Monday, June 29, 2009

Paying Respect to MJ

I made a pilgramage down to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem on Monday afternoon with the intent of paying my respect to Michael Jackson. Apparently I wasn't the only one. There were hundreds of people there, signing a long sprawling wall and leaving messages, or momentos for MJ. There were a lot of tears, and a lot of music playing. I just hope that the signatures and messages get sent to the family at some point. They deserve to see how much their son was loved.


Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Joseph Jackson

It's been a very rough night for me, and I know I'll catch some flack for this, but the death of Michael Jackson has affected me greatly. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm the guy that will always stand up for MJ when someone starts talking crap about him, and they know that I can sit and listen to his albums, or quote facts with the most hardcore of Jackson fans. I would like to try to get down to what it is about this man that drew me in so deeply for my entire life.

The first music that I remember hearing was Michael's. I have vivid memories of running around my house singing "Bad". One of the earliest memories I have is of my sister, 15 years older than me, sitting me down on the floor of her bedroom, and putting the "Thriller" LP on the turntable, and exposing to me this whole new batch of songs by this guy who sang "Bad". My first musical memories.

I credit by strong devotion to being an MJ fan with a lot of my own self confidence. Any MJ fan will tell you, it's not always easy trying to support the guy, but we do it anyway. I got teased and mocked a lot throughout my life because of the fact that I listened to his music. Standing up to people my whole life, even if just for the stupid reason of trying to 'protect' my favorite singer, gave me the confidence to always do my own thing, to not follow the crowd.

As I matured, I began to take a deeper interest in Michael's performances. I tried my best to emulate his dance moves, and I think I did pretty ok. His music would infiltrate my soul to the very core, so much so, that sometimes, it was like a drug; I just HAD to hear "Baby Be Mine" or "Lovely One" in order to get my day on track.

Though it may seem silly to mourn a celebrity, Michael Jackson has been intertwined significantly into the last 20 years of my existence. Today has been a very difficult day, and I feel like I lost a close friend. I admit, that I'm not sure how I'll react to all this tomorrow, and frankly I'm a little scared of the fact that the greatest entertainer in the world is no longer in the world. On a positive note, most of the media coverage I've watched has been resoundingly positive. It's just too bad Mike didn't get to see it. My heart goes out to Prince, Paris, Michael, his parents Katherine and Joe, his 8 siblings, and the rest of the Jackson family.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Weekend Update - New Gigs, New Songs

So Brandon and I played a place called "Patrick's" in Elmira, NY this past weekend, after having our show in Corning mysteriously cancelled. All was for the best though, we got to put our 2-man show through its paces, and all went well. People were clapping, compliments were coming at us left and right, and people really seemed to enjoy the original material, especially our newest tune, "Virtual Crush" which made its live debut this weekend. We've been working on this song together for the past few weeks or so. I wrote the core of the verse melody and lyrics, and then Brandon took it, smoothed out and added some words and a streamlined concept, and put together a killer chorus.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Fun Surprise

So I got my copy of TMNT #30 in the mail today, and rapidly flipped to the inside back cover. You see, the artists that work on the book sign a limited number of them with a turtle sketch.



Here you can see the full-body Leonardo sketch done by the penciler, Jim Lawson. I find this incredibly cool, even if it is just a one-off, quickie sharpie-marker sketch.

Upcoming Gigs! updated 6/11

New round of impending gigs:

June 13th - Buffalo, NY - Private Part

June 20th - The Snooty Pig in Corning, NY - Crazy Chester will play classic rock hits from the 60's, 70's, 80's and on

July 4th - The Snooty Pig in Corning, NY - Brandon Warren and I will get Star Spangled as we tear through original tunes and covers at our favorite joint!

July 17th - The Snooty Pig in Corning, NY - I'll be playing drums with funk/soul/rock group "The Bay Ridge Allstars"

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

New Stuffs

I've added a few bits of Artwork in the last week or so, including a new "Small World" strip, so please, take time and check them out. There's something there for Trekkies and TMNT fans alike.

In addition, I will be playing a couple of gigs over the next couple of weeks. First, I'll be filling in with the "Bay Ridge All Stars" on drums for my buddy John's sisters wedding on the 13th. My first ever wedding band gig, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Secondly, I'll be playing with my buddy Brandon Warren at the Snooty Pig in Corning, NY on the 20th. That one is open to the public, and will be a blast, I guarantee.