Category Archives: Uncategorized

Kev Brock music, Uncategorized

Why I never furthered my music to the next level…

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Some may wonder why I never furthered my music to the next level. Maybe for possible touring, possible label signing and all that stuff. I’ve always got mixed opinions with my music. Some hate it. Some love it. Yes, believe it or not. I do have quite the following with my music. Yes, I have a fan base of my own with my music. With that being said, I am honored that some people out there actually enjoy my music

The question you have to ask is, will I ever have an actual career with my music down the road? Probably not. I just do music and write songs for fun. That’s it. It’s just a hobby of mine.

A lot of musicians and bands have this attitude of, “Hey, my music is great, listen to my stuff.” I never lived in that kind of fantasy world that a lot musicians seem to be in these days. I just do music for fun, pure and simple.

I believe that a lot of musicians and bands take themselves way too seriously. A lot of them are pretty desperate to get heard, to get recognition and they just feel important to get known. The truth is I never saw my music as a career kind of thing. I play music because it is pretty much all I have in life. It gives me something to do during the day and keeps me going.

I never cared to make money off of music. I never cared to get fame, that so many bands seem to be obsessing with these days.

I could further my music toward the next step if I wanted to, but who knows, maybe someday it’ll actually happen. If it doesn’t, I’m cool with that too. I just want to keep playing my guitar and making music. It must be nice to win Battle of the Bands, open for some big national acts and play some huge festivals, but honestly, all that stuff is kind of silly. I just want to play music. I never cared for big opportunities.

Kev

music, Uncategorized

Did social media change the way we all look at music???

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Whether it’s local music or national music, seems like all bands and artists have joined the social media bandwagon. All musicians & bands seem to have their own official website, blogs, twitter, facebook, etc. In the past, myspace used to be a big hit with music, but people are no longer interested in myspace anymore. These days it’s all blogs, twitter, and facebook when bands are promoting themselves.

What is it about everyone joining the social media bandwagon?

Not only that it’s an easy way to promote yourself like your gigs, project announcements, etc. Bands & artists see it as an opportunity to interact with their fans in a more personal way. Bands have been chatting back and forth with their fans in social media pages lately.

Back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and even the 80’s, when there was no internet around, it made music promoting a lot harder. Back in those days, you had to use flyers to hang in town and mailing lists by regular mail if you wanted to promote your music. Newspapers and magazines were also used to  promote music in those days. Today, it seems that music promoting is much easier.

I’m not trying to sound negative, but I’m going to be honest here. I think the internet pretty much killed the music business. Nobody is buying records anymore because of it. Everyone is doing everything online these days.

It seems that more bands are getting record deals because of the internet but is that a good thing? No, not really. I miss the old days of music when the A&R guy used to go to a band show and just sign a band to a major label because he/she likes their music, that’s how it used to be done in the old days, but it’s not like that anymore. These days labels sign bands based on their popularity alone, not caring if their music is good or not.

I miss the old school ways of promoting music and wish it was still like that. I know I’m sounding like a hypocrite, that I do this social media thing myself, but I do it because everyone else is doing it. I’ll never forget the quote from John Mellencamp, “I think the internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb.”, or something like that.

It’s easier for bands online to make themselves look popular when in reality, a lot of them are nothing. Bands have been releasing free music to the internet like what Radiohead have been doing as of late and a lot of bands have been making their own youtube videoblogs.

Self publicity is great, don’t get me wrong, but I believe the internet has taken the love of music away from bands & musicians itself. Social media has certainly changed the way we all look at music, but honestly, it didn’t help, it only makes the music business much much worse.

Kev

movies, Uncategorized

Brock’s Top 15 favorite comedy films of all times…

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With “American Reunion” coming out soon, this inspired me to do a list of my favorite comedy films of all times. I need to have a good laugh once in a while.

I’ll name 15 of my favorites at the top of my head, in no particular order. Enjoy the list, all.

  • Monty Python & The Holy Grail – The best Terry Gilliam flick ever! This film is a classic, especially the hilarious killer bunny scene.
  • U.H.F. – This “Weird” Al Yankovic comedy is one of my favorites of all time. It wasn’t very big & successful but I thought it was one of the great comedies in the 80’s. Slapstick done the right way. I love this movie.
  • Ernest Goes to Jail – This is the best Ernest P. Worrell movie. I love all Ernest films but this one is my favorite. I own it on DVD too.
  • Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – I know you are but what am I?
  • Analyze This/That – I love both the Analyze movies, with Robert Deniro and Billy Crystal.
  • The Money Pit – This is Tom Hanks best comedy in the 80’s. I’ve always loved this flick.
  • The Burb’s –  Another great Tom Hanks classic.
  • Anger Management – This is my favorite Adam Sandler movie, him and Jack Nicholson playing together is fantastic.
  • School of Rock – This film makes me smile every time I watch it. My favorite Jack Black movie.
  • Groundhog Day – My favorite Bill Murray comedy. Another movie I’ll never get tired of watching.
  • Superbad – This was the only Michael Cera movie that I liked. A very enjoyable film with lots of laughs.
  • The Police Academy – The Police Academy series are great but I’ve always loved the first one more.
  • Spies Like Us – An excellent classic starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. I grew up on this film.
  • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – My favorite Steve Martin movie starring Michael Caine. I’ve seen this flick so many times. Every time it was on TV, I would watch it.
  • Plains, Trains & Automobiles – Another great Steve Martin flick, also starring the late, John Candy, RIP.

There are plenty of more comedies I enjoy, but the ones I listed above are my absolute favorites.

Kev

Random/off topic posts, Uncategorized

Music is not always a happy world…

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Some people always wondered why I’m always brutally honest about “music” and “bands”. Well, here’s the thing. A lot of people out there mistakenly think that the world of music is such a “happy” and “lovely” world, all the time. Yes, I agree that music can be a lovely and happy thing, but not always. You have to be real about stuff, ya know. The second you’re brutally honest about something, like say something bad about a band that a lot of people like or something they are doing, you’re all of a sudden, the badguy just because you were honest. This is what I always tried to do about music. Bring out the truth about “things” that people don’t understand.

Music is one crazy world. Obsessive fans will always side with the band, no matter what you say about them. That’s how people interact in the music world.

A lot of bands and acoustic acts, obsess with opportunity. Trying to get to that next level in music. A lot of them want to move forward and get bigger opportunities. As I always say, I just want to enjoy myself. I don’t care about “fame”, “popularity”, “money” or “being a rock star”. I just do this for fun and make myself happy, pure and simple.

I just like writing my songs, playing the gigs, I’m set. That’s all I need. That’s all I want.

This is why some people think I’m a “negative” person when it comes to music discussion, ’cause I like to bring the truth out about things. This is just the way I am. You need to have different feelings when it comes to music ’cause it would be boring if it was a “happy’ world, all the time. The music world is not always “happy”. Everyone is positive about music just to be friendly, not everyone have to be that kind of person.

Kev

business, Stallone news, Uncategorized

Report: Sylvester Stallone to start his own men’s fashion business based on “Rocky” and “Rambo” characters…

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Many people don’t know this, but other than being an actor, writer, director, & bodybuilder, Sylvester Stallone is also a business man. He was the one who helped start the “Planet Hollywood” restaurant with other movie stars. He started his own magazine in the 90’s for a while called, “SLY”, magazine. He also started the “Instone LLC” business which is a company that sells healthy supplemental products for bodybuilding/fitness. Not sure if he still has that in business or not.

Sly’s next business adventure, that he will start his own fashion clothing line for men. It will be mostly aimed for men around Sly’s age, but I’m sure people all ages could buy his stuff from there. Sly’s new clothing line will start next year in 2012. The clothing that the business will sell, will be based on the “Rocky” and “Rambo” movie characters. His goal with the company is that he wants men of his age to look like a “Rebel and a gentlemen”.

Read more about it, here.

Kev

movies, Uncategorized

Cool Video: Will we get a violent “Superman” movie next time around???

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In Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns”, there wasn’t much violence, it was pretty much a love story and a family film. Brandon Routh as Superman didn’t really fight at all. Maybe that was the problem with “Superman: Returns”.

In Collider’s interview with Zack Snyder the man himself, he was asked if Superman will punch somebody in the face. Of course, Zack wouldn’t reveal spoilers, but he admitted that he wants to see Superman kick some ass. So there’s a hint for ya that the next Supes flick should have a lot of violence and more fighting.

That’s what I’m hoping too. I’m hoping the next Supes flick will be an action movie. I don’t want Supes just saving people. I want him to do a lot more than that. I want Supes fighting the bad guys. I hope they stay away from the love story with Lois Lane and concentrate on the Superman character. That’s what I want.

We want a fun Superman movie that is fun to see like “Superman II” was with Christopher Reeve. Superman have all those powers for a reason and he needs to use them for a reason. With Christopher Nolan mentoring this movie, I think he’ll want it to be an action movie too.

If they use Brainiac or Dark Seid as the main villain, just imagine the great fight scene they would have in Metropolis. Imagine the sound and special effects. It would be quite a ride.

Zack, Christopher and Warner Bros., want to make Superman fans happy with a good film, and I think they would be successful at that.

Kev

Uncategorized

Cool Video: See the Undertaker and Triple H’s return here…

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Last night’s RAW was such an amazing show, all the way through. It was better than the “Elimination Chamber” PPV. We’ve been getting a lot of superstar returns this year, really weird. The Rock came back. Booker T came back. Christian finally returned at the Chamber PPV. Kelly Kelly, the popular diva also returned. And most importantly…the Undertaker and Triple H were both revealed from the “2/21/11” videos. The Undertaker was seen in the “2/21/11” video but there was another figure wandering around in that video. Those two figures in the video were revealed on last night’s RAW. They were Triple H and the Undertaker, making their match together for Wrestlemania 27 official.

To be honest, I’m not really excited for Wrestlemania 27 this year, it seems like a regular RAW card. Triple H vs. the Undertaker is the only match worth looking forward to, that match is going to be amazing. Triple H and ‘Taker wrestled in matches many times before, they had a long history together. The first Wrestlemania match they had together was way back at Wrestlemania X-7.

I’m also looking forward to Jerry The King Lawler vs. Michael Cole. Of course, I’m predicting Michael Cole will win that match, with a little help of other heel wrestlers.

See the return of Triple H and Undertaker in this video. Listen to the crowd response. It’s crazy. They got a much powerful crowd reaction than the Rock. This is why I love WWE, folks! Gotta give the stars respect.

Now that the 2/21/11 video and the Wrestlemania guest host have been revealed, when will the Anonymous RAW GM ever get revealed?

Kev

Random/off topic posts, Uncategorized

I’ll admit it, I’m not that great at guitar solos…

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…it is why I’ve decided to take some time to study up guitar again, to get good at guitar solos and play like my heroes. I can play all the techniques: hammer ons, pull offs, slides, string bending, vibratos, etc. I can do all that stuff fine. The only thing I’m not really good at yet, is improvising and having a  good ear. I’ve been practicing and learning ear training, and getting better. I’m also not good at making my lead guitar solos sound musical. You want to make your lead guitar solos sound musical. Not making your solos sounds like  your practicing scales. It’s all hard work to learn but getting the hang of this stuff.

A lot of musicians out there are afraid to admit that they suck, because a lot of them are delusional and their ego will get in their way, but not with me. I’ve always been honest about my talent. I’m not that great of a singer and guitar player, I just do it for fun because music is my passion. As you all can see, I am looking to improve both guitar & vocal. I’ll always be looking for ways to get better.

Kev

Politics/war, Uncategorized, World Wide Web

Thought: Wikileaks should be taken off line and the site creator should be arrested!

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Yesterday, I decided to check out the controversial Wikileaks, website, that’s been all over politics news. I looked through it all, and yes, there are some pretty heavy duty stuff on that site that is pretty disturbing. Lots of private and confidential war logs have been made public for the world to see and there’s even shocking and sad videos of innocent Baghdad civilians being shot and killed by the US army on helicopter. It’s obvious this Julian Assange guy, just wants some attention for himself. I agree that the site should be shut down and Julian Assange should be arrested. This guy is giving America a bad name. I hope they catch him.

Kev

Politics/war, Uncategorized, WWE news

Brock stands up for WWE…

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People shouldn’t treat the WWE in a negative direction. I have stood up for WWE countless times in these blogs. Trying my best to defend the company from the ongoing negative critics that points directly at the company. I have been an obsessive fan of wrestling ever since I was a child. I just LOVE professional wrestling. I don’t know why. I just became very addicted to it. I just love how these guys perform. Even if the wrestling is fake and scripted, I still find it entertaining. The promos and the speeches the wrestlers do are amazing. Wrestling is almost like theatre in a way. That’s pretty much what it is. I respect what these guys do and respect how hard they work to perform for fans.

I may not like certain storylines and certain wrestlers, but I will always respect what they do. I have been a fan of WWE my entire life and still am to this day. For those that attack this PG rating, WWE started off as PG in the 80’s when Hulk Hogan, Andre, Ultimate Warrior, Roddy Piper, Macho Man, etc. were around back in those days. That’s all PG. Think about it. WWE wants to re-live that 80’s moment and doing a pretty good job of it. They created many superstars and wrestlers that I enjoyed, and loved. WWE is the reason that I became a huge fan of the hardcore wrestling genius, Mick Foley.

It’s no secret that WWE has always been a huge target in media and by people all over the world. If people are hating on the company, it just proves that the WWE is good at what they do. The company is not really about the money. Not at all. Yes, they are a billion dollar company, but WWE and their superstars really care for people. That’s what they put on these shows for is to entertain us and put smiles on our faces. The WWE are great entertainers. Probably the best in the world. Sure, you may go see, the “Ringling and Barnum & Bailey Circus” or the Big Monster trucks shows, but nobody cares about that stuff anymore. Professional wrestling has pretty much taken over the world of live entertainment for sure.

People accuse wrestlers of using steroids and drugs. People blame the WWE on all of these young wrestler deaths that’s been happening for a long while now. None of this is the WWE’s fault. Wrestlers may have used steroids in the past, but not anymore because WWE has a very strict Wellness policy that performers must follow. The wrestler deaths are not the fault of WWE. Most of the wrestlers that died no longer worked for the WWE. So they did drugs on their own terms when not working for wrestling at all. I can understand why people would blame the WWE on this stuff with drugs since the Chris Benoit controversy, but don’t blame this on the WWE. All they want to do is perform for us, the fans.

The WWE also gets attacked for their women that perform in the WWE, aka the Divas. People accused WWE of using women like sex slaves. How most of them are perfect looking women with breast implants and all that. Treating the women like sex slaves in storylines of WWE has happened in the past. They don’t do that stuff anymore, it all happened back in the TV-14 era. The women that perform on WWE now are no longer sexual. They don’t show cleavages anymore and they cover up a lot of skin now. Plus, beautiful women in WWE is needed so they can help sell tickets and more ppv buyrates.

Without the WWE, there would be no Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man, Jake the Snake, Undertaker, Stone Cold, the Rock, John Cena, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Bret the Hitman Hart, etc. All these legendary superstars that mean a lot to so many people were all because of the WWE. People attack WWE out of jealousy, I’m sure. I can’t blame the company for defending themselves. The WWE is a very powerful company. Nothing can take them down although people try. I’ve been watching WWE for over 20 years ever since I was a child, and will watch ’til the day I die. I’ll never outgrow the WWE. I even dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler myself, but that dream is over ’cause I’m too late and too old for that. Most wrestlers start when they are very young.

The WWE is great at what they do, no matter if you like them or not. All these attacks and threats by the politicians at the WWE, is just proof that Linda McMahon will win and she will get elected Senate of Connecticut. Mark my words. Jesse Ventura went through this same trouble during his election for governor of Minnesota, because of his WWE background, but he got the win anyway. I respect the WWE. I respect the McMahon’s and the staff that work so hard at what they do. The WWE has my back, 100%. I will stand behind them, no matter what anybody says or thinks.

Kev