Random/off topic posts

Honestly, my cover songs seems to get better responses than my originals…

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I’m beginning to feel like that I’m better at doing cover songs than doing originals. They seem to get better responses. People have been giving me positive feedback on the Richie Havens “Freedom” song. Due to the positive feedback of my cover songs for the last few years, that is what made me want to start doing a lot more for youtube. Perform my favorite songs from the 50’s – today’s music. I’ll do a lot of well-known songs to obscure songs (songs that not many people know about). I would like my “Freedom” cover to get a lot more views than 49, but as long as people have been giving me positive feedback on it, that’s all good to me.

I want to be performing songs by my favorite heroes such as Led Zep, Neil Young, Hendrix, Springsteen, Bowie, U2, Metallica, etc.

I love performing covers. I’m not just an original song guy. Cover songs are pretty important to do.

Kev

music

Why it would be a good idea for Slayer to break up…

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Slayer is one of the greatest thrash metal bands of all time. Fans have been expecting Slayer to hit the studio again to record their follow up to, “World Painted Blood”, but due to the tragic passing of Jeff Hanneman, I think it’s time for Slayer to call it quit. Why? It should be what is right for Jeff. Jeff is one of the founding members of Slayer, and that dude is simply irreplaceable. They had a great career and they grew quite a legacy over the years; so it would be a great time to hang it up. I don’t think it would be right for them to continue under the “Slayer” name. If the surviving members want to continue to make albums and tour then they should just change their band name. I mean Jeff was the one who formed Slayer with Kerry King. Maybe Jeff would want them to continue on, who knows. Jeff certainly was a guitar playing great and he was an interesting guy when not playing music. He was probably the most interesting out of all the members in Slayer. If the band wants to earn more respect, then they should hang it up out of respect for Jeff.

That’s what Led Zeppelin did when John Bonham died. Slayer should do the same thing. I think it’s disrespectful when an iconic musician dies in a band and they just continue like Alice In Chains. Slayer may not have been as big as Metallica but they did had a great career. I was pretty late getting into Slayer, honestly. I started getting into them after their Big 4 stuff with Metallica. Then I bought 4 of Slayers albums in Itunes; now it makes me want to collect the rest of their albums.

I’m sure we’ll hear an announcement from Slayer soon on whether or not they’ll continue without Jeff. There can’t be Slayer without Jeff ’cause he is Slayer. Period. End of story. I admire Slayer so much ’cause they were great songwriters and they played their instruments good. They knew what true thrash metal is all about and they played it better than any other metal band. They knew how it was done. Hopefully they do the right thing and hang up the mics.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

I am pretty serious on becoming a possible poet…

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Just a few days ago, I just picked up a few poetry books to help get me started. They’re just two compilation poetry books; not by single authors. I want to read a lot of poetry so I can learn how to write poems of my own. Considering that I gave up fiction writing a long-time-ago, I figure poetry will be a great thing for me. Learn how to write my own poems, and then try to turn them into songs. I’m not gonna learn how to write poetry by reading those “how to” things on the internet or instructional books. The real way to learn how to write poetry is to read as much poems as you can by other poets. That way you can get your own creative style. I’ve should have taken up poetry years ago. I just want to change my songwriting direction around. Like I previous said before, I no longer want to do the story-teller kind of thing. I want to be the poet kind of songwriter.

It’s not like I’m going to become a published poet — maybe, I will try to publish poems, don’t know — but this is just something for fun. A new hobby that I want to do. Of course, I’ll probably publish some for this blog. Not gonna start writing poems yet, but gotta start reading first. I really want to get into this, and this is something I could be good at doing.

I could try to start writing poems right now, though, ’cause it’s good practice to start immediately.

Kev

Random/off topic posts

The dangers of living on the road permanently…

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I have a friend who likes to travel on the road full time (who should be nameless at this time, but a few of you might be able to figure it out). This guy likes to travel all over the place on a bicycle; no bus, no train, and not even an airplane. His travels are almost always on foot or on a bicycle. Sometimes he would ocassionally get rides by the police or just by random people he meets out in the public. Currently, he’s travelling all across the Northeast. This is permanent I believe. He just wants to get away from everything. Just wanted to get away from his home life and leaving his family behind.

I understand that there are some other people that can be like this. People who live on the road to get away from life and society, so they want to be on their own but living this way is very dangerous & risky, no matter what you think of it. This guy believes he’s doing a good thing and think he’s doing something inspirational. You can see all of his travel videos on his youtube account. He also mistakenly believes that this world is safe out there and thinks nothing will ever happen to him. In facebook, I would try to get onto him about this stuff and he usually gets all defensive.

Usually when people decide to live on the road like this — staying at various homeless shelters, sleeping at random places in the streets, etc. — usually things don’t end so good for people. People usually go missing or end up in bad situations.

What are the risks of living on the road on a permanent basis? I’ll list them here:

  • Health issues & injuries – Who is going to take care of you if you get sick? Who is going to take care of you if you get hurt during an accident while on the road? Who is going to pay for your hospital bills? If you get hurt or get sick people are not gonna care out there.
  • Becoming a victim of a criminal act – Muggings, beatings, robberies, shootings, etc. You’ll become a victim of all that stuff if you live out in the streets 24/7. It’s not safe anywhere anymore. Especially with all the tragic gun shootings and bombings happening these days. He has gotten robbed a few times already before in the past and that is just the beginning of it.
  • Money issues – I don’t want to get into this guy’s personal life on how he gets his money to stay on the road, but one of these days he’s not gonna get any money at all when something happens. Soon he’ll be digging in the garbage for food or in search of things to recycle.
  • Weather issues – Being outside on the road all day is pretty risky for the weather. You can even get sick or even die if you’re not smart of taking care of yourself whether during the Winter or the hot Summer weathers.
  • You could wind up dead – Sad but this is true. Just look at Christopher McCandless of the “Into The Wild” story. Most people who decided to live on the road ends up in death. Whether by illness, getting hit by a car, murdered by some criminal, and things like that. All this stuff can happen.

While it’s good that this guy wants to get away from life, and I’m sure he’s very happy of what he’s doing but at the same time, I’m kind of scared for him. I just wish he would wake up and look at reality. It’s good that he wants to see the rest of the world and see what it’s like out there but at the same time, it’s pretty crazy. Someday, this guy’s bicycle is going to break for good and what is he going to do now if it does? Bicycles don’t last forever. They can get worn out after hours & hours of bike riding every single day.

Don’t get me wrong. I like to travel myself. I love it but I wouldn’t do it the way this guy does. I would rather travel with people and not alone. I would rather travel the safer way by bus, train, or airplane. I don’t mean to bust on him and I don’t mean to be harsh, just trying to give him a reality check on things. I think he will be back in Upstate, New York, though. Just give it time. When he runs out of money and can’t figure out what else to do that’ll make him return. I’ve had this topic in my mind all week and had to get it off my chest.

Kev

Celebrity/musician deaths, music

RIP: Jeff Hanneman 1964 – 2013

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Today’s a sad day in the world of music, especially for the metal industry. The iconic thrash metal band, Slayer, has lost their founding member and longtime guitarist. I am a fan of Slayer. I absolutely love them. I own several of their albums in my Itunes library. They are good to listen for my workouts at the gym and doing outside cardio. I own their latest album, “World Painted Blood”. I also own their albums “Season of the Abyss”, “Reign In Blood”, and maybe a few others; I forgot the names of them. I also have the Big 4 DVD with Slayer performing on it. I’m devastated of this passing; kind of heartbroken about this one.

In 2011, Jeff left Slayer to cut down on full-time touring because he started to have health problems but he did play at Metallica’s Big 4 show, though. It was a disease called nercrotizing fasciitis. Even though he has died of liver failure, it is not known if this is related to that disease. I don’t want to jump to conclusions on anything.

Slayer has always been a favorite metal band of mine as well. That band can be pretty addicting to listen to and you always found yourself going back to listen to their music. That’s how I always been. I never got to saw them live but always wanted to though. Now, I wonder if Slayer will continue on without him. They probably will ’cause they continued to tour without Jeff because of his health problems. If they decide to break up and call it quit in honor of him, that would be understandable.

In my opinion, Jeff Hanneman is irreplaceable. The guy was a genius metal guitarist. He could play both lead guitar and rhythm guitar amazingly. There are no other metal guitarists like him these days. Jeff Hanneman is Slayer. While the other guys in the band are great musicians too, Jeff would be the one to pay attention to the most. My condolences go out to the band Slayer, Jeff’s family/friends, the fans and the rest of the metal community. Jeff Hanneman was 49 years old.

I LOVE THIS FUCKING BAND AND THIS BLOWS!!! \m/

Kev

movies, Politics/war

Report: Steven Spielberg to bring, “American Sniper”, to the big screen with Bradley Cooper set to star…

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Bradley Cooper has been developing a project called, “American Sniper”, which is based on the book and it’s about the true life-story of Chris Kyle; the Navy SEAL who was tragically killed earlier this year. Steven Spielberg is set to direct and this will be considered his follow-up since his historical movie, “Lincoln”.

I think Spielberg is the perfect choice to direct a movie like this. If you seen the movie, “Munich”, Steven is great with sniper scenes and his unique camera work. “Munich” was a great film, and I would assume that they plan on making, “American Sniper”,  something similar.

The White House and the Obama administration may continue to ignore the death of Chris Kyle but at least he’s getting some acknowledgement by the movie industry. It’s very sad what happened to Chris, and his story can’t be ignored. I think that’s the point of this film is to help bring it to the world’s attention. It is insane how Obama continues to ignore Chris and not even give him a Medal of Honor when he clearly deserves it.  Chris is and was a true American hero. He did a great service for us. Sad that he was killed by some nut job at a shooting range. I don’t know why the White House continues to ignore Chris. Chris continues to get ignored by the government, yet they congratulate this black basketball player for coming out as gay. What’s wrong with that picture?

Anyhow, I’m looking forward to “American Sniper”, and looking forward to seeing what Spielberg plans to do with the film. I haven’t read the “American Sniper” book, but will get to it soon.

The Hollywood Reporter, reports.

Kev

movies

Cool Photo: The official “Man of Steel” poster is finally released…

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mansteel3

 

It’s been a while but the “Man of Steel” official poster is finally here. From what I’ve read by movie fans, this poster has been getting mixed reviews; some love it, some hate it. The reason some people hate it is that they don’t like the blur and it seems fan-made to some folks. I disagree. The poster wants to give a more realistic approach to Superman’s flying. The blur is there for a reason so it can make it look like he’s flying really fast. With that being said, I love the poster and would like to get a copy of it for myself.

As you all can probably tell by now, I am a Superman geek. Loved the character ever since I was a child and I will never stop loving the character. While I miss Christopher Reeve and the Richard Donner styled Superman, I believe “Man of Steel” has what it takes to be a good Superman movie we’ve been wanting for years. Hopefully, this film will make everyone happy for once; I think it will.

Kev

Local music, music

Thought: Should guitar solos in songs be planned out beforehand or improvised???

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There was an interesting discussion in facebook yesterday when this certain musician ask other musicians how long a guitar solo should be. Some argued that guitar solos in songs should be short and they should be written out beforehand. They claim that long solos really bore the listener. I replied back to the facebook posting that guitar solos should be improvised. I said, if you’re the type of player who plans out how long a guitar solo should be or if you write out the guitar solo note for note, then you’re doing it wrong. It’s just my opinion. Why don’t you ask famous guitarists (for example: Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Randy Rhoads, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, etc.); how long a guitar solo should be? They would just look at you with a “What the fuck” look and say, “I don’t know”. When these guys play guitar solos the famous ones, they usually can’t tell how long a guitar solo should be. Most guitar solos in some of the most famous rock songs were improvised and winged out.

This is just proof that nobody cares about improvisation in this day and age of music. Whether the guitar solo should be 30 seconds, a couple of minutes, several minutes, 15 minutes or longer, a guitar solo should  be improvised. It makes things unpredictable and interesting that way in a song. I’m in favor of long guitar solos ’cause I’m so used to listening to Led Zep, Hendrix, and a lot of jam band stuff.

I’ve always believed that if you’re the type of guitar player who will write out a guitar solo then you’re not an actual musician, in my humble opinion. When recording in the studio, it’s understandable that you have to make guitar solos kind of short ’cause a compact disc only has a certain amount of time for it but live; however, you can make the guitar solos go on for as long as you want. There are no rules in lead guitar soloing when a lot of guitarists mistakenly believe there are. Long guitar jams on stage won’t bore the audience as long as you can keep them interesting and fresh. To keep long solos playing live interesting requires good phrasing and sounding musical.

A lot of bands jam on stage for a long time during the same song because they can’t help themselves. It’s called jamming. The song stops whenever it feels like it, ya know? It’s all part of improv when musicians work with each others minds. Letting the mind and the fingers do the talking; that’s how it’s supposed to be done. If you’re the type of player who will write out a solo beforehand, you just don’t have the confidence to be creative and artistic. Improvising a solo is the way to go. It’s about hearing the solo in your head and getting it out of you.

This is the kind of lead guitar player I want to be, and I’m trying all I can to improve my lead guitar chops to a more professional level. If you’re the type of player who is able to successfully play a solo you hear in your head and get it out of you, that’s the way it should be done. Solos should be played with feeling and emotion. I’m trying to get there. If I ever get a band of my own, we’re gonna be an improvising kind of rock band for sure.

Nobody really believes in playing actual guitar solos anymore whether in local music or national. I understand that some musicians need to write out guitar solos sometimes but only do it when absolutely necessary. Don’t over do it.

Kev

movies

Thought: Why Dolph Lundgren deserves more recognition in Hollywood…

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It seems that action-star Dolph Lundgren, only gets huge in Hollywood whenever he works with his long-time pal and friend, Sylvester Stallone. Dolph is only well-known for “Rocky IV” as Ivan Drago, and in “The Expendables” as Gunnar Jensen. He has done some big-screen movies without Sly with films such as: “Masters of the Universe”, “Red Scorpion”, “Universal Soldier” (the first one), “The Punisher” and maybe a few others; most of Dolph’s movies have been straight-to-video B-movies. Dolph has always been a struggling actor-director for years. He tries really hard to become successful and he does take his work seriously.

Why does he deserve more recognition? I can think of a few reasons. For starters, Dolph knows movies and behind-the-scenes directing better than everybody. He can do the tough-guy image really well in action movies. In films, he can play both the villain and the hero really well. He knows how to make violent action scenes and make them exciting and thrilling. Even some of his straight-to-video movies can be pretty violent and gruesome. I actually like some of his straight-to-video stuff ’cause I’ve been watching quite a lot of ’em on Netflix. The man works extremely hard.

I also admire Dolph for his martial arts training and fitness advice. In fitness, he’s one of the very few guys who don’t rely on bodybuilding weights to get ripped. He got the body with martial arts, which is what he is an expert at. I watched “Red Scorpion” on Netfilx last night and forgot how good that movie was. Dolph is a badass, and a true action star. He’s underrated and wish he would get recognized more.

I think he will get bigger roles after, “The Expendables” is done. He’s an interesting guy, I don’t get why Hollywood continues to ignore his talent. Dolph is great. I wish the nay-sayers will give the man a chance ’cause he can be something special. He is also a big inspiration to me right behind Sly and Arnold. I’ve been watching Dolph movies for years. I thought I would get this topic off my chest since I’ve been watching a lot of Dolph films through Netflix streaming and DVD rentals.

Kev

Edit to add: I also watched the new “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” on Netflix a few weeks ago and that was actually really good! Dolph only had a small role in that film, though.

movies, music

“Man of Steel” soundtrack set for release on June 11th…

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ManofSteelSoundtrack

I usually don’t pass along all of these press releases and spam-mail I’ve been getting in my inbox, but I thought this one would be worth posting. The Hans Zimmer score for the film “Man of Steel”, will be getting released for a Deluxe Version; two-disc soundtrack. This movie will be a John Williams-less score, so you will not hear the main theme for this movie at all. This will be completely new music for Superman. From what I heard so far, it is amazing. So maybe this movie can do good without John Williams, after all?

Here’s the press release of the Soundtrack below (I’ll also post the link for the pre-order, if interested):

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MAN OF STEEL TWO DISC SOUNDTRACK FEATURING ORIGINAL MUSIC BY HANS ZIMMER SET FOR RELEASE JUNE 11th

Limited Deluxe Edition Soundtrack Also Available

 

Man of Steel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Available For Pre-Order

LOS ANGELES, CA – April 30, 2013 – On June 11, 2013, WaterTower Music will release two configurations of the Man Of Steel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The album will be available in standard form as well as a limited edition deluxe version at all physical and digital retailers. Academy Award®, Grammy®, and Golden Globe® – winning composer Hans Zimmer composed the music for this highly anticipated project, joining forces for the first time with director Zack Snyder.

“The challenges of creating a Superman score are daunting because Superman is so iconographic,” said Snyder. “I really feel like what Hans created is perfect. Subtle and stirring, epic and commanding. Honestly, Hans crushed it.”

Fans will have the ability to choose between the standard two disc, 18-song soundtrack, and a limited, deluxe edition of the soundtrack. This deluxe edition will be housed in a special embossed steel case, contain 24 score selections, and give fans the ability to access multiple videos showing an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the music. Both the standard and deluxe editions will include the epic track “Man of Steel (Hans Original Sketchbook)” which clocks in at over 28 minutes long. This exclusive track is performed solely by Zimmer, and allows listeners to experience firsthand his initial experiments with the film’s music, which ultimately lay the foundation for the film’s final score.

Those fans who purchase the CD version of the deluxe edition will have the opportunity to download all 24 songs in DTS Headphone: X, which reproduces a cinematic multi-speaker surround sound experience using only the user’s headphones. DTS Headphone: X presents a whole new way to hear mobile entertainment over headphones. The technology garnered rave reviews from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, and Cnet, among others at this year’s CES convention.

Additionally, a double, 180 gram vinyl configuration of the soundtrack is slated for a summer release.

In addition to his orchestral arrangements, Zimmer, no stranger to stepping outside the confines of traditional film scoring, has assembled two unique musical entities to contribute music to Man of Steel. The first, a “drum orchestra,” which was brought together for the album, is described by soundtrack co-producer Peter Asher as “some of the best drummers in the world all playing simultaneously in a space designed for a symphony orchestra – using not only rock drum kits but tympani and field drums as well.”

The membership of this elite assembly consists of many of today’s top musicians including John JR Robinson, Jason Bonham, Josh Freese, Pharrell Williams, Danny Carey, Satnam Ramgotra, Toss Panos, Jim Keltner, Curt Bisquera, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Matt Chamberlain, Ryeland Allison, Bernie Dresel, Vinnie Colaiuta and Sheila E. Their contribution, under Zimmer’s musical direction, creates a towering and powerful musical accompaniment to the film.

Another distinctive group the composer assembled was a gathering of eight of music’s finest pedal steel guitarists who play classical string section parts. This collective, consisting of Chas Smith, Marty Rifkin, Skip Edwards, Boo Bernstein, Peter Frieberger, Rick Schmidt, JD Maness, John McClung, was described by Asher as, “a uniquely new metallic orchestra” added its own distinct and soaring musical stamp to the soundtrack.

The Man Of Steel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is currently available for preorder at Amazon and will be available for preorder on iTunes starting May 7.

 

SOUNDTRACK TRACK LISTING

  

Disc 1 – Flight

  1. Look to the Stars
  2. Oil Rig
  3. Sent here for a Reason
  4. DNA
  5. Goodbye My Son
  6. If You Love These People
  7. Krypton’s Last
  8. Terraforming
  9. Tornado
  10. You Die or I Do
  11. Launch
  12. Ignition
  13. I Will Find Him
  14. This is Clark Kent
  15. I Have So Many Questions
  16. Flight
  17. What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?

 

Disc 2 – Experiments from the Fortress of Solitude

  1. Man of Steel                                (Hans’ Original Sketchbook)
  2. Are You Listening, Clark?             (Deluxe Edition Only)
  3. General Zod                                (Deluxe Edition Only)
  4. You Led Us Here                         (Deluxe Edition Only)
  5. This Is Madness!                         (Deluxe Edition Only)
  6. Earth                                          (Deluxe Edition Only)
  7. Arcade                                       (Deluxe Edition Only)

Hans Zimmer has scored more than 100 films, which have, combined, grossed over 19.6 billion dollars at the worldwide box office.  He has been honored with an Academy Award®, two Golden Globes®, three Grammys®, an American Music Award, and a Tony® Award. In 2003, ASCAP presented him with the prestigious Henry Mancini award for Lifetime Achievement for his impressive and influential body of work. He also received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2010.  Some of his most recent works include the History Channel’s miniseries The Bible; the Christopher Nolan-directed films Inception, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises; and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Upcoming titles include Ron Howard’s Rush, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger and Steve McQueen’s Twelve Years a Slave.

Zack Snyder directed Man of Steel from a screenplay by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Entertainment.  Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder are the producers, with Thomas Tull, Lloyd Phillips and Jon Peters serving as executive producers.  The film stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni and Russell Crowe.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Zack Snyder Film, Man of Steel.  The film will be released in 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX®, and is slated for release on June 14, 2013.  It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

About Headphone: X

DTS Headphone: X enables content owners (e.g., movie studios, music labels or retail) to capture the acoustics of a high quality audio production studio and control the manner by which they are reproduced at the consumer end. Content providers can rest assured that the sonic reproduction presented to the listener can match the mix they so carefully crafted.

About WaterTower Music:

WaterTower Music, the in house music label for Warner Bros., has been releasing recorded music since 2001.  Distributed through InGrooves Fontana, WTM has released over 150 titles, including the film soundtracks to “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Project X,”, “Rock of Ages,” “Hairspray,” “Sex and the City,” “Elf,” “The Notebook,” and “Love and Basketball” among others.  Its 2013 schedule includes “42,” “Pacific Rim,” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

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