Oh yeah, we rocked.  Saturday the mighty NoiseCult filmed our new DVD, which will hopefully be finished in about a month.  Ready for some stories?  Here you go.  I get to the TV studio on Friday night to help setup after I got off work.  I get there and the stage had already been built and the lighting rigs were being hooked up.  I basically helped lay cables and do some small stuff for a couple of hours, but it was quite a setup.  A stage with girders and lights and skulls.  AND I got my evil red light.  A few years ago, Don and I saw Dio and he had a red light in the middle of the stage that would shine up on him...and we called it the Dio evil red light.  Ever since we started doing NoiseCult, I would always joke about wanting the Dio evil red light shining up on me from the floor...well the dream became a reality.  The lighting guy is hooking it up while I'm standing where the mic will be, and he cuts it on.  Several people were like "wow...that's pretty evil looking"...but I had to take their word for it because I couldn't see what I looked like.  We were only going to use it in one song and it had to be the right effect.  More on this in a second.  So we wrap up the setup and the next morning meet up there in the late morning for final prep and soundcheck.  Now, we had 4 new songs we were doing...three of which we had only really practiced a few times.  I knew the parts musically, but I couldn't remember all the lyrics so Don got a teleprompter.  I entered the new song lyrics into it, setup was done, and we were ready to go.  The lights go down, we open the first song as the cameras are rolling, and I look up...no lyrics.  I was hoping the words would somehow miraculously appear, so I start the song.  I remembered the first line, so the tune opened like this - "Into the never through a whole in the sky...hey Don I've got no words...teleprompter hasn't cut on..." so we stopped.  Turned out no one knew who was going to run it, so no one did.  Anyway, once that was straightened out, we started up again.  We get through the first two songs and stop for a sec (the benefits of filming, we'll edit it together later).  Matt, our drummer who also provided the audio gear turned around to double-check the board to make sure it was recording.  Guess what, it was still on "standby".  Originally I was ecstatic we made it through the first song and I didn't blow it because I knew that would be the toughest one since it's the newest.  Well we had to do the first two over.  Right there it caused a weird vibe.  We re-did them and moved forward.  The strangest thing was that it wasn't like a regular gig where we play a couple of tunes, stop for a sec while I talk to the crowd, and keep going.  Doing this, we would stop after every song and check tuning, grab some water, etc.  It was weird because it was like all momentum was lost.  I mean it wasn't that bad, just weird.  Now, back to the evil red light.  We go into our 7 minute epic "No Sanctuary".  This is a slow yet heavy song where we wanted to use the light.  The light cuts on, I feel like I look evil, and we proceed to rock.  The song is going great...all up until the last verse.  Yep, we're over 6 minutes into the song and I forgot a line.  After the tune ended, the director asked if we wanted to redo it because of that.  I was like "no, we'll figure something out" because I didn't want the 20 or so people who were cool enough to show up and be the "audience" to sit through it again for one line.  After that I was a little frazzled, and felt like I was constantly screwing up each song.  Thankfully I wasn't as bad as I thought.  We got a rough DVD copy of it afterwards, and I watched it when I got home.  There were things I thought I really messed up that Don didn't even notice, and odds are no one else will either.  Yep, my own worst critic.  I can't wait to get the final thing done because I really think it's going to be quite awesome.  One tune I was really looking forward to watching was a new one called "Wasting My Time".  Granted, I wrote it, so of course I wanted to see how it sounded when I could just listen to it...man I thought it rocked.  The other new ones all came out really good too.  Other than that tune which I'm partial to, "Gates of Eternity" came out pretty good and "Disciples of War" was like a balls to the walls Slayer tune.  After watching the rough edit, I was pretty happy with everything.  And let me say this - If you've never seen The Creeping Cruds here in Nashville, you need to.  It's like AC/DC meets The Misfits.  But it's not just the tunes, it's their singer Pete aka Wolfie.  I don't care if there's 2 or 200 people watching, this guy is a true performer.  He is beyond relaxed and has no fear at all.  I bring this up because they filmed a set after we got done, and watching him is always a kickass experience.  Lead singers around here in rock bands could truly learn a lot by seeing him.  I'm pretty limited as to what I can do because I'm also playing bass.  If it wasn't for that I'd be better than he is....hahaha...kidding.  So many I see try WAY too hard to look intense, like they're at one with the music and blah blah blah.  Now I've been told I scowl a lot and everything, but our music has an angry edge to it, and screaming out lyrics like "Sick of wasting my time....wasting my time...sick of wasting my time...ON YOU!" so I tend to get a little angry but in a good way.  Basically it's just me venting and it feels great.  Like I joked to the people there watching us, I said our songs are either about evil women or the end of the world...haha.  I NEVER want to refer to our songs as "my art"...that's just so friggin pompous.  It's some notes with words that's supposed to entertain.  I don't want to ever think I'm changing the world through a tune I write like Eddie Vedder or Bono.  It's called entertainment for a reason.  But back to the DVD, hopefully it will be done in a few weeks and I'll post some videos because I know my adoring audience just can't wait...haha.

So let's talk movies for a minute.  I've watched some pure crap over the last week...a bunch of indie horror movies that no one talks about for a reason since they suck.  However, I did watch "Blood Diamond", and if you get over Leonardo "I want to have Al Gore's children" DiCaprio's HORRIBLE accent, it's a pretty kickass movie.  Of course Jennifer Connelly is in it, and I swear there could be a TV channel with her just standing there and I'd watch it.  But she's married so she blew her chance with me since I'm pretty much the epitome of man-dom.  Don't believe me?  Well it was confirmed at work this week.  Some of us were discussing the latest Rocky movie, and I brought up how Stallone is making a new Rambo movie and I can't wait to see it.  The guys were like "He is?  Oh man, I wonder if it will be any good" in a doubting tone.  I informed them it will be quite awesome, much like the new Rocky movie was, and this girl I work with said "yeah, but you're kind of a throwback manly man, so I'm sure you would like any Rambo movie".  Not that I didn't already know, but it's nice to have it confirmed sometimes...hahaha.  I guess that means my mom has Spartan blood in her, because according to the movie "300" only Spartan women give birth to real men.  But there I go sounding arrogant again.  Hey, if I don't sing my praises, who will?  After all, how many guys can claim they are the lead singer of a kickass metal band, ran for federal office as a hardcore conservative, AND train in Mixed Martial Arts?  Huh...no one else?  I rest my case....HA!  So poor Jennifer Connelly.  I guess she's in good company though.  After all Kate Beckinsale, Allison of The Donnas, and Rachael Ray ended up with lesser men.  Honestly, I guess I should feel bad for them...it's their loss.  Like the song says, I'm just too much rock and roll.  Ok, ok, I'll pipe down now.  Seriously though, I did get a few "how are you still single?" messages after my last post.  Now I'm not bringing this up to talk about how great I think I am, because I'm honestly not that arrogant believe it or not.  I will say that I'm pretty confident in myself and am pretty content with my life and the people in it, not to mention my two dogs that I adore.  Like I said in my responses, if someone wants to be a part of my life and wants me to be a part of theirs then great...if they don't then buh-bye.  That was basically the inspiration behind the song I referenced earlier, "Wasting My Time".  It was something I came up with a couple of months back when I was listening to someone I know tell me their story about someone they broke up with when the woman brought all this baggage into everything and would always let her past dictate her behavior thinking that because some other guy treated her one way, she thought this guy would do the same when he never did.  He got sick of it, but cared about her.  We were talking and I told him that he was just wasting his time.  If he had to spend his time convincing her that he was a good guy and she couldn't see it, then drop her and move on to someone that would appreciate it.  He did, and he's glad he did because the whole situation was just draining.  I'm glad he called me because I could speak from years of experience...hahaha.  Anyway, the lyrics started running through my head and a new song was born.  Honestly, I think back to the Bible where Jesus is talking to His disciples.  He tells them that when they're speaking the Word to people to give it a chance, and if they don't want to receive it to just shake the dust of their feet and move on.  He told them that so they wouldn't feel guilty because they couldn't save someone, because not everyone would be open to it.  And I honestly approach my relationships with people that way.  I'll go above and beyond many times, because when I decide to care about someone I cut them a lot of slack, but if after so many times they don't seem like they want to be a part of my life and let me be a part of theirs, then I just shake the dust off my feet and move on.  Like I told the guy I was talking to, are we supposed to beg to be in someone's life?  Heck no.  We started joking about all those stupid movies where a guy ends up on the phone leaving some gut-wrenching message on an answering machine saying how they NEED that person and can't go on without them and just how much bullshit that is.  He knew what I was going to say when he called me, and like he said when we finished, he just needed to hear it.  I told him just don't fall into the trap of thinking that because she was pushing him away that there's something wrong with him.  I know this guy, I know he's a solid dude.  And I also made sure to tell him that even though this may be her problem, don't think he's got to be some knight in shining armor that comes riding in to show her a good guy really exists.  He gave her many opportunities, she blew it, end of story.  Just be who you are, and if it attracts someone then great, and if not then you are still you and you didn't sell out and try to be something you aren't.  Now that applies to NORMAL people, not drama queens or nutjobs, you know what I mean.  Wait a second...wasn't I talking about movies???  Jeez...let me regroup...haha.  Wow, talk about ADD.

Next month NoiseCult hits the studio for our 3rd CD.  It's unreal to me.  Me and Don were talking the other night, and he mentioned how much he never wants to do cover tunes when we play because of how cool it is that we go out and play stuff we created...and I agree.  This thing has lasted longer than I thought it would, and I never thought when we started I would end up doing the lead vocals.  I can honestly say the stuff we're working on now is awesome.  We get more experimental, but more refined at the same time with each new song if that makes any sense.  All the new stuff may remind you of a band or style, but it honestly sounds like nobody else.  I'm very proud of the new songs because of the originality.  We've got 4 songs ready, and pieces of another 4 or 5 ready to be assembled.  I can't wait to put it all together.  So I guess another thing I could say to the ones who asked why I'm still single, I could say that I have a life I really enjoy, and things I really love doing that don't require that "special someone".  I'll meet the right one when it's time, but until then I shall continue to do what I love, and come home to my two dogs who still run to the front gate every single time I pull into the driveway, then run into the garage waiting for me to come outside and play with them.  Ok, I'm done for now...time to feed the kids and get some sleep.  Later sportsfans!