Fury of a Thousand Suns

New Buddies

2010-01-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

I've got a new friend. He has many names in many languages. They change everyday. For a week I was feeding him Half & Half cream. When I ran out, I gave him nonfat milk and he wasn't interested. Yet he still comes to visit. A mark of a true pal.
And a 2nd sunset installment. A backyard in Rancho Palos Verdes (my parents!) right before our big 5 day storm, which was also amazing.

AZ Trip Conclusion!

2010-01-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

The final day of the trip had us leaving lovely Tuscon for the Phoenix area. On our way we stopped at the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch off the 10 freeway. We fed deer, goats, donkeys, ostriches and lorikeet. Those ostrich will rip your fingers off!
Novi Split performed at the Clubhouse in Tempe, celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Sunset Alliance Records. (More of the Novi Split performances are on Youtube.) Before Braille rocked the hell out of the place. Much respect and thanks to David Jensen. I ended up catching CMG's sickness and am thus enjoying the new year with some misery. Do what you know.
Honorable Mention:
MVP of the Trip: My dad's Taurus. Making it to the Cowtown on a dirt road, and rolling by border patrol with no respect for those fools.
Quote of the Trip: "I can't make memories!" by Pierre S.
Movies of the Trip: Young Guns 2 & Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Drink of the Trip: Stoli 'Round the World! (3 flavored Stoli vodka shots and some juice.)
Album of the Trip: Joshua Tree - U2 music for the desert.
Storytellers of the Trip: Tie between Edward Keeylocko and Al Foul.
Mistake of the Trip: Tuna Jerky

Tucson End of '09 Part 2

2010-01-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

Day 2 started off with a Waffle House breakfast and way too much coffee, aka just enough coffee. After watching Young Guns 2, we met up with David and Carrie at the Hotel Congress for a drink. The pineapple looked just as disappointing as the night before. We then embarked on watching the first sunset of the year about 20 minutes out of Tucson at the Bushmasters Memorial. I think a weekly sunset should be in order for all of us.
The night was saved for Cowtown Keeylocko. It was about an hour drive southwest of Tucson. The place was a real cowboy bar. I'm talking real cowboys. We all felt we were on a movie set. The head cowboy Ed welcomed us as we were his children. He then took over the mike and dropped knowledge, talked lovingly mad shit about his son and made everyone in the bar almost cry with his karaoke rendition of "What A Wonderful World."
We were tired and sad to leave, but Ed gave us a good 'fuck tha police' talk before we left. Hopefully CMG or Novi Split will be playing that place soon sometime this year.
I drove home 4 sleeping beauties with the help of U2 Joshua Tree. Another amazing day!

End of 2009 Trip to Arizona

2010-01-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

We all drove out to Tucson, Arizona for some end of the year festivities. They were damn festive! The Eve Night was spent in downtown. The Hotel Congress had a Mambo New Year's Eve bash with Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta. Also at the Fox Theater, Howe Gelb and friends performed a sweet-ass set. To end the night, we were off to Che's Lounge and experienced Al Foul for the first time. I'm taking his stories and using them as mine!
Tucson has been kind and a good time. I can make memories!

Europa League Draw

2009-12-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
The boys are heading to Roumania. Will Landon get a shot at Sporting? We'll know come February 18, 2010.
Round of 32
FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)----1.
Athletic Club (ESP) RSC Anderlecht (BEL)----2.
FC København (DEN) Olympique de Marseille (FRA)----3.
Panathinaikos FC (GRE) AS Roma (ITA)----4.
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) Galatasaray AŞ (TUR)----5.
AFC Ajax (NED) Juventus (ITA)----6.
Club Brugge KV (BEL) Valencia CF (ESP)----7.
Fulham FC (ENG) FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)----8.
Liverpool FC (ENG) AFC Unirea Urziceni (ROU)----9.
Hamburger SV (GER) PSV Eindhoven (NED)----10.
Villarreal CF (ESP) VfL Wolfsburg (GER)----11.
R. Standard de Liège (BEL) FC Salzburg (AUT)----12.
FC Twente (NED) Werder Bremen (GER)----13.
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA) Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)----14.
Everton (ENG) Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)----15.
Hertha BSC Berlin (GER) SL Benfica (POR)----16.

Quit Smoking...

2009-12-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since MJ passed and his songs aren't blasting living rooms and car stereos so much anymore. I do know that this song helped me quit smoking. If it takes a dead man's message to get you to look at yourself and uncontrollably sob away the pain, then hell yah.
RIP

A Classic Favourite

2009-12-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Coming out of my cave, I've got no excuses and no explanations.

Memorial to Mom

2009-07-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

This past month I got my first tattoo done. It's a dedication to my mom and a treasure for me. I walked into Ship Shape in San Pedro and talked with a highly recommended redheaded tattoo artist Peter Campbell. I had a wallet size photo and the scissors my mom used during her hair styling days. She's always kept an impressive rose garden too, so the idea was there. That's where Peter took over. He drew the art and we had a classic piece. Check out some more of Peter's work at www.petercampbelltattoos.com. He is a badass with red hair, sound familiar?

Live from Phoenix

2009-06-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a few of us from CMG & We Are the Night made it out to Arizona to play a couple of shows. We showed up late to the Trunk Space in Phoenix and performed a set without even getting a chance to realize we weren't in tune with the piano. That sure as hell didnt stop us. David J. battled food poisoning and dehydration to nail the tambourine, while Carlos was upset the lighting couldnt show off his new mustache and beard. Otherwise, magic happened.

Cookin' on the Fly - Episode 1 with CMG

2009-05-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

Cookin' on the Fly with CMG is the first episode of my cooking show. I will be having celebrity chefs appear on the show to prepare one of their favorite quick meals. Carlos was amazing and I'm grateful to him for being the pilot actor. If anyone would like to be in any upcoming shows, let me know, let's do this, let's make amazing food!

Egg Foo Yung
2 Chicken Flavor Top Ramens
2 Eggs
1 tbsp oil of your choice
2 cups water for boiling pasta
pepper
chili powder

99 Luftballons

2009-05-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's the fact that I lived in Germany for a few months in a past life, but I just love this song. Not the English version, not the King James Version. Enjoy it with me.

CMG & We are the Night...Part 1

2009-05-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

The recording of the album has begun yet again at my parents' house. The good vibrations in the air are intoxicating. Brian Brunac laid down wonderful drum tracks, while David J. recorded and produced like the high-paid professional he is. The great thing about the album is that along with the music, there will be at least 2 projected films documenting its creation. Talk about an injection of hype.

Deep Inside the Autopiano

2009-05-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Autopiano at my parents' house has been a staple in the home for 15 years. It was passed on to us by family friends. They had the piano for at least another 40 years. Originally it was a player piano, having the capability to automatically play songs from a script. That feature was taken out long before we came to own the beast.
Now, the piano is used mostly by me to learn, play and hopefully record. The keys are beat down and it takes a lot of muscle to get quality sound out of it. There are a couple of dead keys, a broken string and a very faded look to the keyboard itself.
The top left photo is from the top lid of the beast. As you can see, royalty approves.

Day One

2009-05-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

I had an old blog before, but how am I supposed to know all of the old info? We're talking 3 or 4 years ago. So here is to trying promote fun, music, soccer and bad ideas.