Remember in the old days, people used to get onto to me about how bad of a person I am online? They gotta be like, “Brock is such a horrible person”, “He’s such a troll”, “Brock is an asshole & a bully”, “Brock is a negative person”, etc. blah blah blah blah, I think you get the deal. I still go through that shit right now. People has been trying to change me for over a decade just because they don’t like who I am. Well guess what? I am who I am. What you see is what you get. People call me a “negative” person all the time but I don’t listen to their garbage. I don’t see myself as negative at all as I’ve always been a very positive person, thank you. I can be very positive if you let me. If you see me being negative to someone then chances are that person probably deserved it. When people take shots at me first that’s when I’ll take shots back. I usually don’t start things with people unless they start things with me. That’s how I am, you see. When all people want to do is criticize me for no reason, I’ll have no problem to criticize them back. I always found it weird that when people decide to criticize you then you decide to do it back to them that makes you a bad person? People can say bad things about you all they want to but when you do the same, you can’t do that? I do like people and all but I’m not gonna lie that people can be messed up and weird sometimes.

That’s why I just gave up trying to please others. If you have so many people criticizing you and bashing you ’cause they don’t like the way you are, fuck ’em. Don’t change for anyone. One thing I never did is call out people for who they are. People still attack me for who I am but I don’t care. I’m not gonna worry about what people think of me anymore and I’ve had that attitude for a long while now. Be who you wanna be and fuck everybody, ya know?

If people don’t like your attitude or don’t like the way you act, fuck ’em. It’s your prerogative of how you want to act or who you wanna be. It’s interesting how people continue dictate of how I should act and how I should not act. What’s wrong with being yourself? What’s wrong with being who you wanna be? You may get people trying to change you but don’t ’cause there will be a handful of other people who will respect you for not changing.

I’ve been the same old Brock for years and shouldn’t have listened to anyone’s bullshit. It’s a good attitude to have is to not listen to what anyone thinks of you. I used to worry about who dislikes me and all that stuff but these days I don’t worry about “haters”. Some people say I usually start things and deserve the haters but it’s not really true. Some people out there are just assholes and that’s it. It’s a good way to be positive is not listen to the “haters”. It makes me feel good and makes me happier by not listening to people and be myself.

You should have the same attitude. I’m not interested in negativity and drama anymore like I used to be. There are still way too many dramatic people these days, that’s for sure. I don’t want any part of it. Just want to play my music, enjoy life and that’s all I care about.

Kev

As some of you should know by now, I’m a metalhead. Have been for years. Thanks to Apple Music Streaming which I’ve been a subscriber for about a year now, that gave me the opportunity to listen to all kinds of metal bands I’ve never heard before. I just started listening to Amon Amarth albums through Apple Music. Amon Amarth, the Swedish metal band that also plays Viking music. I got interested in listening to Amon Amarth by reading an interview with them through Guitar World magazine. I’m digging Amon Amarth a lot. They’re a fun band to listen to.

I’m trying to listen to a lot of black metal, death metal and even hardcore stuff. Why do I love metal so much? For the most part, I just dig the guitar playing and I also dig the songwriting too. I think in the metal genre, they write the best songs. For the past year or so, I’ve been listening to so much metal with bands like Sabbath, Opeth, Iron Maiden, At The Gates, Venom, Death, Slipknot, Megadeth, Motorhead, Lamb of God, Burzum, Ronnie James Dio, etc. Apple Music gave me the opportunity to listen to all those bands. I would listen to all of their albums. They’re entire discography pretty much.

There are still plenty of more metal bands that I got to get around to listening to. I was meaning to start listening to Anthrax and Judas Priest sometime soon. So many bands, so much music, so little time.

I’ve also been trying to listen to a lot more jazz & blues as well. I just listen to metal, jazz and blues for guitar inspiration pretty much. I figure if I want to improve as a guitar player and get better, you gotta listen to a variety of genres of music, ya know? I don’t stick with one genre of music like a lot of people do these days. I listen to everything pretty much but these days I’ve been listening to metal, jazz & blues than anything. When I want a break from heavy music, I’ll put on a jazz album or a blues album. On top of that, I just like to listen to that stuff. I’ll have another topic of blues and jazz soon.

I’m happy that streaming services like Apple Music & Spotify are here. I think those services are awesome ’cause if I like an album enough, I just buy my own copy and I have been doing that a lot.

Back to metal music, I’ve always been a huge fan of metal ever since I was a child. Twisted Sister was one of the first metal bands I fell in love with… Twisted Sister was my first start in metal, I believe. I remember getting the “Stay Hungry” vinyl when I was a kid and used to play that album to death. Still love that album today.

A lot of people would think that I listen to folk music or country but not true at all. I’m a rock n’ roller and always has been. I listen to metal ’cause it’s inspiring. It helps gets things out of your system when you listen to that stuff. I’ve been studying metal guitar ’cause one of these days I would like to make a metal album sometime down the road.

Kev

Sometimes I’ll get asked this question… will I ever compete in those singing TV reality shows like in “The Voice”, “America’s Got Talent”, etc? I’ve got asked those questions before. While I’m very flattered that some would like to see me on those shows, I don’t think it’ll ever happen. I’ll probably avoid those singing shows like the plague. I don’t think I’ll ever be like Sawyer Fredericks even though I respect the hell out of him.

I just sing for fun, ya know. I don’t really want a huge career out of music ’cause that’s not what I really do it for. I sing ’cause it’s what I love to do. I love singing and I really want to get better. I feel I’m an okay singer now but still got plenty of work to do. I still got a long way to go. I feel like I came a long way. I feel grateful that people give me so much positive feedback on my singing each time I put up a singing video. I’ll never forget the days when people used to trash the hell out of my singing. These days, I don’t see people saying anything negative about my singing which feels great.

Even though I’m gonna avoid TV reality shows and singing competitions of any kind, I do plan on wanting to perform live again ’cause I miss it. I would like to hopefully get my own band going too.

I do feel more head voice, more range and more power in my singing which is what you want. Not bad for someone who is a self-taught singer and doesn’t work with a vocal-coach. I just love to sing for fun, ya know? Becoming a big star is not really my thing. I’ve been having a lot of people complimenting me on my singing which feels good. I still have a lot of work to do in singing ’cause I’m trying to learn to sing the high notes and even learn how to scream as well.

Singing is fun… I just love the feeling. I can see why so many singers love what they do.

How do you become a better singer? Singing exercises is pretty much key. You know how when you sing up and down those scales? That’s how you improve your voice. Anyone can learn to sing better. I would like to have a really strong singing voice and trying all I can. Also singing to your favorite songs is a good practice tool as well. I sing ’cause it feels real good to do. Love the feeling.

I’m glad that people love my covers. I’m gonna get back into writing originals again this summer. I’ve been messing around with new song ideas.

Kev

I’m really serious on playing a lot more cover songs for my repertoire. These are all the songs that I’m planning to learn. Some of them I’ve already played in the past before so I decided to throw in a bunch more. I love playing cover songs.

I want to get back out there playing again. This is a pretty long list of songs yes but I’m gonna try my best to learn them all. A lot of these songs I’ve already played in the past before but I’m gonna re-learn some of them.

I would like to get back out there playing again so I might play some open mics and play some of these.

Kev

Enjoy the list:

—————————————————-

Sweet Jane – Lou Reed
Perfect Day – Lou Reed
I’ll Be Your Mirror – Velvet Underground
Space Oddity – David Bowie
Rebel Rebel – David Bowie
Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie
The Supermen – David Bowie
Melissa – The Allman Brothers
Midnight Rider – The Allman Brothers
One Way Out – The Allman Brothers
Straight to Hell – The Clash
Should I Stay Or Should I Go – The Clash
Hurt – Johnny Cash
The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash
Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
Cocaine Blues – Johnny Cash
Take My Breathe Away – Berlin
Louie, Louie – The Kingsmen
House of the Rising Sun – The Animals
Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
Cats In the Cradle – Harry Chapin
Come On, Lets Go – Ritchie Valens
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens
Oh Boy – Buddy Holly
Peggy Sue – Buddy Holly
Gloria – Van Morrison & Them
I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar
White Wedding – Billy Idol
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You – Led Zeppelin
Kashmir – Led Zeppelin
Dyer Maker – Led Zeppelin
The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin
Good Times, Bad Times – Led Zeppelin
Rockin’ In The Free World – Neil Young
Old Man – Neil Young
Down By The River – Neil Young
No Rain – Blind Melon
Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf
Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
Old Man Down the Road – John Fogerty
Suzie Q – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Born On The Bayou – Creedence Clearwater Revival
It’s a Long Way To The Top – Ac/Dc
Highway To Hell – Ac/Dc
Kite – U2
One – U2
Fear of the Dark – Iron Maiden
Nothing Else Matters – Metallica
Master of Puppets – Metallica
One – Metallica
I Wanna Be Free – The Monkees
Last Train To Clarksville – The Monkees
Stepping Stone – The Monkees
Plush – Stone Temple Pilots
Big Empty – Stone Temple Pilots
Love Gun – Kiss
Strutter – Kiss
Black Diamond – Kiss
Deuce – Kiss
Beth – Kiss
Rock and Roll All Nite – Kiss
In Bloom – Nirvana
Breed – Nirvana
Come As You Are – Nirvana
Pennyroyal Tea – Nirvana
Heart Shaped Box – Nirvana
Crimson and Clover – Tommy James and the Shondells
I Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
Into the Great Wide Open – Tom Petty
Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel
The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three
Mama, I’m Coming Home – Ozzy
Wonderwall – Oasis
Lightning Crashes – Live
I Alone – Live
Sweating Bullets – Megadeth
Cemetery Gates – Pantera
Cowboys From Hell – Pantera
Blow Up The Outside World – Soundgarden
Fell On Black Days – Soundgarden
Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
Addicted To Love – Robert Palmer
Simply Irrestible – Robert Palmer
Ripple – Grateful Dead
Franklin’s Tower – Grateful Dead
Touch of Grey – Grateful Dead
Jailhouse Rock – Elvis
Hound Dog – Elvis
Pinball Wizard – The Who
My Generation – The Who
Baba O’ Reilly – The Who
I Can See For Miles – The Who
Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
While My Guitar Gently Weeps – The Beatles
Come Together – The Beatles
A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
And I Love Her – The Beatles
Love Me Do – The Beatles
My Sweet Lord – George Harrison
Today – Smashing Pumpkins
Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins
Bullet with Butterfly Wings – Smasking Pumpkins
Stranglehold – Ted Nugent
Superman’s Dead – Our Lady Peace
Still Loving You – The Scorpions
Dream On – Aerosmith
Crazy – Aerosmith

I may love all kinds of music but metal & hard rock would always be my no. 1. I’ve been playing guitar for almost 20 years now. In fact, I think it has been 20 years. Over the years, I’ve always tried to play metal and hard rock ’cause that was the whole reason I wanted to play guitar after hearing Led Zeppelin. After Zeppelin then I started listening to other hard rock & metal bands like Sabbath, Metallica, Ac/Dc, Iron Maiden and bands such as those.

I’ve studied hard rock and metal guitar for years and figure I finally want to improve myself in that genre. Yeah, I pretty much want to become a technically skilled guitarist and doing all I can to get there. I’m trying to learn how those metal guitarists make headbanging riffs and all that stuff. I’m trying to learn how to shred and improve my lead guitar playing which both are getting worked on. When playing lead guitar for metal, most metal guys use the modes and the pentatonic scales so playing lead guitar when playing metal is not that difficult as it seems.

I still want to make a full band hard rock/metal album someday which has always been my dream. Playing in a full band is something I could be good at and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

I believe I can make some great hard rock & metal with big riffs and all that stuff. With all my acoustic songs, those are mostly hard rock songs ’cause I don’t have a band yet and that’s why I mostly write on acoustic first.

People don’t think I could do metal but I can prove ’em wrong. Metal is my favorite genre of music. Yes, I’m a metalhead even though it may not seem like it. I’ve always wanted to make a metal record and some day I will. Just waiting for the right time and not getting too ahead of myself. I’ve written metal songs on the electric guitar when I was young before, though. I can do it. Just want to improve my playing and singing some.

I love metal. I’m a lifelong metal fan. I may not have the long hair and the tattoos, I just dig the music but I do want to start getting some tattoos down the road so I can get that look. Tattoos are cool.

I love the electric guitar. I’ll never give up the acoustic but I’m just starting to like electric more. I spent most of my life playing acoustic and want to do something different for a change.

Kev

This blog has been slowing down as of late ’cause I’ve been keeping my focus on playing guitar. Honestly, I’ve been getting kind of bored of blogging lately and sort of not interested in blogging anymore. Lately I’ve been only posting things that I think that are worth it. I thought about giving up blogging for good and just concentrate on the music full time, sure. Not sure if I’ll do that yet, though.

I’ve been keeping my focus on trying to become a better guitar player. Working on my lead guitar playing and still trying to improve my rhythm chops. Still studying music theory and things like that. One thing I’m also trying to keep my focus on is trying to work on my “perfect pitch”… ya know, ear training stuff. I want to be an improviser and jammer kind of guitar player. Doing all I can to get there.

While I’m at it, I”m also trying to learn new covers and will start writing new originals soon. I really need to get a new batch of songs together ’cause I’m thinking about starting to play live gigs again. I miss performing on the stage and I want to get back into that hopefully soon.

I also want to buy a new electric guitar pretty soon. I love my Ibanez Artcore Full Hollow body electric but that guitar is pretty big and kind of heavy. I want to get a smaller solid body electric guitar that is kind of light weight. I’m sure I can find a small electric guitar for a couple of hundred and I will. I want to buy an electric guitar with a whammy bar. I want to experiment whammy techniques.

I’ve been totally focused on guitar playing and music lately which feels good. Trying to take my guitar playing to the next level. I’m not necessarily trying to become the next guitar god or anything but I am trying to improve myself and get better, though. Just trying to beef up my guitar chops some.

Kev

Today I tried to upload my latest videoblog to youtube also but I just found out it didn’t upload ’cause it was too long. I’m like, wtf? When did things change again? You can still upload videos to youtube longer than 15 mins.; however, they make you verify your account by a cell phone now. I don’t have a cell phone anymore so now I can’t verify my account in order to upload long videos.

So I think I’m done with youtube for good this time. I’ll keep my account so I can still have my old videos on there still but I will no longer upload videos to youtube anymore. I can’t stand the way youtube is now. I despise youtube. I don’t like youtube red and don’t like how we have to stick through advertisements in order to watch a video and all that shit. I also don’t like how youtube is getting even more strict on copyrights. Youtube is getting worse and I’ve been avoiding that site for a while now and I think I’m done with youtube for good.

I think I’ll upload my videos to facebook instead ’cause that’s better. I uploaded my latest videoblog to FB with no problem.

I know it’s “technology” and things changes but youtube isn’t fun anymore like they used to be. Youtube sucks. Screw them.

Kev

I really am trying to become the best guitar player I can be. Trying to get better and improve. One way to improve your guitar playing is learn new things you haven’t played before and I’m trying to do just that. I would like to learn more guitar techniques that I haven’t learned yet like the 2 handed fret-tapping that Eddie Van Halen is known for. I want to learn that technique and I’m trying. I’m also trying to get into slide guitar ’cause I have a glass slide. I’m a huge fan of slide guitar and want to do more of that myself so I can make my lead guitar playing sound even more interesting. I’m a big fan of the Allman Brothers and it was them who inspired me to start learning how to play slide guitar. I also want to learn sweep-picking. I also gotta learn legato technique and I want to do more string skipping stuff too. Another technique I want to learn is whammy bar stuff but I don’t have an electric guitar with a whammy yet but I plan on buying one this year. I want to get a guitar with a whammy bar so I can do “dive bombs” and things like that.

I also still need to improve my ear training and improvisation skills… that stuff is getting better too. I’m starting to get the idea of what most notes sound like. I want to be that type of guitar player who is able to play anything and everything. I’m getting there too.

It really does take years to get great at the guitar. If you want to become great, it won’t happen over night. It takes patience and dedication to become a great guitar player. You can’t give it up and you have to keep at it. There are too many guitar players out there who are so lazy at practicing and learning new things. I’m not. I’m pretty dedicated on trying to become a good guitar player. I’m doing all I can. Just taking my time and not getting too ahead of myself. I play guitar everyday and play for hours. Guitar playing is pretty much all I do.

Kev

Each time I put something new out whether it will be a cover song, me singing karaoke on video, jamming on guitar to someone else’s songs or putting out new original songs… all that stuff seems to be getting positive feedback. Once again, I used to get people ripping the hell out of my talent back in the day. That was back in the early 2000’s years when people were trashing my talent. So that is what’s inspired me to get better and improve. I thought to myself, “Gee, I better listen to them and prove them wrong that I can be a good musician”. So I decided to step up and teach myself how to become a better musician so that’s what I did. I decided to learn music theory and get better at that which I did. I know a lot about music theory now and memorized a lot of it so music theory is definitely helping me get better. I’ve gotten better at using the metronome now and understand timing/rhythm patterns which I’ve seem to have gotten better at. Understanding rhythm and timing, being good with the metronome will definitely help more people to like your music more for sure. Staying in time is really important . I’ve decided to get better with my guitar playing and singing both.

All this positive feedback lately is inspiring to take my music further… like with the internet album and stuff. All of this nice feedback is inspiring me to get back out gigging again too. I used to get so much negative feedback but from the looks of things, I haven’t seen anyone say anything negative so far. It’s just amazing and feels good. I can see why musicians and bands love what they do. All the positive feedback keeps them going in music and it’s why they do what they do. If your songs aren’t getting any responses then why bother?

If you want people to take your music seriously, you gotta work your ass off and before you know it, good things will come out of it. Hard work pays off. I prefer to be a self taught musician and I continue to be. I don’t want to work with other guitar instructors. I want to get my own sound and style. My own vision.

Even though I’m happy with where my musical talent has gotten, I still got more work to do… still got a lot of learning and practicing to do. I’m trying to become a more advanced musician is my goal. I want to become more technically skilled in guitar playing and yes, I want to shred too. I want to play like all the heroes that I looked up to. Become a real musician is what I’m after.

Kev

So true but very sad. It’s interesting how technology is changing things isn’t it? These days all the fighting, arguing, gossiping and drama is mostly done online instead of in person. I know from experience, lol.

Around the time when there was no internet, the way we used to unfriend people is either you’ll get your ass beat or get yelled at to your face or over the phone. These days people want to yell and scream at you online. In this day and age, people would rather end friendships with you over social networking. Trust me, I’ve had plenty of people who ended friendships with me through social networking, lol. Instead of meeting me in person or just a simple phone call, they’ll give you a “block”. To me it’s real sad that people would rather end friendships over the internet ’cause that’s been happening a lot lately.

I guess people are afraid to do it in person or over the phone. People find it easier online. People are really strange beings for sure, can’t deny it.

Kev