play gigs 7 nights a week. He would do everything from amateur nights to juke joints in the dark corners of the city.
In the 60’s, he moved to Albany, to work day jobs to support his family, so his musical dream was put on hold. In the 70’s, when the blues scene started to get huge, he formed himself a band and he’s been playing gigs in Albany ever since. He was never signed to a label, I believe. He has always been an unsigned musician.
Even though he was never famous nationally, he did create a huge legacy in the Capital District area. He never cared for fame, he did it for the love of music. Ernie Williams, longtime frontman of the Wildcats blues band, passed away today at the age of 87. Before his passing, he still kept performing live and playing gigs. He never gave up.
This is a sad loss in the music scene. Will the Capital District put on a tribute show for Ernie? It’s too early to say but I’m sure an Ernie Williams tribute concert will be planned out soon. He lived a long and good life. I never knew the guy and never saw him perform, but I respect him greatly. Thank you, Ernie!
Kev
As a huge fan of the TMNT, I thought I would respond to this as I’m sure some of you are curious on my thoughts. Director Michael Bay, put his fans into outrage again after he announced that he is adapting a re-boot of the TMNT franchise. Then he went on to say that the turtles came from an alien race which upset some of the die-hard fans. Michael then, responded again, telling fans they need to calm down, saying he wants to expand the origins and give it a more complex back up story.
Read the full article, here.
While everyone knows they aren’t aliens, they were actually mutants. They got turned into mutants by radioactive waste. They didn’t come from space or other planets.
While I’m sure that’s not what Michael Bay means, the TMNT’s re-boot is still gonna suck. He’s still going to destroy TMNT’s, just like he destroyed the Transformers franchise. You can betcha the TMNT’s re-boot will be a huge special effects movie full of CGI. I sure hope the Turtles themselves won’t be CGI characters, they probably will be, I wouldn’t be surprised.
On top of all this, it’s not the first that the TMNT’s origin story has been changed. It’s been changed before through the cartoon series, and the animated movie, “Turtles: Forever”. I’m sure they changed the origin stories through the comics many times, as well.
I’m not sure if Michael Bay is directing the “TMNT’s” re-boot or if he’s just producing it, but either way it’s still going to suck. If they can make Master Shredder, all badass and evil looking, I might give it a chance, but I’ve been skeptical of this re-boot even before this controversy started.
Kev
So I finally watched, “My Week With Marilyn”, starring Michelle Williams. Got it in the mail through Netflix yesterday and watched it last night. It was actually a pretty good movie, I liked it, but my only problem was the casting of Michelle Williams as Marilyn. Michelle is a good actress, don’t get me wrong, but she’s not for Marilyn. Michelle did a great job on her speaking voice, it was dead on, but it was the looks that didn’t fit. Michelle looked nothing like Marilyn at all. Above is Michelle, below is the real Marilyn.
Other than that, it was a pretty good movie overall. Good plot, good acting with the other cast. It was well filmed and well directed.
It tells the real life story of Colin Clark’s really brief affair with Marilyn around the time, “The Prince and the Showgirl” (which was originally called, “The Sleeping Prince” but the title was changed later), was being filmed.
I’ve been watching a lot of Marilyn movies and haven’t seen “Prince and the Showgirl” yet. I have it listed in my DVD Que in Netflix, so I should get it soon. “My Week with Marilyn” was worth watching once, so I wouldn’t watch it again. I won’t bother buying my own copy. I just wish Marilyn was better casted, didn’t agree with Michelle playing her, so I’m glad they didn’t give her the Oscar.
I have a feeling there will be many more Marilyn Monroe movies coming out in theaters in the future, played by different actresses, but that’s Hollywood. I wish they would stop doing that, because there is only one Marilyn. I love Marilyn Monroe, can’t stop watching her movies. I need to read more about her life and career too, so maybe I’ll get some biography books about her soon.
Kev
– In 1956: Elvis Presley appeared at the 4,000 seated YMCA Gymnasium in Lexington, North Carolina. Also on the bill, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, featuring June Carter, Rod Brasfield, Hal and Ginger. Tickets cost $1 for general admission and $1.50 for reserved seats.
– In 1961: The Beatles played their first ever evening show at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, supporting The Swinging Bluegenes, (later to become The Swinging Blue Jeans).
– In 1965: After ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ had held the No.1 position on the US singles chart for seven weeks, The Beatles started a two-week run at No.1 with ‘She Loves You’.
– In 1972: The Grateful Dead played the first of seven nights at the Academy of Music in New York City, New York.
– In 1976: Iggy Pop and David Bowie were involved in a drug bust at their hotel room in Rochester, New York.
– In 1981: REO Speedwagon went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Keep On Loving You’, the group’s first top 40 hit and first No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.
– In 1984: Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono in memory of her late husband was opened.
– In 1985: Bruce Springsteen kicked off the second leg of his Born in the USA world tour at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia.
– In 1987: U2 scored their third UK No.1 album with ‘The Joshua Tree’, featuring the singles ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, & ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’. The album became the fastest selling in UK history and the first album to sell over a million CDs, spending a total of 156 weeks on the UK chart. Also a US No.1.
– In 1991: Leo Fender, the inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars died from Parkinson’s disease. He started mass producing solid body electric guitars in the late 40s and when he sold his guitar company in 1965, sales were in excess of $40 million a year.
– In 1994: Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar for the song ‘Streets of Philadelphia.’
– In 1997: Snoop Doggy Dog was sentenced to three years probation and fined $1,000 (£588) for a firearms violation after a handgun was found in his car when he was stopped for a traffic violation.
– In 2001: Eminem was ordered to pay $476,000 (£280,000) as part of his divorce agreement with his ex-wife Kim. Also as part of the agreement Eminem would keep the US mansion and they would share custody of their five-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade.
– In 2004: Ozzy Osbourne was named the nation’s favourite ambassador to welcome aliens to planet earth. The 55-year-old singer came top of a poll as the face people want to represent them to alien life. The poll of internet users was carried out following the discovery of signs of water on Mars. Ozzy won 26 per cent of the vote, Simon Cowell, came last on the list, with just three per cent of the vote, A spokesman for Yahoo! News said: “As the world waits desperately for signs of alien life, we decided to ask our users who they thought was best suited for this most auspicious of roles. Ozzy is a great choice but I’m not sure what the Martians would make of his individual approach to the English language.”
– In 2008: A five-year legal row over the use of the Beach Boys’ name was settled by two former members of the group. Mike Love had argued he was the only person allowed to perform under the name of the band and sued Al Jardine, whom he claimed was appearing as an unlicensed Beach Boys act. Mr Jardine’s lawyer said “a friendly settlement” had been reached that allowed them to focus on the talent and future of this American iconic band.’
– In 2009: U2 went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘No Line on the Horizon’, the bands twelfth studio album.
I’ve been trying to figure out the rhythm and timing for my original song, “Mr. Tough Guy”. It’s coming along pretty well, I’m able to figure out the rhythm with the metronome pretty easily. The music really does sound a lot better, tighter, and you can play better when playing in time. I’m planning to re-record this song with an electric guitar with overdrive effects in Music Creator 5, using a click track and play in time.
Then I’ll find a musician or two who is willing to help me put band back up behind that song with just bass and drums. I believe that song will be pretty rocking in full band electric.
If I ever get my own band going one of these days, I believe I can make some true rock n’ roll music.
Kev
– In 1960: Elvis Presley started his first recordings since being discharged from the US Army. A 12 hour session in a Nashville recording studio produced his next No.1 single, ‘Stuck On You’. Scotty Moore and Bill Black, who had quit Presley’s touring band in 1957, were in the studio with him for the last time.
– In 1961: Elvis Presley started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Surrender’, his fifth No.1 of the 60’s. It also made No.1 in the UK. The song was based on the 1911 Italian song, ‘Return To Sorrento.’
– In 1968: Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Mesina, were arrested in Los Angeles for ‘being at a place where it was suspected marijuana was being used.’ Clapton was later found innocent, the others paid small fines.
– In 1969: John Lennon married Yoko Ono at the British Consulate Office in Gibraltar. They spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam campaigning for an international “Bed-In” for peace. They planned another “Bed-in” in the United States, but were denied entry. The couple then went to Montr’al, and during a “Bed-in” at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel recorded ‘Give Peace a Chance’. Lennon also detailed this period in The Beatles’ ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’, recorded by Lennon and McCartney on April 14, 1969.
– In 1971: At their own expense The Rolling Stones placed full page advertisements in all the UK’s music papers disclaiming any connection with the release of the Decca album ‘Stone Age’ saying ‘in our opinion the content is below the standard we try to keep.’
– In 1971: Janis Joplin started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Me And Bobby McGee’. Joplin died the year before on 4th October aged 27.
– In 1977: Lou Reed was banned from appearing The London Palladium in England because of his punk image.
– In 1977: T Rex played their final ever gig when they appeared at The Locarno in Portsmouth, England.
– In 1982: Joan Jett And The Blackhearts started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’, a No.4 hit in the UK. The song had been a B-side from 60’s bands The Arrows.
– In 1990: Gloria Estefans tour bus was rammed by a tractor-trailer on the way to a concert. Emilio Estefan and their son Nayib were injured; Gloria suffered a serious back injury, which required an operation two days later.
– In 1991: Eric Clapton’s four year old son, Conor, fell to his death from the 53rd story of a New York City apartment after a housekeeper who was cleaning the room left a window open. The boy was in the custody of his mother, Italian actress, Lori Del Santo and the pair were visiting a friend’s apartment. Clapton was staying in a nearby hotel after taking his son to the circus the previous evening. The tragedy inspired his song ‘Tears in Heaven’.
I thought I would post another great blog post by Loren Weisman, that I see bands have a big problem with. Bands seem to have a problem of making their personal life too public and it should be separated from the music.
Read this post, here.
In the past, I used to be open minded about everything about my life. When I used to be on livejournal years back, I used to write about everything going on in my life, which was a bad idea if you want to be a music artist.
These days, I have been keeping my personal life, off the computer completely. If you look at my personal facebook page, I still don’t talk about everything going in my life. I use my personal facebook page to talk about the entertainment industry just like I do here. Why is it good to keep your personal life away from the music? It helps stop the nasty rumors from spreading around about you.
Even if I get a girlfriend or get married someday, I would still keep that relationship off the computer. I wouldn’t post everything about that romantic relationship online like so many couples seem to be doing lately. Why would I want haters making fun of us everywhere, ya know? I wouldn’t want people saying nasty things about her.
If you still want to be expressive of yourself more personally, just do it carefully and responsibly. Just a facebook personal page and turn it to private like Loren said.
I see too many bands & solo artists being too personal about stuff. Not a good idea and too risky for your life & career. This is why I use the internet to talk about the entertainment industry only. My way of keeping my personal life, off line.
Kev
K'Brocking 
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