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.
TV

“Game of Thrones” premiere review

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Last night, I watched the TV show, “Game of Thrones”, the most anticipated TV series that a lot of people including myself have been dying to see for a long time is finally here.

The story begins with Lord Ned Stark (pictured above) executed a deserter of the Night Watch, because he have seen mythical monsters during his patrol beyond the Great Ice Wall. Stark is a retired gunfighter, who wants to protect his family from evil and danger. King Robert returns to Ned’s castle to offer a position as top advisor for the King’s Hand. Lady Catelyn discovers a secret, which makes the series, become part mystery.

The episode “Winter Is Coming”, is just a simple introduction. It starts the storyline explained above, introduces all the characters and what’s going on with the show. The show started off kind of slow but I’m sure it will get better as time goes along. This is just the beginning.

I’m a huge fan of medieval stories and fantasy. So I know I’m going to love this and be watching this show every Sunday. I liked the way the show was filmed. It made you feel like during that time was actually believable and real. The acting of the cast was phenomenal so I think there might be upcoming Golden Globe awards coming their way. I loved Ned Stark as a character, Sean Bean has always been a great actor. I’m sure he was hired for this show because they loved his work with the, “Lord of the Rings” movies. The other characters are so great and unique. The series is part western and part fantasy. I’m sure we will see more action and battle scenes up ahead.

Best of all, there’s plenty of naked women and sex throughout the show. It’s amazing how beautiful the women are in this show. My favorite woman so far in this show is Princess Daenerys. Khal Drogo is also a great character. I’m already seeing Khal Drogo being this unstoppable monster who is a great fighter, even though he didn’t get into any action yet, by the looks of his character. When you look at Khal Drogo, you say to yourself, “Oh man, that guy looks dangerous”.

I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the show to see where it’s headed. So consider me a fan.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

Friends, Family and other musicians don’t count as fans, sorry…

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There’s a lot of bands out there that mistakenly think when they have a huge fan following, their fan base is mostly long time friends, their family members, and other musicians. I’m sorry guys, but friends, family, and musicians don’t count as fans. Here is why…

Why they don’t count as fans? It’s because, as long as you know the person really well, it’s easier for them to like your music faster and they’ll support you 100%, no matter how good or bad your music is.

The secret to having a successful fan base with your music is regular fans, people you don’t even know to support you. In my last musical run back in 2006-08, I’ve had people come out to support my music and I didn’t even know who they are. It is true that I had “actual” fans to come out to support me before, probably because they are longtime readers of my blog site.

Even people from all over the world has supported my music online, people from other states and other countries. I even have a few fans from the UK. You want regular people to support your music, that’s the secret in becoming successful.

If you’re just going to have friends, family and other musicians support your music, that’s not good, in my opinion. If you want more people outside of that to support you, people you don’t know, then you must promote your music more. I understand the “promotion” side of things more than any other band out there. Maybe I’ll write another blog post soon on how to promote yourself online and off the computer.

The reason you want people you don’t know to support your music, ’cause it’s easier to tell that your music is good. Simple as that. You need a wide variety of people to support your music, not just friends, family, and musicians.

Kev

TV

I love the show “Dexter”, it’s very addicting…

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Yep, I think I’m pretty hooked to the show “Dexter”, I’m just at the end of Season 2. 3 more episodes left. The show is so addicting and I’m loving every episode so far. We need more serial killer TV shows. I can see why the Dexter character is so popular now. He is a like-able serial killer. The thing with Dexter is, he’s a good “serial killer”, he’s not an evil one. He was never considered a villain. He killed other people who were “bad”, people who deserved to die, and he would keep little bits of their blood as a collection. That’s how the character is. The character is pretty interesting.

Since Netflix only has Season 1 and 2 of “Dexter”, look like I’ll have to buy 3 & 4 on DVD next. I was planning on collecting the “Dexter” series on DVD anyway. Season 6 have officially been announced and I’m sure “Season 6” will premiere on Showtime later this Fall/Winter ’cause that’s when the series is usually on. I have plenty of time to catch up before “Season 6”. I will buy the Showtime channel soon. I’m sure “Season 5” will get on Netflix or DVD/Blu Ray this Summer before “Season 6” stars airing on TV. “Dexter” is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.

What TV show will I start watching next after “Dexter” on Netflix? I’m thinking either JJ Abrams “LOST” and Keifer Sutherland’s “24”. I’ve watched a lot of “24” in the past when it used to be on TV but I would like to catch up with “24” also. I really liked, “24” and would like to watch the entire series.

I think Netflix is amazing. So happy I finally have it now. Netflix is a huge hit and the company will be around for a long long time. This is why a lot of local video stores in town are going out of business these days, because everyone’s been watching movies through Netflix, Hulu and other online source. Everyone else I know has Netflix, so I thought I would join in on the Netflix bandwagon finally.

Kev

music

Report: Cee Lo Green heckled by angry fans for showing up 25 minutes late for performance…

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Cee Lo Green, the “Fuck You” singer, was scheduled to perform at Coachella Friday @ 4:50 p.m. on the main stage. The singer showed up 25 minutes late, claiming that his flight landed late. He then apologized to fans and said he only had 20 minutes left. He only got to perform 5 songs in his set and when he started a cover of Journey’s, “Don’t Stop Believing”, the soundman cut the sound during the middle of the song. Cee Lo left the stage, angry and frustrated.

More on the story, here.

Well it looks like Coachella told Cee Lo, “Fuck You” for being late. The Coachella staff did the right thing though. Coachella doesn’t allow performers to play overtime because it’ll hold back the scheduling for the other performers. Even famous musicians can be unprofessional douchebags. They don’t care how famous you are. Coachella needs to do what’s right for the show and they need to follow the strict set times. I’m siding with Coachella on this.

As for Cee Lo being late why would a musician fly to a festival on the same day the festival is on? That was pretty much his fault. Cee Lo should have showed up a day early so he can be there early for his performance. That’s how you be a professional, show up early for your performance.

We can be sure that Coachella won’t ever be booking this midget fat ass again.

Kev

movies

Netflix Pick: Red Cliff (Theatrical Version)

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So earlier this afternoon, I finally saw the John Woo directed, Chinese action-war film, “Red Cliff” (the theatrical version) on Netflix.

This film has been pretty controversial in Hollywood around the time this film came out in 2008. The film was originally a 2 part movie that was released in Asia only. Then the U.S. gets the 2 and a half hour theater version. I would like to see the original at some point, maybe the full two part movie will be out on DVD, I’ll have to look it up.

This film is taken place in AD 208, and it was about the Han Dynasty. The story tells about a man named Cao Cao, who is a power hungry General and Prime Minister who convinces the weak-willed emperor that two rebellious leaders, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan must be stopped… Cao Cao’s antagonists also include the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang and the heroic warrior Zhou Yu, whose wife, Lin Chiling, is a legendary beauty. Cao Cao has huge power and also he has many warships, and his own army as well. The Eastern Wu forces go to war against Cao Cao, to protect their land and save their people.

Well, this was a pretty interesting movie. I thought I was going to be bored to death watching this film, but the film kept me entertained all the way through. The story was pretty interesting. I don’t know much about Chinese history but after seeing this film, kind of makes me want to get into it more. I think this is John Woo’s best film. I’ve seen a lot of John Woo’s films so I know his directing style.

If you like Chinese foreign movies, you would find this one a little different than the others. The writing is actually good. It was pretty interesting watching Chinese actors pull off an interesting story. It’s a very violent movie with a lot of epic action scenes. Some pretty creative action scenes. There are martial arts fighting in the film, of course, but there is way more than that. There are a lot of fire and explosions in the battle scenes toward the end. The major battle scene at the end will leave you wanting some more. This film was kind of breathtaking.

The ending is pretty surprising too. I won’t tell what happened at the end, you’ll have to see the film for yourself. It was a pretty brutal war movie. I really enjoyed this film, very much. It’s kind of like, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” but a little different. If you have Netflix, you should seriously check this one out.

Kev

TV

Friday Night Lights – Season 5 is finally here!!!

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Well one of my favorite shows on NBC is finally here. “Friday Night Lights” Season 5 premiered last night, of course, I watched it. It was a great episode too. All it is the show just started from where it left off from Season 4.

Tim Riggins is in prison, while his brother enjoys life on the outside. Tami Taylor finally gets to enjoy life with her family and Eric Taylor, after all that mess she had with the school from last season. Julie is off to college. The Vince and Jess relationship continues. Becky struggles to be a Mom. Landry Clarke continues his rock n’ roll band while his best friend Matt is in Chicago.

That’s all the show was last night. This is the final Season for the show, so I’m sure the rest of the season will get a lot more interesting. Hopefully there will be more Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Lyla (Minka Kelly) appearances later in the Season too.

While I’m glad the show is back, I’m also sad that this is the last Season. That’s okay though. The cast members deserve it because most of the cast members of the show are already moving on to become big movie stars. Most of the cast are getting movie roles like Kyle Chandler for “Super 8”, Connie Britton was in the “Nightmare on Elm St.” remake, and Taylor Kitsch is seen in movies constantly. Adrianne Palicki recently got the role of “Wonder Woman” for the NBC TV series up ahead. Lots of good opportunities will come for them after this show is over.

Kev

Celebrity news

BREAKING NEWS: Nicolas Cage busted in New Orleans for domestic violence…

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Actor Nicolas Cage has been arrested in New Orleans today, due to domestic violence against his wife, Alice Kim. The actor was outside in front of his rental home, having a heated argument with his wife. When the police came to stop the argument, Nic Cage’s temper tantrum wouldn’t stop there. He challenged the officers to arrest him so they did. Cage was released on $11,000 bail, several hours later.

Read more on the story, here.

I like Nicolas Cage. He’s a great actor who’s been in many great movies that I liked. I think Nic losing his temper a lot these days is that work in Hollywood is finally stressing him out. The Hollywood lifestyle is getting into him, if you know what I mean. Plus, he’s having financial problems with taxes and bankruptcy and all that stuff.

I wish the man would settle down. Take a break from Hollywood, a long hiatus. Nic has been working on film since 1980 and he’s never taken a break. He’s been releasing a new film, year after year, non stop. He’s still going in film year after year too. He’s definitely a workaholic.

I wish him well and hope he gets the professional help he needs. He should do what Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean William Scott did. They turned themselves in for mental health issues, Nic should think about doing the same thing. If Nic doesn’t get help soon, he could end up beating up his wife, Alice Kim. What we’ve seen here is a warning sign that could happen to Alice.

Kev

Kev Brock music

Ignoring negativity in local music…

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During my last musical run in the Capital District’s music scene, I’ve had my ups & downs. I’ve had good gigs and some bad gigs, like all musicians. I went through negativity and the egos of other musicians tried to put me down in the music scene. I’ve played gigs from about 2006 – 2008 and then stopped for a long while. A hiatus. I took time off from playing music to improve my guitar playing skills and vocals. I also took a long break to get into fitness & bodybuilding.

I’ve learned a lot of lessons through my musical adventure during my last run. When you get out playing, you’ll have to learn that you’ll get a mix of haters & fans. You have to ignore those haters & doubters completely. You can’t let the negativity & drama bring you down. I kind of admit it that I kind of let it bring me down the last time, but not this time. I’m going to be a tough guy, the next time I start playing gigs again this year. From this point forward, I’m only going to be caring about my music and not care about what anybody thinks.

Yes, you’ll get yourself trapped in ego clashing with other bands at shows. Yes, you’re going to get ripped off and put down by club owners/booking agents. Yes, you’ll get plenty of people pretending to like your music when in reality they don’t (you’ll find out soon enough). Yes, you’ll get all kinds of people laughing at you about your success and dreams of music, you’ll get called delusional and all that stuff.

You can’t let any of this stuff bring you down. You have to be confident and be a tough guy. Be above that negative stuff. If music is what like you to do and what you do as a passion, you shouldn’t have to give up because people don’t like what you do. Who cares. People attack you because it’s jealousy and ego.

You can’t be defensive of yourself toward the critics. I made that mistake before and won’t do it again. You can’t be self destructive. You only care about you, your music, and your supporters. I may not have a big following with my music yet, but I do have loyal fans who stuck with me after all this time. Believe it or not.

I’m coming back to music. Play a couple of gigs this Spring/Summer, hit some open mics, write some new songs, and hopefully record a new demo. I have a gig booked for this Summer and will announce it publicly soon whenever they give me the “ok” to start promoting the gig.

This is my facebook fan page, as I will use that for my music site to announce news, promote gigs and projects, all that stuff. Yes, the Brock has finally returned to music.

Kev

Books

Book Review: “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”

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So I just finished reading the book, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” by Seth Grahame-Smith.

This book is actually a biography of Abraham Lincoln, except there’s a little mix of vampire fiction thrown in. While this is a fictional book, there’s still a lot of Non-fiction real life history into it, too. The book begins from Abe’s childhood all the way up to his assassination. The book surprisingly has everything about Abe’s history. It’s all there. His marriages to Anne Rutledge and Mary Todd is there. Everything about his political career. The Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1864 re-election, the assassination (which he was murdered by John Wilkes Booth), etc. Yep, the book pretty much covers Lincoln’s entire history.

As for the fictional material, the book focus’s on Abe being a vampire hunter. Abe has a huge hatred for vampires and vows to kill every one of them. The stories are told in journal form by a vampire named, Henry Sturges, who is the only “fictional” character in the book. In the book, it wants to make Abe look like a tough guy hunting down vampires with an axe. The axe was Abe’s only weapon to kill vampires as you see on the cover of the book above. The book is of course, violent and a little gory.

I thought the author of this novel did an amazing job mixing in fiction and non-fiction all in the same book. That had to be very difficult to do with a lot of research. The book is pretty twisted and sick. It’s also silly and goofy. It made you feel like watching the History Channel and a Evil Dead movie at the same time.

Do you know what’s even more funny, that since I finished this book today, I just realized that today is Abe’s Anniversary death. This is one of the best horror novels, I’ve read in a long time. So I shall be looking forward to “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” film when it hits theaters. This is an entertaining read. If you like reading history, politics, and horror, this is the book for you.

Kev

TNA Impact, WWE news

RANT: Why TNA Impact is better than WWE…

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I’ll admit that the WWE’s new direction is kind of crap. It’s getting worse. I don’t like how the WWE is ignoring wrestling and turning it into an entertainment business myself. I’ll always respect Vince McMahon and his superstars, but WWE shouldn’t be “Entertainment” for kids. The WWE started off as “wrestling” in the 80’s and early 90’s but in the 2000’s years, the company changed, big time. WWE really became childlike.

WWE doesn’t like calling their performers, “wrestlers”, they call ’em “superstars”. They don’t like calling wrestling matches, “matches”, instead they call ’em, bouts. Those are just examples of how WWE is trying to ignore wrestling completely.

A lot of fans are complaining that WWE is not wrestling anymore and that’s why a lot of them watch TNA Impact instead. It is why TNA Impact is getting more popular and bigger because fans want more “wrestling”. TNA’ s goal is not only to compete with WWE, what they are doing is that they want to give us wrestling that WWE doesn’t do anymore.

So why is TNA Impact better than WWE??? I can think of these reasons at the top of my head:

  • Wrestling – TNA’s main focus is on wrestling. Since WWE isn’t wrestling anymore, TNA vows to keep it wrestling. They are committed to giving wrestling fans what they want.
  • Better story lines – TNA has more impacting story lines than WWE, in my opinion. There is more intensity in the story lines than WWE would have came up with. Still though, the TNA story lines make true “wrestling” and staying away from the entertainment side.
  • Better main events – You don’t see John Cena and Randy Orton hogging up the main events in TNA do ya? No. That’s because TNA has a lot of main eventers over there, from AJ Styles, RVD, Sting, Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle, Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe, etc. We see different main events in TNA. It’s not always the same main events like WWE is known to having the same boring main events all the time.
  • TNA allows swearing, blood, and violence – There’s plenty of swearing, bloody matches and hardcore violence in TNA. Something that WWE would never have again.
  • Hotter women – TNA has way hotter women than WWE. More cleavage and more skin. Plus, TNA doesn’t call ’em Divas.
  • Better promos (or mic skills) – TNA wrestlers can pull off better promos and in ring speeches than WWE could ever do. All those guys are pretty amazing on the mic, I especially have been impressed with Ken Anderson lately. AJ Styles has great mic work too, same with Bully Ray.
  • Better backstage skits – You know how in WWE when a superstar is being interviewed by a WWE backstage reporter, and then they get into drama with other wrestlers? It’s not like that in TNA. TNA doesn’t do backstage interviews where they ask the wrestlers questions about what happened out there in the ring. TNA wrestlers just do their acting on camera continuing their story lines throughout the show.

I think that pretty much covers it. That’s why I watch TNA every week now because they focus on the “wrestling”. It really is sad to what WWE has become. I’ll still watch RAW and “Wrestlemania” of course, I just don’t watch WWE ppv’s too much anymore.

Kev