Why do so many bands release their albums on bandcamp first? Pretty lame…

This seems to be a new trend with unsigned bands these days. Whenever they release their new album the first site they will release the album on is at bandcamp. First of all, I think the site is pretty terrible to begin with. I hate the way it looks and the sound quality is very bad. I also hate the way bands price the albums on there too. It’s good that you can stream them and listen to them on there in it’s entirety but it’s the pricing options on there I don’t like. Secondly, another reason the site bothers me is that when you are about to release an album, don’t you want your music to be yours? Why would you release it on there first when you can just upload the album on your website?

When I get a new demo CD made… I will never release it at bandcamp or Itunes or any of that garbage. I’ll figure out a way to release my demo right here on this blog, and I’ll make the demo downloadable for free too.

Bandcamp is just a bad idea that musicians do and a huge mistake to release your albums on there first. Gone are the days when bands would exclusively release their albums on their official website. Bandcamp certainly has taken over the spotlight of CDBaby and I never liked that site either!

The only places I’ll upload my music are at sites such as Reverbnation, soundclick or soundcloud. I would upload them to youtube in audio video as well!

I just think unsigned bands & artists forcing people to buy their music online is just bad. I would never do it. I’ll talk a lot more about this tomorrow.

Kev

Report: Tom Hiddleston confirms Loki will NOT be in “Avengers 2” but WILL be in “Thor 2″…

Rumors been going strong for a long while now that Loki is not going to be in the sequel for “The Avengers” but Tom Hiddleston the man who plays Loki just confirmed he’s not going to be in it. Why is Loki not going to be in the “Avengers 2”? Well, Tom says they can’t think of anything else they can do with the character and they want to give other villains a chance which makes a lot of sense.

Tom Hiddleston has grown a large fanbase since the first “Avengers” movie but his fanbase is mostly women. Apparently, young women have the hots for this character and they were dying for their Loki to be in the “Avengers 2”. I find it pretty odd that people would go crazy over Loki for “The Avengers” when he was already in the first “Thor” movie. Loki is a pretty cool villain and Mr. Hiddleston is a good actor. While it may be disappointing that he won’t be in the “Avengers 2”, Tom says Loki won’t be going away anytime soon ’cause he’s still going to be in “Thor 2”. So if you ladies out there need your Loki fix, “Thor 2” is the way to go.

More on the story, here.

You gotta love Tom’s response about Loki not being in the Avengers movie. He sounded so down to earth and humble about it, too! In his response, you can tell he was very careful not to upset fans and tries to get people excited for “Thor 2” instead. Most actors are very rude when they respond about not reprising their roles but Tom was pretty cool about it. He seems like a pretty cool dude!

Maybe Loki can even get his own spin-off movie someday? I wouldn’t be surprised if he does get one! Tom is extremely popular because of the Avengers movie. In fact, I never even heard of this actor myself until he landed the role for the first “Thor” film. Loki is a pretty likeable villain.

In the photo above is Tom Hiddleston in full Loki costume at San Diego Comic Con that happened earlier this summer.

Kev

51 years ago today, Marilyn Monroe mysteriously died…

Today, marks the 51st anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death. Her death remains unsolved even to this day. Yes, people are still trying to investigate of what happened to her but nothing. That’s probably why there was a lot of speculation that she was murdered and somebody covered it up. Of course, the blame of Marilyn Monroe’s death went to the Kennedy family. I too would say that JFK and Bobby Kennedy were responsible. Wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be true. It’s amazing how a famous person’s death can get left unanswered for many years. I think Marilyn’s death deserves answers too. Whether it was a suicide or murder… her death needs to get solved. She was an important lady in Hollywood whose life was taken so soon.

I like learning about Marilyn. Her life, her history, and her films. It’s just interesting stuff to me. People still love her too.

Kev

Hmmmm, looks like Bruce Campbell as Ash has a cameo in the new “Evil Dead” movie after all!!!

I just finished re-watching the new “Evil Dead” movie on BluRay. The re-boot film, and I just found out that Bruce Campbell actually reprise’s his role in the film even though there was a lot of speculation that he wasn’t in the film at all. Stick through the credits at the end of the movie when it’s rolling and when the credits are done… you’ll see him. He’ll just quickly look at the camera and say his famous catchphrase, “Groovy”. Could this mean that Ash could be the leading character in the sequel? He can still play that role really well even if he said one line. I didn’t stay for the credits when I first saw this movie in theater.

Hopefully, Ash will be in the next one. They shouldn’t ignore Ash completely. I’m a huge Bruce Campbell and Evil Dead fan. I love the previous three Evil Dead films too. Bruce Campbell is the man. I respected that guy for years. He’s the most famous B-movie actor out there. Kudos to him for staying away from the big budget films. He’s a cool guy.

I still love the new “Evil Dead” film too. Looking forward to the next one and really hope they bring Ash back at some point.

Kev

More on musicians with nasty attitudes…

If you’re a musician and you start criticizing other bands successes; chances are, they’re gonna respond and become all defensive. They’ll start saying the usual bullshit like “you’re only jealous”, “you just sit at your computer while other bands are out there making music and packing up crowds”, and blah blah blah. You get the deal. Then they’ll start making a list of accomplishments they achieved, and make a bunch of claims on how they got there with hard work and commitment. Some would even go out of their way to criticize my music and the way I do things. If that is the best response some of you out there can come up with, then that just even more proof that you aren’t the professional musician that you are making yourself out to be. I’m pretty used to dealing with musicians who respond to me in that way. It’s nothing new with me.

A true professional musician wouldn’t respond to people in that attitude. A true professional would just ignore it, laugh it off and move on with their music. A true professional wouldn’t care about what’s written about them online. A true professional wouldn’t have time to deal with honest reviews. If you were a true professional musician, you wouldn’t write me the way you do. You would be spending most of your time making records or playing shows.

The last thing a musician wants to do is to jerk themselves off with their accomplishments. It’s a big turn off. It’s pretty arrogant and all you’re doing is proving how much of an ego you really have. A real musician wouldn’t talk about their own success. They can’t even tell if they’re successful and that’s a good attitude to have. You don’t want to call yourself a “successful” or “established” band. You want to let the people tell you that.

I’m happy that other bands get success in their music. I’m not knocking the success of other bands & solo artists. I’m only knocking the way they get it. A lot of them use managers/promoters to get there and they get there by entering stupid contests like Battle of the Bands/radio contests/etc. They would even go as far as going through Pay to Play scams such as Afton and things like that. All that stuff is not a DIY approach to getting success in music. It’s called being lazy and cheating, in my opinion. That is not hard work and commitment the way I’m seeing it.

I have seen bands & artists out there who have gotten lots of success and opportunities on their own without anybody’s help. Bands/artists didn’t even use managers/promoters to get bigger. They got bigger by making the good music and promoting themselves to death. They didn’t get there by using other people. They got there by doing the work themselves.

Even if you got success in music, that still doesn’t make you god’s gift to music and doesn’t make you better than everyone. You’re still a local musician like the rest of us. Bands also claim they make money for what they do around here when I know that’s a flat out lie. The reality is, bands don’t make a lot of money around here these days. I’m sure they make some but they certainly don’t make a lot.

A lot of bands & musicians are pretty pretentious people around here.

This area of local music is not such a friendly scene as some people mistakenly think it is. Everybody wants to criticize one another. People would want to mistakenly believe that musicians have a problem with me and they accuse me of starting negativity/drama with my online rants but that’s okay, let ’em think that way. If my writing style and online presence bothers you so much, then why are you still reading & replying? If you think you’re so great at what you do, and think you’re so successful & big, then don’t pay attention to me… continue to work on your music. Nope. A lot of them continue to read my blogs for whatever reason. I just think they’re addicted and they can’t wait to see what I’m about to write next.

Musicians have horrible attitudes around here, that’s a fact that can’t be denied. I just try to be nice, supportive, helpful and even try to give ’em advice but they just want to be douchebags. Can you blame me for my honest rants? Quite frankly, I think they deserve it. The reason they usually get defensive and try to put me down is ’cause they feel that I’m not in their league musically, not at their level so they feel the need to think they’re better than me. Make no mistake about it, I don’t get hurt at the way musicians respond to me as I’m a pretty strong and tough dude. I don’t let ’em get me.

They also make claims they get success with a professional attitude but the way they write me sometimes… that’s not a professional attitude at all the way I look at it. They have hypocrite written all over their faces.

We could have a better scene if this area was a little more friendly and “professional” acting ’cause we don’t have either of that around here, for sure.

Kev

Musicians with a bad attitude will no longer get my support…

Yes, I put my thoughts and honest criticism about local music and the Capital Region scene publicly for the whole world to see but do I feel guilty or ashamed of it? No, not at all. If these bands and the Capital Region’s music scene are doing their thing publicly, it gives me the right to be honest about it as much as I please. Am I really hurting the scene and putting it down with my honest rants about local music? If I am, I don’t really care. It don’t hurt to have a little bit of honesty.

You do all your best to support bands that you like by buying their albums and going to their shows but all you get is nothing but disrespect by them in return. Bands who have that kind of attitude makes me want to puke too. You do nothing but try to be helpful and supportive but some certain bands don’t even care. They act all nice to you in person but online… they seem to have negative attitudes.

This is why I do what I do. The Capital Region’s music scene is not such a great scene. I just call out the bullshit that goes on through here and tell things like I see it. Yet, musicians come back becoming all defensive. If that’s the kind of attitude you’re gonna have… good luck with your music ’cause you’re gonna need it. What I do here is called honest criticism. If you can’t take that, then you have no right to be calling yourself a musician. The no. 1 rule if you want to get further is that you must have a thick skin. You have to deal with the harsh reviews of critics out there

My postings about local music are not directed at any band in particular. It’s about all local bands in general.

This scene is pretty crazy and not such a friendly scene as some people mistakenly believe it is.

If you don’t like what I write on here, that’s tough. I’ll continue to be honest and tell things like it is. There really is too much bullying around here, it’s just unreal. I’m done supporting bands & musicians who don’t seem to show any support in return. Bands like that are just a waste of time to me. I won’t buy their albums, won’t go to their shows. Bands with negative attitudes are just 100% unprofessional behavior and I’ll have no problem exposing that stuff.

If you want to respond, fine, just keep the response civilized ’cause I don’t accept bashing of any kind. I’m not removing this post either, btw.

Kev

Happy 50th Birthday, Mr. James Hetfield

Today, James Hetfield, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of Metallica (also one of the band’s main founders) turns into the big, 5-0 today. He may look a little older but he’s a lot younger.

Yes, Metallica gets a lot of hate and disrespect in this day and age. I still respect the band. Why? Simply because Metallica has a lot of balls and they aren’t afraid to do what they want to do. I don’t understand all the hate for Metallica. Yes, they sued Napster, yes they moved on from their speed metal music and went alternative, yes they aren’t good with sound production on their albums but no matter what you think of Metallica… they had a 30 year long career and they are the kings of metal. I don’t understand all the hate. They seem like real good dudes to me. I mean they reconciled with Megadeth, Slayer and even Napster’s Sean Parker. All 3 who Metallica had past feuds with. Sure enough, the fans will always find something new to hate about Metallica.

Metallica are a band just like all the others. They just want to get together and play music. They’re not gonna stay in the same style of music forever. All bands want to change and evolve. They all do. I stuck with Metallica through all the their albums even with the “Load/Reload”, “St. Anger”, “Lulu”, albums. I even liked those albums. Metallica will always have my back and my support. I had the opportunity to see them live in concert finally and it’s a night I’ll never forget.

People want to act like these guys are the most hated band in America but they’re just regular dudes and they’re just musicians. That is all! Anybody who hates Metallica just wants to be a bandwagon jumper and side with popular opinion. There’s nothing wrong with liking a band everybody hates. They’re still great songwriters.

Happy Birthday, James. Now start making the follow-up album to “Death Magnetic”. We had to wait a long time for “Death Magnetic”… now don’t force us to wait a long time for the next record. Metallica doesn’t spend a lot of time in the studio ’cause they’re more worried about touring around the world than writing and recording. Seriously, these guys do so much touring. It’s incredible. That’s another reason I respect them. They tour more than any other rock band out there.

Long live Metallica!!! \m/ I’m looking forward to their “Through the Never”, big screen 3D movie too. I’ll probably go see it!

Kev

Time Warner Cable officially drops Showtime network, and I’m actually okay with that…

Last night, I turned on my TV to check to see if we still have Showtime in the Capital District but it turns out we no longer have Showtime. I subscribed to the Showtime channel just for the “Dexter” show alone. Now with it’s final season currently playing and about five or 6 episodes in the season, TWC drops Showtime. Us Dexter fans can no longer watch the rest of the final season; however, I’m okay with that.

I was a little pissed off at first but after thinking about it a while, I figure Showtime was a garbage network anyways. Let it go. It has a terrible selection of movies. I only wanted that station for “Dexter”. The reason Showtime was dropped ’cause the station is owned by CBS and they are in a big legal feud with Time Warner Cable. The reason is ’cause CBS wants to get paid more to stay on. CBS wants a payment deal that TWC can’t even afford so maybe it was a good idea for TWC to drop them. So I’m guess I’m siding with TWC here. It’s all business. Everyone’s angry at TWC and accusing them of being greedy but if you think about it — it’s CBS being greedy, and not TWC.

I don’t know how I’m gonna watch the rest of Dexter now. I tried the “Showtime Anytime” Ipad app but there’s no TWC provider on it. I guess I’ll have to wait for the final season to come out on DVD. While it’s a shame and kind of sad but at the same time it’s a good thing… hard to explain. TWC did a good thing, if you think about it. If TWC gave them the deal they wanted… that could be good enough to take them out of business and they could lose a lot of money. I think that’s why they had to do what they had to do. I can’t blame them. CBS is not a good network either and they have always been greedy bastards so this is nothing new.

I didn’t think the dropping of Showtime would affect this area but I guess it did. I guess Time Warner Cable in the Capital District is part of the NYC TWC company. NYC is where the main company is.

Look like I’ll have to find something else to watch on TV tomorrow night. Probably a Netflix movie or something.

Kev

More on poetry…

I started reading poetry a few months ago hoping to learn how to write poems of my own or to improve my lyric writing. I started reading poems by various poets such as Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, EE Cummings, Alfred Tennyson, etc. Those poets were pretty good but I was hoping for something better and more intense. Until I started reading poems by Charles Bukowski, I was immediately hooked. I’m so addicted to Bukowski poems. Bukowski is the true poet, in my opinion. What I love about Charles Bukowski is that he liked to rant and rave in his poems. He would rant in a no holds barred anything goes kind of style. Read his poems for proof. He’ll use cuss words and talk dirty quite a lot. He doesn’t even rhyme when he wrote his poems. After reading a lot of Charles Bukowski poems, that’s pretty much all the poetry I need. Who cares about all the other poets. Bukowski really did something and inspired me. His way of writing is kind of like me. He had an interesting way of words too.

After reading a lot of poetry already, I’ve came to an understanding that there are no rules in poetry. You don’t even need to learn how to write poetry. You don’t need to go to poetry class or read a “how to” book. If you want to write poetry, just write. You don’t have to rhyme. You can make your poems as long as you want. You can make a verse as long as you want. The same goes for writing song lyrics, I guess.

I just thought I would read poetry for something different and for some inspiration. I was asking for some poet recommendations from people in facebook a little while back and a few women kept recommending me, Charles Bukowski. I can understand why they would think I would like his poems ’cause I believe people think the way I write on the internet is kind of like Charles Bukowski. That’s why his name came up a lot when I asked for poets to read. Glad, I took their advice.

I’m gonna start writing my own poetry this month. Maybe start tonight. I’ll use poetry to vent about things that goes in life just like Bukowski does. I won’t write in his exact style, of course, I gotta come up with my own. Poetry is interesting, though. Glad I got into it. If I start writing my own poetry, not sure if I’ll publish them for my blog… maybe certain ones but not all of them. I could do my rant & raves in poetry form for this blog to make things interesting instead of blogging in long paragraphs. I’ll have to figure something out.

Kev

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