Check out the new laugh-out-loud web-pilot, The Impression Guys. It’s written and directed by Ben Shelton, and it stars celebrity impressionists Jim Meskimen and Ross Marquand.
This is a test run for this web series, so if you like it, post some comments on their YouTube page. I definitively want to see more episodes, so please give a shout out.
Jordy Smith (ZAF) won the Billabong Rio Pro after a high-flying battle against national favorite Adriano de Souza (BRA) in the final yesterday.
“This win feels unbelievable,” Smith told the ASP International. “It’s another dream come true. I knew I could win a World Tour event, but I had to prove to myself that I could do it away from South Africa.”
The win moves Smith into the #2 spot on the 2013 ASP World Champion Tour rankings, but De Souza is currently ranked #1 with 18,500 pts.
Following the Billabong Rio Pro, Mick Fanning (AUS) is ranked #3, Kelly Slater (USA) #4 and Taj Burrow (AUS) keeping the dream alive at #5.
Coming up next, get ready to witness some sick barrels and intense surfing when the tour makes a stop in paradise for the Volcom Fiji Pro June 2 – 14.
For more information, go to: www.aspworldtour.com
Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner were on hand in New York City for a special screening of Judas Priest’s concert DVD, Epitaph.
The DVD was recorded on the final date of their Epitaph world tour at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. And Priest fans that missed the tour last year, will be pleased to learn that the DVD features at least one track from all of Judas Priest’s 14 studio albums, spanning from 1974 to 2008.
The screening was hosted by metal broadcasting legend, Eddie Trunk. He introduced Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner to a nearly sold out room. But before the Metal God appeared, Trunk warned the audience of Halford’s current physical condition.
“The Metal God is ailing a little bit,” Trunk said. “He has a nerve issue with his back. He’s going to England tomorrow to get that corrected. So as a result, he’s a bit incapacitated. He’s in a wheelchair. But he is good to go, [he's] getting that fixed. So don’t panic, there’s plenty of life left in the Metal God he assures us.”
Faulkner guided Halford down the aisle in a wheelchair. Halford was dressed in black and wore dark sunglasses. He waved to the cheering crowd as he went by.
When he reached the front of the theater, Halford stood up with the assistance of a cane and stepped on to the stage. He took the mike, and thanked the crowd for coming out for the event.
“You know, in Judas Priest we always try to do something for the very first time, and this is certainly a first for us to be on this big, massive silver screen,” said Halford.
Watching Epitaph in a packed theater with the volume cranked up was very close to a concert experience. There was an electric vibe in the air, and each song ended with applause.
Some of the highlights included not only fan favorites like Heading Out To The Highway, Diamonds and Rust, and Electric Eye, but also more recent tracks like Judas Rising (Angel of Retribution) and Prophecy (Nostradamus).
One of the coolest moments of the show was when the band played, Breaking The Law. Halford didn’t sing once during the entire song. He let the crowd take over for him, and in true metalhead fashion, they belted the lyrics out verbatim.
Another standout performance was replacement guitarist, Richie Faulkner. K.K. Downing was certainly missed on this tour, but Faulkner’s smoking guitar playing and charismatic stage presence overwhelmingly answered the question of whether or not he was the right person for the job.
And there’s more good news. The Epitaph tour was supposed to mark the farewell of Judas Priest, but if you think the band is calling it quits, you’ve got another thing coming.
“Just to let you know, we are hard at work in the studio. We are making a brand new Judas Priest album,” said Halford.
For more information, go to: www.judaspriest.com
The best thing to come out of Oklahoma City since the Thunder is a two piece rock/pop duo called, Skating Polly (read interview). The band consists of step-sisters, Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, and since it’s just the two of them, their music isn’t over produced or excessively polished. They like to keep it simple, and for the most part, what you hear on the album is what you get live.
Check out the new video for the title track off their album, The Lost Wonderfuls. The video not only compliments the band’s unique sound, but it also captures the energy of their music. Watch it now…
To hear more music, or anything Skating Polly, click here.
I’m halfway through Cormac McCarthy’s The Border Trilogy (All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of The Plain). My exact location is 135 pages into the second volume, The Crossing. I had never read McCarthy before, but I am so grateful to have finally picked up one of his books.
He’s not an easy writer to grasp. It took me about thirty-five pages to get a sense of his style. He makes the reader work for it. This isn’t easy reading, he makes you think, but the results are worth the sweat. He just might be one of our greatest living writer’s working today.
It’s hard to pass by some of his brilliant sentences without rereading them and sitting in awe of his authorial command. Then there are other times, where he’s left me scratching my head, and although I enjoyed the imagery and poetic content the particular line, my eyes moved on without my brain fully comprehending what he was trying to say.
Perhaps that’s what the author wanted, to leave it open for interpretation or no interpretation at all? Or maybe, I need to consult one of the many literary criticism books that attempt to analyze his work? Maybe, I’m just not smart enough?
Either way, it didn’t affect my reading experience. Matter of fact, McCarthy is the type of writer that not only makes me feel more intelligent, but also seems to have influenced my writing in a positive way. McCarthy may not be trying to be didactic, but I cannot help learning from him.
If you have never read McCarthy, do yourself a favor and check him out, but give his writing a chance. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s well worth the investment.
For more information, check Cormac McCarthy’s official website: www.cormacmccarthy.com
“Mother is my song to my beautiful sons. I know they will see the truth one day,” said Lita Ford. “They will always have a place in my heart, which bleeds for them through this song.”
Mother is off Lita Ford’s new album, Living Like a Runaway. Watch the video…
Josephine de La Baume in Kiss of the Damned. Photo Magnet Releasing.
The hardest part about watching Xan Cassavetes’ Kiss Of The Damned is not believing in vampires, but buying into the hackneyed plot device of love at first sight. Once you get over that, well unfortunately the film doesn’t get much better.
The story takes place in a mountainous town where the beautiful and seductive vampire, Djuna (Josephine da La Baume) resides. Since she can’t go outside in the sunlight, she spends her days watching movies inside the confines of a fellow vampire’s lair.
On a random trip to a video store, Djuna runs into a handsome screenwriter named Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia). They exchange glances, speak briefly outside the store, and end up having drinks together. It’s not long before he’s following Djuna home, and things get hot and heavy very quickly. But she’s a vampire with a conscious, so she sends him away before things get out of hand.
Djuna must have made quite an impression on him because he becomes obsessed with her. He calls her excessively and even shows up at her home uninvited, not once, but twice. Stalker alert! It’s a good thing she’s a vampire and can take care of herself, or the cops might have been called.
On his first uninvited visit, they kiss and she bites his tongue. Fighting the temptation to devour him, she shuts the door in his face and tells him to leave. But he comes back a second time, and it’s on this visit that she reveals her true nature. First she tells him, but he doesn’t believe her.
“There’s no such thing as vampires, Djuna,” says Paolo.
So she shows him. Djuna has him chain her to the bed, so he isn’t at risk of getting bitten. It’s here that Cassavetes directs one of the most erotic vampire scenes in cinema. Even Paolo can’t resist watching a scantily clad Djuna thrash around in the bed. He unchains her, they get busy, and she bites him on the neck.
Now, he’s a vampire, but they are in love, so he’s happy about it. Everything is just perfect between them until her bloodthirsty sister, Mimi (Roxane Mesquida) shows up.
Mimi likes to party, have copious amounts of sex and feed on humans, especially unsuspecting men. But in this world of vampires, the most sophisticated have given up human blood.
Mesquida plays the bad girl vampire with verve and wicked skill. She delivers some of the most gruesome and exciting scenes in this yawner.
Cassavetes writes in the director’s statement:
“With Kiss of the Damned, my first narrative feature, I wanted to tell a story of vampires trying to find the meaning in life, to enjoy the dilemma of forever. I wanted to borrow the tradition of contrasting loveliness and brutality from the vampire films I love, to set a story about confused creatures, trying the best they can to find truth.”
For the past week, I’ve been listening to a very interesting new album “Everybody Loves Sausages” from the Melvins. It’s a collection of 13 cover songs that range from death metal (Venom) to pop rock (David Bowie) to hardcore punk (Tales of Terror).
There’s a little something for everybody on this record, and the Melvins don’t disappoint as they take the listener back in time.
“This record will give people a peek into the kind of things that influence us musically,” explains Buzz Osborne. “We really like all of these songs along with the bands who actually wrote this stuff because first and foremost we are huge music fans.”
The album is unconventional, yet skillfully executed. And they do it with a sense of humor, at least that’s what I got from the liner notes. For example, in the credits next to the first track, Warhead by Venom, the band writes:
“We all love Venom. Rumor has it that these guys are all Yoga instructors now.”
Hilarious!
You would think that opening an album with a cover of Venom would set the tone for the record, but the Melvins throw a serious curve ball when they follow-up with a spot on cover of Queen’s You’re My Best Friend.
They knew their fans would be like WTF? So they offered the following explanation:
“This song was a pain in the ass to record, but it came out great! We knew it would be a head scratcher for our fans, but that’s kind of the deal with us.”
Yes, and thank you! Although it’s not my favorite Queen song, I can appreciate the effort. But the album really finds its grove with lesser known songs such as Female Trouble (Divine, written by John Waters) Romance (Tales of Terror) and Set It On Fire (The Scientists).
Surprisingly, the only song I didn’t care for was David Bowie’s, Station to Station. The song comes in at 11 minutes and 20 seconds, and for the first couple of minutes, it’s just noise. The song improves, but I truly didn’t find it worth the wait. Of course, Bowie fans may disagree.
With that being said, I would compare “Everybody Loves Sausages” with Metallica’s Garage Inc. as far as cover records go. The renditions are tight, and the song selections are inviting. Fans of the Melvins should be quite excited with this release, and it should hold them over until the band puts some original material together.
To download the new album from I-Tunes, click here.
Photo courtesy of ESPN Films.
The life story of big wave surfer Eddie Aikau pretty much writes itself. His biography is a classic tale of heroism and tragedy. But director Sam George successfully goes deeper in the film, Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau, and uncovers not only rare footage and photographs, but also the little known story of Hawaii that lurks beneath the surface.
Not since Stuart Holmes Colman’s wonderful book, Eddie Would Go has Aikau’s story been told with such depth and poetic flair. The film examines a culture that was nearly lost among the influx of mainlanders and commercialism.
“A lot of people really don’t know the story of Hawaii. They know what they have learned basically from tourist brochures,” said Sam George after the world premier at the Tribeca Film Festival.
In short, there’s much more to this film than riding huge waves, and George deftly packs it all in while keeping the audience engaged. The film doesn’t preach, but it does illuminate an ongoing social injustices that has plagued native Hawaiians for decades.
Eddie Aikau was born on the island of Maui on May 4, 1946. Shortly after, his family moved to Oahu and became live-in caretakers of a cemetery. Eddie was one of six siblings, and when he and his younger brother Clyde discovered surfing, it changed their lives forever. By their late teens, they were charging huge surf at Waimea Bay.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t he Hawaiians that were dominating the big wave scene at that time, but Californians like Greg Knoll, Pat Curren, Ricky Grigg, Buzzy Trent and Peter Cole.
To add insult to injury, not a single Hawaiian was invited to the first Duke Kahanamoku Invitational surf contest. But with his notoriety growing, and his talent and skill for big wave riding becoming more refined, Aikau finally received an invitation to compete.
For years, Aikau surfed each contest with determination and courage, and even though he did well, a victory still alluded him. To the surprise of many, it was his brother Clyde Aikau that brought home a victory first in 1973. But Eddie didn’t give up, and his perseverance paid off. In 1977, in pumping surf, he won it all at the age of 31. It was a win not only for himself, but for all of Hawaii.
Besides being a surfer, Eddie Aikau was the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay. He attempted hundreds of rescues and never lost anyone under his watch. So it’s quite tragic when he dies not only trying to save himself, but also the crew from the sinking Hokule’a.
In rough seas, Aikau paddled away from the sinking vessel on his surfboard. The crew was eventually rescued, but Aikau’s body was never recovered. Since his death, there has been many theories on what led to his demise. Why didn’t Aikau make it to shore? No one has the exact answer, but after conducting extensive research for this film, director Sam George offered an insightful explanation of what might have happened:
“You got to realize the wind was going against him, it was pushing him south. The current was going against him. On those days, the breaking seas were between 15 and 20 feet. What he was doing was impossible. There was no way he could paddle against those waves and that current.
“But as Nainoa Thomson mentioned in the prologue. He had never failed in the ocean. He had saved 500 hundred people, [and they] were only the ones that he had registered in his lifeguard’s log…So when he paddled away, he had complete confidence. But what he was trying to do, was impossible. What most likely happened, is he tired. A big wave probably knocked him off his board. And then it was only inevitable that eventually, he would tire and slip under.”
Aikau died much to young, but his legend lives on. Eddie Would Go are three words that are not only found on t-shirts, bumper stickers and graffiti, but are also uttered by surfers around the world when trying to find the courage to paddle into challenging waves.
Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau is a must-see for not only surfers, but for anyone that believes in the mythical notion of heroes.
This film is a part of ESPN’s 30 For 30 series and will be broadcasted this fall. You can watch the trailer here.