More Of My Random Thoughts...

I tend to break stuff...just this morning I destroyed one of those little Ipod-ready radios...it was going on the fritz - going from medium volume TO FRICKING LOUD AS HELL and then to a whisper with a nice little buzzing sound...so after throwing it on the floor rather hard, it quit doing that. It also quit doing everything else, but I feel better and now I have an excuse to get a nicer one. Take that crappy radio...you won't piss me off again.
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Some of the best movies I have seen are when I go to Blockbuster for their 3 for $20 or 4 for $20 deal and I am one DVD short so I pick something up at random...I just got "Bottle Shock" that way and really enjoyed it.
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I really don't enjoy work and would rather not have to do it, but I haven't found a way to make the same amount of money yet by playing golf or staying at home, so until then...
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Why is it the people that annoy you the most are the ones that come into your office all the time?!?
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Putting new strings on a guitar used to fire me up to jam for the rest of the night. Now I can barely get the last string on before I'm ready to put the thing back in it's case.
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I love the "Trailer Park Boys" show...Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles are great..."Mr. Lahey used to be a nice guy - we turned him into a fuckin' crazy, drunk lunatic."
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I have 4 pairs of hockey skates and only 2 feet...doesn't make sense.
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The digital age has ruined listening to music. No digital file will ever sound as good as a nicely maintained vinyl album and a nice turntable with a top-notch cartridge. I listened to "Bring The Family" by John Hiatt on the Mobile Fidelity issued album over the weekend and was reminded of two things...that's one of the finest albums ever recorded and vinyl sounds better!
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After typing the above statement, I must admit I will go nowhere with out one of my Ipods...how else can I take 25 days worth of music with me in a pocket?!?
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I NEVER thought I'd ever have an iPhone. Now I never want to NOT have an iPhone.
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I am hooked on HBO's "Deadwood" even though it ended a year or so ago! I bought all 3 seasons on DVD and have been watching them alot. Al Swearegen's rants are television writing at it's best!
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I like the smell of the acoustic guitar room at Guitar Center and the cigar room at the Tinderbox. (Do they even have Tinderbox stores anymore? I haven't been in an actual mall in over 5 years!)
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Why is it that the mere sound of some people's voices can make your stomach turn?
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I didn't like Michael Jackson when he was alive, and I'm really starting to hate him now that he's dead...24 hour coverage of his passing is obnoxious.
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Whatever happened to good old horror movies? These modern "re-imaginings" of the classics suck. The remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was actually pretty good, but it's success signaled this wave of remakes and they have ranged from mediocre to just plain bad.
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I am also absolutely hooked on HBO's "True Blood" series..."Sookie's mine!"
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I love going to Canada for many reasons...tops on that list could very well be that you can order fries with gravy and a ginger ale with lime without the waiter or waitress looking at you strange. They have Philthy McNasty's too - and that is my kind of food joint!
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I went to great lengths to set up my home theater with 7.1 surround instead of the more common 5.1 surround...and hardly any movies are being released in 7.1 yet! C'mon movie studios...get going on the 7.1 tracks.
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I like big boobs.

My other Top Fives...

Ok, here's my other Top 5 MUSIC lists to go with the top 5 guitar solos in the below post.

Ok, here we go...

MY Top 5 Drummers:
5. Doane Perry
4. Dave Weckl
3. Gregg Bissonette
2. Mike Portnoy - Dream Theater/Liquid Tension Experiment
1. Neil Peart - Rush

Like Neil wouldn't top my drummer list! Portnoy is a monster. Bissonette has unbelievable chops and if you think all he could do was what he did in David Lee Roth's band, you're nuts. Weckl's a freak on the skins, and Doane Perry gained most of his fame from Jethro Tull, but he is a WAY better drummer than ever shown from their material. I would have put John Bonham on here - he might not have invented ghost strokes, but he sure as hell made people aware of them, (it took me longer to learn to play "Fool In The Rain" than it did to learn "The Spirit Of Radio"!) but he actually isn't one of my favorites.
RUNNER UP: Rod Morgenstein - Dixie Dregs

MY Top 5 Singers:
5. Michael Kiske - Helloween
4. Mike Howe - Metal Church
3. Michael Sweet - Stryper
2. Alan Doyle - Great Big Sea
1. Freddie Mercury - Queen

Note that I'm not picking front men, cuz then Roth would have been in there somewhere. What is it with being named Mike and being a good singer?!? Kiske and Howe are very similiar actually...Howe's singing on "Blessing In Disguise" and "The Human Factor" by Metal Church is great. Sweet always rocked with Stryper and his solo work. Freddie is (was) Freddie.
RUNNER UP: Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden

MY Top 5 Guitarists:
5. Alex Lifeson - Rush
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan
3. Zakk Wylde
2. Steve Vai
1. Ace Frehley - Kiss

Anyone who knows me knows better to say anything bad about the Spaceman. I dare say that he very well may have been second only to Eddie Van Halen in making kids want to play guitar...he definitely was the one who made me want to be a guitarist. Vai can school any rock guitar player including Mr. VH. Zakk is a BEAST. SRV was fantastic, and Alex is always class.
RUNNER UP: Joe Satriani or Lindsey Buckingham...I can't decide dammit!

MY Top 5 Bassists:
5. Matt Bissonette
4. John Entwistle - The Who
3. Dave LaRue - Dixie Dregs/Chastain
2. Steve Harris - Iron Maiden
1. Geddy Lee - Rush

Matt is as good on bass as his brother is on drums. Entwistle was known as a killer bassist. LaRue and Harris are great metal bassists, and Lee is the king of the bass. But then again, bassists are usually guys who aren't good enough to be guitarists so they play bass - I almost put Derek Smalls on here! :-)
RUNNER UP: Billy Sheehan

MY Top 5 Songs:
5. "Wasted Years" - Iron Maiden / Somewhere In Time
4. "Limelight" - Rush / Moving Pictures
3. "Anyway You Want It" - Journey /Departure
2. "When I Am King" - Great Big Sea / Something Beautiful
1. "Rip It Out" - Ace Frehley / Kiss-Ace Frehley

"Years" is simply a perfect song. "Limelight" has fantastic guitar, bass, and drums. "AYWI" is another perfect song. "King" could only be second to "Rip It Out".
RUNNER UP: "She" - Kiss / Dressed To Kill

MY Top 5 Albums:
5. "Images And Words" - Dream Theater
4. "Ride The Lightning" - Metallica
3. "Love Gun" - Kiss
2. "Something Beautiful" - Great Big Sea
1. "Moving Pictures" - Rush

"Images & Words" introduced me to Dream Theater...a band who is musically second to only Rush. "Lightning" opened up the world of "metal" for me and was in my car's cd player for pretty much my entire junior year of high school. "Love Gun" is basically my favorite Kiss album, but you could pretty much interchange this with "Destroyer", "Dressed To Kill", and "Alive II". "S.B." is one of those rare albums that is perfect from the first song to the last. "Moving Pictures" was the first album to ever be perfect from start to finish!
RUNNER UP: "Perfectly Good Guitar" - John Hiatt


Ok, actually looking at this now...disregard it! I forgot about REO Speedwagon, Night Ranger, Alice Cooper, Johnny Cash, The Ramones, Saigon Kick, Eric Johnson, The Push Stars, Tenacious D, Warren Zevon, Foo Fighters, Monte Montgomery, Bowling For Soup, Queensryche, Vito Bratta, Cheap Trick, Randy Rhodes, Aerosmith, Guns & Roses, Skid Row, Poison, The Bee Gees, and a few others.

It's impossible to make a good Top 5 List because there are way too many good bands, songs, albums, etc. out there - you CAN'T NARROW IT DOWN! FORGET EVERYTHING I SAID!!!!!

5/12/09 - Random Thoughts...

REMEMBER...these are MY thoughts so don't be offended if I say something you don't agree with...which I more than likely will...


"Abacab" by Genesis is a frickin' awesome song that FORCES you to "desk drum" along with it. This was when Phil Collins was cool...before he sold his soul to Disney.
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"Big Trouble In Little China" is coming to Blu Ray in August...all will be right with the world then.
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Green Day's image is all an act...3 guys that can write songs as catchy and good as those 3 knuckleheads can't be dumb punks.
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Whoever in Hollywood keeps greenlighting Adam Sandler's movies needs to find alternative employment.
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"Flying High Again" by Ozzy and "Mystery" by Dio always make me think of waking up for school.
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After all these years of success, record sales, sold out concerts, etc. - why do I still have to defend Kiss?!? Yeah, I guess I'M the only one buying the albums and tickets. BTW, can anyone deny that Gene Simmons is a marketing genius?!?
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I love vampire movies and vampire lore...I can even tolerate the "Twilight" movie!
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"Mother Popcorn" from "Live Bootleg" by Aerosmith could possibly be the finest live recording ever.
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I'm a cell phone whore...I'm on my 4th cell phone in 6 months.
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Iron Maiden is like a fine wine...the older their music gets, the better I think it is...and oh yeah, while I'm thinking about it - "Wasted Years" has the best guitar solo of all time.
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While I'm on the subject, here are MY top 5 guitar solos of all time:
5. "Stars" - Hear 'N Aid (too many guitarists to list)
4. "Limelight" - Rush (Alex Lifeson)
3. "Anyway You Want It" - Journey (Neal Schon)
2. "Shock Me" - Kiss (Ace Frehley)
1. "Wasted Years" - Iron Maiden (Adrian Murray)

- I know, I know - no Eddie Van Halen? Well there's no Steve Vai or Joe Satriani or John Petrucci or Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eric Clapton either and I consider them all better than EVH so there...I said MY top 5 anyway, didn't I?!? I'm not saying that the above are better guitarists than anybody else, just that those SOLOS are my faves.
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I've been in two bands named from something in Blazing Saddles. (Taggart's Riddle and Waco Kid). Both sucked.
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If you listen to "Standing Alone" by Tyketto after either getting dumped or losing a pet or loved one, you will weep uncontrollably for 5:18.
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The 70's ruled for cheesy songs that you CAN'T not sing along with...case in point: "You Are The Woman" by Firefall, "Lady" by Little River Band, "These Eyes" by Three Dog Night.
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I can tell who you the bass player was in Black -n- Blue (Patrick Young), but couldn't tell you anybody in Obama's cabinet...and that doesn't bother me in the least.
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Denise Milani's body...'nuf said. (google her!)
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I miss "Seinfeld".
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Harvey Korman should be celebrated at least once a month.
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I share a birthday with golfer Arnold Palmer and guitarist Joe Perry.
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Cheap Trick is awesome.
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David Letterman still makes me laugh.
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After playing guitar for over 25 years and drums for over 15, Guitar Hero can make me feel retarded. There really should be a warning: "If you are a real musician, don't play this game."
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I believe Queensryche's "Operation: Mindcrime" to be the best concept album ever.
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I've lost interest in photography yet again...with work, hockey, golf, girls, and softball - I just don't have time.
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"If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman from the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack takes me back to being a kid and listening to the 8-track on saturdays...it's almost an anti-aging elixr!
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Brian Regan is my favorite stand-up comic.
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My favorite song lyric is "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." from "Freewill" by Rush...but it is subject change because other Rush lyrics are friggin' good too.
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Alice Cooper is as underrated as Coldplay is overrated.
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I'd rather watch "Don't Mess With The Zohan" while being "water-boarded" than watch the nightly news or read the newspaper. I don't do either and I always seem to be happy. Coincidence? I think not.
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I'm wondering why U2 hasn't done anything good since "The Joshua Tree"?

Oh yeah, now I remember...they stink. They're basically Madonna, only irish. And male.
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Movie critics must be idiots because "There Will Be Blood" sucks and was nominated for everything at the oscars.
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I can remember where I was the day Def Leppard's "Pyromania" came out, where I was when Stevie Ray Vaughan died, remember the lyrics to any song I like, but when I recently ran into a girl I used to go out with she had to tell me who whe was and I still didn't remember her. So am I getting old, or do those other things just mean more to me than she did?!?
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More later!

Wikipedia Is A Damn Addicting Drug

Jeez, this Wikipedia thing is something else!

I OFTEN use Wikipedia to check something that should be quick and then an hour later I'm still on Wikipedia reading about something barely connected to what I originally got on it for.

The way everything is linked on there is killing me!

It's a time drain from Hell!

After getting on it the other day to look up something about Royal Albert Hall, I ended up learning that:

- Pepsi Tate, bass player for Tygertailz died but not before marrying his long-time partner who is a female opera star,

that's Tygertailz' lead singer in the make up, NOT Pepsi's widow!

- the guy that played Sam in "Kiss Meets The Phantom" is also dead,

"It's Beethoven's Fifth.. ack!"

- the guy that did the voice of Zan the Wonder Twin, Michael Bell, REALLY WAS the voice of Peter Criss in "Kiss Meets The Phantom" (I always thought he sounded familiar!),

- "Kiss Meets The Phantom" was filmed at the same amusement park that Spinal Tap played in "This Is Spinal Tap" (Six Flags Magic Mountain) as well as the classic movie "Zapped!",

an American film classic

- Willie Ames tried to commit suicide on Thanksgiving Day, 2008,

- Nicole Eggert broke 3 vertabrae in a 1996 snowmobile accident,

"Great air, Nicole!"

- Scott Baio has gotten more top-shelf ass than possibly any other man in the history of the world. (Pam Anderson, Nicole Eggert, Erika Eleniak, Denise Richards, Nicolette Sheridan, and Heather Locklear to name BUT A FEW!)

Now I don't know about you, but that is all information that has made my life richer by knowing it.

Long live Wikipedia, dammit.

Sweet Cheetah...'nuf said.

"...this place is going crazy like a rock & roll zoo...

...so get ready to party with Sweet Cheetah & crew."

Watch for my upcoming book,

"We Rocked Together: The Sweet Cheetah Story" ©

Great Big Sea! Great Big Sea! Great Big Sea!

Alan Doyle (l) and Sean McCann (r) at the Southern Theater (photo by Eric)

"Chantal was from Moncton, elle joue avec moi

A tongue as sharp as razors but she had a fancy car"

("Helmethead" - GBS/Something Beautiful)

My favorite band is Great Big Sea. You quite possibly have never heard of them. That's ok. But I feel I should post about them.

They sell out arenas in Canada year 'round. When they make it down here to the States, they play small clubs like the Southern Theater in Columbus. I've seen them at the Southern Theater three times now, as well as various other clubs around the midwest. The Southern Theater is a beautiful theater though if you ever have the opportunity to see a band there.

They hail from Newfoundland and their music is a wonderful mix of traditional celtic, pop, maritime tunes.

Their cd "Something Beautiful" is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion. Great songwriting and performance. I'm talking GREAT songs..."Let It Go", "Something Beautiful", "Lucky Me", and "When I Am King" - my favorite song! They have many cds out now as well as a few live concert dvds. The Hard & The Easy lays claim to being the only album in history to feature TWO songs about horses falling through ice! ("Concerning Charlie Horse" and "Tickle Cove Pond"...the latter which will make you shed a tear if you have half a heart!)

Bob Hallett at the Southern Theater (photo by Eric)

"I knew that the ice grew weaker each day, But still took the risk and kept haulin away.

One evening in April bound home with a load, my mare showed some halting against the ice road.

She knew more than I did as matters turned out, Been lucky for me had I joined her in doubt.

She turned round her head with tears in her eyes, as if she were sayin 'You're risking our lives'"

("Tickle Cove Pond" - GBS/The Hard & The Easy)

I've had the opportunity to meet them and they are extremely nice, down to earth guys and will very often go to the local pub for a pint after one of their shows with any number of their fans. (They are hockey fans which makes them even cooler.) For example, Cate and I had a great conversation with Alan after their Louisville show on the Something Beautiful tour.

Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, and Bob Hallett are the main members who are joined by Murray Foster on bass and Kris MacFarlane on drums. The boys each play a number of instruments from guitar to bodhran to bouzouki to accordian.

Some of the tunes on their cds are their versions of traditional Newfoundland and/or Irish music (which I love) and of course they also write their own material (which I also love!) and a frequent writing partner is Chris Trapper of The Push Stars...another great band by the way. Chris also does solo work and is a fantastic songwriter.

Anyway, if you like good music you owe it to yourself to check these guys out. I would recommend the "Something Beautiful" cd for your first exploration into their music. I absolutely love all of their stuff, but I think that one is the best introduction to the band if you know nothing about them. "Fortune's Favour" is their latest offering and it too is great start to finish. "The Hard & The Easy" is a collection of traditional works that is a touch less accessible if you are just getting into the band I would imagine, although it's one of my favorites.

They are one of the few bands that I rush out to get their new releases, and I never miss a chance to see them live. Their concerts are truly fantastic fun and if you get the chance to see them live, do it.

"Wake up without a care, your head's not heavy, your conscience clear

Sins are all forgiven here, yours and mine

Fear is gone without a trace, it's the perfect time in the perfect place

Nothing's hurt, nothing sore, no one suffers anymore,

the doctor's found a simple cure just in time."

("When I Am King" - GBS/Something Beautiful)

I Miss Album Covers!

In this day of mp3 downloading, I have an Ipod and computer full of music that I don't have the cd of. It's a rare thing that I actually buy a cd at a store now. Only something that I want to have a "hard copy" of like the new Rush cd, or anything Kiss, or Great Big Sea, etc.

When I was young, I always bought albums. I didn't buy cassettes. I figured I could make a copy on a cassette for my car. Since I bought albums, I liked the covers. Some covers were alot better than others. Iron Maiden always had great covers and I liked looking for the little hidden items in each one referring back to older covers and innuendos and such.

I usually liked the Kiss covers too. "Love Gun" and "Rock & Roll Over". "Unmasked" and "Dressed To Kill". I swear Kiss albums had a certain smell. That sounds crazy, but I swear it. To this day, every now and then, I'll get a cd where the liner notes booklet has that smell! It instantly takes me back to the days when I was a kid and I'd be opening the new Kiss album, excited to see what kind of stuff was inside it besides the actual record. It must be a certain type of paper or something. I'll sit and sniff it for a minute or two and can't help but smile. Maybe I'm just wierd...I wonder if anyone else out there has ever noticed the smell ?!?

Here is a picture of some of my favorites:
















Starting from the top left and going clockwise: "Love Gun" by Kiss; "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden; "To Hell With The Devil" by Stryper; "Unmasked" by Kiss; "Moving Pictures" by Rush, and "Fighting The World" by Manowar...a cover I always thought was a bit of a rip off of Kiss' "Destroyer" and "Love Gun" covers! (It was painted by Ken Kelly, the same guy that did the Kiss covers so I guess I can see why.)

What are some of your favorites?

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