TV

BREAKING NEWS: “Twin Peaks” confirmed to return for 9 episodes…

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I’m glad more Twin Peaks is coming. We really need an explanation of Dale and the Black Lodge so they’ll probably give us that for the next season. We still need to know more about Laura Palmer too. I’m pretty sure Kyle Maclachlan will reprise his role as Dale and I’m pretty sure Ray Wise will come back as Leland Palmer (Laura’s father). They have to come back ’cause they were a part of this whole Black Lodge thing.

For the new season, I’m also sure we’ll see some some familiar faces. All the characters from the previous seasons will return. I’m sure characters like Audrey, Donna, James, Ben Horne, Lucy, Bobby, etc.  will all return. The only character who won’t return is obviously Josie Packard (unless there’s gonna be new flashback scenes for her???).

I’m glad that the show is going to Showtime instead of CBS (remember CBS owns Showtime). On Showtime, that means more freedom in creative writing. There could be more nudity and swearing. Watch the prequel film, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” there was a lot of nudity and swearing in that film.

It’s gonna be interesting to see what Twin Peaks is gonna be like years later. Knowing how David Lynch writes, I’m sure he’ll make the 9 episodes a bit weird and crazy like the previous seasons were.

I don’t have Showtime so I won’t be able to watch it but I’m sure those 9 new episodes will be made available for streaming on Netflix soon after.

Glad Mr. Lynch is giving us more, thanks dude! He definitely knows what the fans want and this is probably what he’s doing this for.

Kev

Politics/war

Rand Paul says government should stay out of marriage and I agree!!!

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Sen. Rand Paul is on a college tour speaking to college students and at one of his college speeches, a student asked him about his thoughts on gay marriage and this is what he said…

http://reason.com/blog/2014/10/03/rand-paul-i-dont-want-my-guns-registered

“I don’t want my guns registered in Washington or my marriage,” he told me. “Founding Fathers all got married by going down to the local courthouse. It is a local issue and always has been.”

But can Republicans win a national election if they aren’t in tune with rapidly changing opinions on the matter? He took a soft tone.

“Society’s changing,” he said. “I mean, people change their minds all the time on this issue, and even within the Republican Party, there are people whose child turns out to be gay and they’re like, oh well maybe I want to rethink this issue. So it’s been rethought. The President’s rethought the issue. So I mean, a lot of people have rethought the issue.”

“The bottom line is, I’m old fashioned, I’m a traditionalist,” he said. “I believe in old-fashioned traditional marriage. But, I don’t really think the government needs to be too involved with this, and I think that the Republican Party can have people on both sides of the issue.”

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If I remember correctly, the gay marriage issue wasn’t a big deal under George W. Bush as president. The gay marriage movement didn’t start until Barack Obama got elected. Sen. Paul is so right that government should stay out of the marriage issue. It’s none of the government’s business on who gets married be it either straight or gay.

I really hate how the gay marriage movement has gotten so huge.

In the past, I used to defend traditional marriage like crazy in facebook but I keep gay marriage topics off of facebook ’cause I can’t stand liberals views on it. They really are intolerant sons of bitches. They won’t let you have your opinion if you oppose to gay marriage. The only reason I think liberals get so obsessed with defending gay marriage is because of their ego and self importance. They do it as a way to feel special and do it as a way to make people around them feel proud of them. If you oppose gay marriage, they will do all they can to change your opinion on it. They want you to believe in equal rights. They want conservatives to have a change of heart with gay marriage. This is why I keep gay marriage topics off of my facebook page although it is fun to get liberals going.

I’m sure liberals are hating Rand Paul for this and I’m sure many people are calling him a homophobe or a bigot ’cause he defending traditional marriage. This is how horrible liberals really are.

Also, liberals claim they’re huge supporters of homosexuality and gay marriage… yet they make claims they aren’t gay themselves. Watch out for that stuff and don’t trust ’em. Chances are, they are closeted homosexuals either that or they are slightly interested in homosexuality (some people out there are secretly bi-curious).

I don’t give a shit what anybody says. Gay marriage isn’t normal. It is now legal in 19 states and it really shouldn’t be. I was pissed when New York State legalized it. It’s just wrong. Marriage SHOULD be between a man and woman. I’m sticking with my opinion.

I’m glad the Supreme Court continues to ignore the possibility of gay marriage being legalized in the USA. I hope it never happens. Gay marriage being legalized in the USA… if it does happen, then we’re fucked.

Kev

Local music

Whether or not you’re an established act in music, I’d say who cares… just play and enjoy!!!

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In local music, there is always this never ending debate on whether certain musicians & bands are established acts. Established – meaning being well-known and recognizable. Sometimes people would debate this toward my own music as well. There is usually this argument on whether or not my online web presence is more popular than my music or whatever. Whether or not that claim is true… I don’t really care. The last thing you wanna do is care whether or not you’re an established act in your area. You don’t want to call yourself an established act ’cause that would make you look arrogant and a bit egotistical. You want to let the people tell you that. There are too many delusional musicians thinking they have made it to the point where they are successful and “established” when technically, they are nothing

Even if you’re not established and successful, who cares. Just play and enjoy. That’s all you need to worry about — not being desperate for popularity and fame. Just be appreciative of what you have now. Just never take yourself seriously and just play for the love of music. Don’t worry about chasing dreams and moving forward. It’ll be nice to play the bigger stages and play in front of thousands of people but those dreams should be secondary. Your first priority is working on your music.

Even if you’re still playing the small clubs and craphole bar rooms, you should still feel appreciative for that.

In reality, though, all of us musicians are successful at what we do. If we’re playing our music… writing it, recording it and performing it… that’s being successful in my book. Not playing the bigger stages and performing in front of thousands of fans.

We’re in this day and age where all local musicians want to become big stars. You see all these big and successful local bands being marketed and heavily promoted everywhere while all the unknown bands & artists continue to struggle to get recognition. That’s a huge part of why I think this local music scene is getting so bad. It’s getting tougher for musicians to get in the spotlight.

What I’m trying to say in this post is that you don’t want to look like that you’re trying to move forward and become successful. You want to look like that you’re enjoying the love of music and being passionate about it. Not caring about success or fame. Even if you do get success or some fame… don’t embrace it. Don’t acknowledge it. Just continue to act like you’re a nobody. People will give you a lot more respect if you don’t realize your success.

If you call yourself an “established” act and thinking that you’ve “made it”; chances are, this musician is a huge egomaniac who all they do is jerk themselves off with their accomplishments. That’s not the kind of attitude you wanna have.

I may not have made the cover of Metroland yet or opened for a national act but that’s fine. I’m not worried about it. Sure, those dreams maybe fun and glorious… don’t get me wrong but I don’t give a shit to get there.

I just wanna play my guitar and write songs… that’s all I wanna do. Although, I do appreciate getting supporters and fans myself. Being the big star to me is kind of silly. I don’t need that kind of attention.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

How to become a confident man…

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The message that this guy sends in this video is so good that I felt that it was worth passing along. This guy who’s name is Matt has a dating channel that’s called, “33 Secrets” but he just made a new channel that is designed to teach men how to be Alpha Male’s. This guy’s new channel is not just about giving dating advice, it’s about Alpha Male stuff. That’s one thing that I need to get improved on is learn how to be an Alpha Male.

If you’re too lazy to watch this video, this guy explains that in order to be a confident man, you should detach yourself from judgements and opinions about you from other people. Like if people are judging you, slandering you, hating you, bashing you, etc.You don’t ever wanna listen to those people. He also says that when you get a lot of people judging you and saying all kinds of opinionated stuff about you, it’s not making you weaker, it’s actually making you a much stronger person and I agree. If so many people are talking about so much shit about you, that’s gotta say something, right? It probably means that there is something special about you and people are hating it.

I get people judging me and saying all kinds of opinionated bullshit about me all the time and I still get that crap today. It used to bother me about criticism from other people but it don’t really bother me anymore. I just learned to ignore all criticism about me and continued to be myself.

I think jealousy have to be the no. 1 reason is why people talk shit about you. There’s gotta be something that they are jealous about. If they weren’t jealous then they wouldn’t have been talking about you in that way.

I get so many people telling me how much of a loser I am and I get so many people telling me how bad of a guy I am. The last thing you wanna do is listen to them and don’t ever let them control you until you satisfy them. Like I’ve said, I’ve had way too many people over the years who thought it was okay to change me. So because other people are telling you that you are a loser or a bad person, I’m pretty positive they are no different. Nobody’s perfect even though some people think they are.

I’ve seen a facebook meme going around sometimes that says, “Before you judge me, make sure that you’re perfect” and it’s true. I mean think about it, right. People are always saying all kinds of crazy things about you… thinking they know everything about you when in reality they don’t know shit. When they judge you… you should ask, “Okay, name one thing that is perfect about you?”. I bet they won’t be able to come up with anything and they’ll be silent after that. I’ll say it again, that when people are telling you that you are a loser or a bad person, they are no different. Chances are, they are losers themselves and you know, they will never admit it.

No matter what people think of me, I’m not a loser or a bad person. I’m living life and enjoying it. That’s being a winner, in my book. That’s probably why people hate on ya ’cause they don’t like the fact that you’re happy and enjoying yourself. When people talk shit and judge you, chances are… they might have a lot of problems in their personal life.

Simply put don’t listen to other people’s bullshit and drama. Just continue to be you. Live your life the way you want to and fuck everybody else. That’s how you become a confident person. The more you live under this attitude, the more people will respect you for it and you can make new friends this way.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

The only way to become a master improviser on guitar…

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My goal as a guitarist is to become a master improviser. I wanna be that kind of guitarist where I can play anything that comes up in my head. I wanna be able to jam along with other musicians without sounding out of key and not being told what to play. Just play what you feel and hear.

However, you don’t learn to become a master improviser by reading guitar instructional books or learning from DVD’s, you master the art of improvising by listening.That’s pretty much it, really. There’s no other way around it. When you want to learn improvising you can’t expect it to happen right away when completing an instructional book. The key to mastering improv successfully is ear training and perfect pitch. Memorizing the sound of each note and each key.

Sure, learning music theory helps but all that is it’s just a tool. To get great at improvising… you have listen to as much music as possible. Try to play your favorite songs by ear. Download backing tracks from the internet to jam along to. Jam along to your own guitar playing or practice jamming with other real musicians.

That’s why I downloaded the “Ninebuzz Guitar App” for the Ipad ’cause that’s an app that allows you to play guitar along with different backing tracks. I downloaded that app a couple of months ago and it’s great.

Just this weekend, I downloaded several backing tracks from Itunes. Not full albums of backing tracks, just individual tracks. I wanna practice modal jamming so I downloaded a few backing tracks from Itunes that focused on the modes. Playing along with backing tracks is a great tool to spice up your lead playing. As you can see, I have taken lead guitar very seriously. I wanna take it to the next level and get even better.

From this point on when I learn new cover songs, I’m never looking at guitar tab ever again. Everything is gonna be figured out by ear. You wanna become a master at lead guitar… STOP looking at guitar tab and just play your favorite songs by ear.

There are too many guitarists that ignores the art of improvisation and ear training. When cover bands learn new songs, they rely on guitar tab. No offense but when all you’re gonna do is rely on guitar tab to learn new songs… you’re not a real musician, in my opinion. Figuring songs out by ear is definitely the way to go. Sure, I understand that people get frustrated trying to learn new cover songs so they end up looking at tab to help them but if you don’t give up figuring out the song by ear, YOU’LL GET IT. Yeah, it gets annoying as hell playing the song on your stereo over and over trying to figure out every guitar riff or guitar solo but trust me, you’ll get it if you don’t give up and the hard work will pay off.

My 2cents on how to memorize the sound of the notes and keys in your head singing them in perfect pitch. Even if you can’t sing and don’t have a good singing voice, you must do it anyway if you want to master the art of improvisation.

I’m not a pro at improv yet but I’m definitely getting there. I wanna master improv ’cause I wanna rock out and jam if I ever get my own band going. If I ever get a band going, I wanna do a lot of soloing. I’m just taking my time for now.

When you master the art of improv, that’s when you’ll know that you’re a real musician. That’s what it takes to become a virtuoso.

Maybe soon I’ll videotape me jamming on some lead guitar with backing tracks for youtube. It’ll be fun.

Kev

movies

Movies to see for the rest of the year… my final list…

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Welp… 2014 is almost up and there’s a few months left. What movies in theater do I plan on seeing for the rest of the year?

Here’s a short list….

In October:

“Fury” the new war film with Brad Pitt and Shia Labeouf. This looks like a good one. I’m a huge fan of war flicks so I’ll see this one.

In November:

“Interstellar” the new Christopher Nolan outer space movie with Matt McConaughey. Looking forward to this one.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” I’m definitely seeing the newest installment to the Hunger Games franchise.

In December: 

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” The new Ridley Scott film starring Christian Bale. I was pretty impressed with the trailer so I will be in theater for this one.

“American Sniper” the biopic film that tells the story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle and also based upon the book. This film comes out Christmas Day. Not sure if I’ll see it on Dec. 25th but definitely the week after!

That’s pretty much it. I’m skipping the new “Hobbit” movie and will wait for rental on that one. I didn’t like the last “Hobbit” movie… pretty let down with “The Hobbit” franchise and I think Peter Jackson is ruining it.

Kev

music

Avenged Sevenfold doesn’t suck, in fact… they freakin’ kick ass!!!

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The metal band, Avenged Sevenfold, have gotten some mixed criticism over the years. This band is very popular and successful but this is another one of those bands that you either love or hate. My question why all the hate? I just listened to their latest album, “Hail To The King” this morning and I didn’t hear what is so bad about them. In my opinion, these guys fuckin’ rock. \m/

I was impressed with their latest album, “Hail To the King” and now it makes me want to buy their previous albums pretty soon. They only have like 5 or 6 albums in their discography so technically they’re a pretty new band. I really dig this band, though. There’s nothing wrong with this band at all.

The way I heard them, they are thrash metal kind of like what you hear in the 80’s. They are like Metallica and Maiden put together. I think the guitar playing in this band is great. They come up with awesome riffs and guitar solos. I also dig the singer’s voice whose name is, M. Shadows.

Before badly judging the band, you should actually listen to them first. It took me a long while to get into this band but now I understand them and believe in them. I think they’re great. This is one band that deserves to become the next Metallica/Kiss but like Gene Simmons said though, the way this industry is going these days the legendary status will never happen for A7X sadly.

You should give A7X a chance like I did.

Kev

movies

Look like there’s gonna be more “Twin Peaks” after all, David Lynch teasing us about it…

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I knew there is gonna be some kind of continuation. They need to explain Dale and the Black Lodge. I hope they bring Kyle back as Dale and they probably will. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Laura Palmer as well.

Will there be a new season? Mini series? Big screen movie? We’ll wait and see.

Rumors of a Twin Peaks continuation have been going on for years now but David Lynch denied that every time. He claimed there are no plans of a continuation but never say never. I think he’s being secretive about it and not trying to give away surprises. A sequel of some sorts is probably gonna happen.

I’m glad Lynch is gonna bring us more Twin Peaks which didn’t surprise me since they released that BluRay boxset.

Kev

movies

Film Review: “Gone Girl”…

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Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosemund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris

Directed by: David Fincher

Today, I just went and saw the new David Fincher film, “Gone Girl” and here is my review:

Plot/Synopsis: On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

So far, out of all the movies I’ve seen this year in 2014, “Gone Girl” is definitely the best film of this year. David Fincher does it again! This is an edge of your seat kind of movie and you’ll be hooked to this film right from the start (Fincher does this with all of his movies). I thought this film had the best writing I’ve ever seen. The script was perfect. It was smart and intelligent writing. The story was unpredictable and had plenty of twists and turns. The film does a great job keeping the disappearance of Amy Dunne mysterious.

I know Ben Affleck isn’t everyone’s favorite actor but it seems he’s getting better with his acting as of late. Affleck was actually pretty enjoyable in this film. Affleck’s character seemed pretty realistic and he had personality. I was most impressed with Rosemund Pike who played, Amy. I think Rosemund Pike is gonna get an Oscar nod for this role. The entire cast did a great job. Neil Patrick Harris (formerly known as Doogie Howser) even did a great job even though his role was short.

Trent Reznor killed it with the score again. Trent played incredible music for “The Social Network and “Dragon Tattoo” but I think the music he did with “Gone Girl” was the best of the Fincher movies. It makes me want to get the “Gone Girl” soundtrack soon.

They tried to make Amy look like a sweet innocent young woman who deserves to be found but once you watch the actual movie, you may think differently. The ending is a real head scratcher and will make you say to yourself, “Huh?”. When the film got over with and the credits started rolling… I noticed that the people in the audience (which was half full) didn’t stand up from their seats to leave the theater right away. It took them a little bit to leave the theater ’cause I would think they were pretty stunned with the ending like I was. I won’t spoil anything, of course.

This really was an amazing film as I predicted it would be. David Fincher always makes good movies so it doesn’t surprise me at all that this film turned out good. This movie is definitely worth the money and you should definitely go check it out. I’m definitely getting the BluRay to this film when it comes out. I haven’t read the book yet but probably will soon.

I’ll give this movie a perfect 5 out of 5 score as in “excellent”.

Kev

music

6 album purchases this week…

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So today, I decided to hit the mall for something to do and check out the film, “Gone Girl” which I will review right after this post. I purchased 6 music albums both digitally and on physical CD.

Here’s the list of albums I purchased this week:

  • Robert Plant “Lullaby and The Ceaseless Roar” (physical CD) – I told ya before I was gonna get this album and I did. I really enjoyed his “Rainbow” single and that was good enough for me to want to get the album. Even though I haven’t heard the album yet, I’m sure it is amazing.
  • Avenged Sevenfold “Hail To The King” (physical CD) – It took me a long while to get into these guys. At first I didn’t like them but over the years, I’ve read so much about this band through various music magazines. Mostly through Guitar World since this band is hyped a lot in that magazine. Chris Jericho the wrestler also talks about this band a lot so I figure eh, maybe I should have a change of heart with this band and actually listen to them? So I listened to a few of the band’s songs in youtube and ended up liking them a lot. I ended up buying their most popular album, “Hail to the King”. I’m sure it’s a good one.
  • Slash and Myles Kennedy “World on Fire” (digital) – I’m a huge fan of Slash’s solo career so I got the new album by him. I’m sure it rocks like always. I’ve been a huge fan of Slash’s guitar playing for years.
  • Joe Bonamassa “Different Shades of Blue” (digital) – I’ve been interested in Joe Bonamassa’s music for a long time and finally getting into him too. He’s one of the great blues players left these days. He really is a brilliant guitarist. Can’t wait to listen to this album which I will soon. Joe is coming to perform for us in Albany pretty soon which should be a kick ass show, I’d like to go to that show but won’t be able to.
  • Yes “Heaven & Earth” and “Fragile” (digital) – I’ve heard their songs on the radio over the years but never bought their albums. I’ve read a great interview with Steve Howe in Guitar World recently and that was good enough to make me want to get the new Yes album, “Heaven and Earth” so I bought it and downloaded it from Itunes. Along with it, I also bought their classic album, “Fragile”.

I’m planning to give all these albums a listen this weekend.

Kev

The Official Music Website of Kevin Brock – Brocking N' Rolling