Well I'm three for three sportsfans.  What am I talking about?  My theater experience.  Remember when I wrote about seeing the 5:00 show for "Rocky Balboa" and then doing the same for the new Fantastic Four movie?  Well this past week I did it again.  On Thursday I went to the 5:00 showing of "Live Free Or Die Hard" and not one patron ruined my experience.  I may be onto something.  Again, I sat right up front where the others were several rows behind me, and I didn't hear anyone even cough during the whole movie because of the volume level of sitting in the front.  Now I will say there was a wee bit of a line for food...but the guy in front of me was talking to some other dude that was in the line next to us...it was obvious they were friends that just bumped into each other...and for some reason I joined in the conversation.  Both of them were there with families to see "The Transformers" and we all started talking about how every show or comic we grew up with was now a movie and how weird it was.  I was just so pumped to see my movie that I was in a decent enough mood to talk to strangers, plus the line was moving fairly quickly.  Yeah, imagine that, me actually acting cordial to strangers at a theater.  So I get my bag of peanut M&M's and a bladder-buster sized Diet Coke, and headed in to see John McClaine in action.  Normally previews drive me nuts...but these were worth it to see one clip - "Hitman".  I've played the videogame and loved the character.  So now I have another movie this Fall to look forward to.  I can't wait to see my favorite bald assassin wasting evil.  But enough on that.  I was sitting right up front like I usually do which drowns out all the others in the theater...and let me just say that "Live Free Or Die Hard" was kick ass!!!  Oh sure, it's over the top, but the story is so well done and the action scenes were incredible.  If it was just action I would have been bored out of my mind...but the story kept me drawn in.  If you love "Die Hard" as much as I do, you really need to see this.  I don't know if it's sad or not that 52 year old Bruce Willis is a better action star than about 99% of the others in Hollywood.  And the thing I loved, just like in the original, at the end of the movie he truly looked like he had been through hell.  Bleeding, shot, bruised, exhausted...not like the old Arnold movies where he would light a cigar and snap out some one-liner.  It was literally everything I was hoping for.  Plus, the actress Maggie Q looked incredible.  I'm not much into Asian women...but she was gorgeous in this.  Plus, a hot chick who does martial arts does something for me...haha.  Although, I did see Michelle Malkin filling in for Bill O'Reiley, and now that she's let her hair grow out she is looking quite hot.  And she is a hardcore conservative who never wavers on her values which really does something for me too.  Anyway, back to the movie.  This movie really reminded me of the way "Rocky Balboa" went down.  The original "Die Hard" had a really original story to it, and the next two were good but could just pass as action movies.  This latest one really wanted to tell a great story with action driving it like the original, and it did just that.  The only drawback was that the director of this movie was the husband of the living goddess Kate Beckinsale.  Oh well...she just doesn't know what she's missing out on...hahaha.  Next on the radar is the new Resident Evil...oh man I can't wait to see Milla Jovovich kick some zombie ass!

Well thankfully some people could tear themselves away from the Al Gore bore-fest Saturday to come out to The End to check out a GREAT show.  I honestly have to say, it was one of the most fun times I've had playing a gig.  Sometimes we've gigged with bands that are cool...but not easy to just hang out with.  Not like they have some bs attitude...you know what I mean.  The really cool thing was that it was a Saturday night, so it didn't matter how late I stayed out, so I stayed for all the bands and was glad I did.  The Creeping Cruds were first, and as usual, their lead singer Wolfie had people going.  I've written before about him, and he's just got this way of getting people into the show.  In fact, there were a couple of girls sitting at this one table with some guy and he kept trying to get them to come down front.  Well they did more than that...they got up on the stage during the last song and started dancing.  And then it was time for the mighty NoiseCult.  Yeah...ummmmm....I don't see women getting on stage and dancing to our tunes.  Yes, it's sad but true.  In fact, when we got ready to start I stated that it would be cool if women wanted to come up and dance on stage for the opening number...and then announced the song - "Disciples of War"...hahaha.  So we launch into it, and all the women took about 5 steps back from the stage because they feared the power that is NoiseCult.  Yes, they were scared, but at the same time the raw fury and my powerful manly presence kept them hooked.  That's exactly how it went down...haha.  Now this gig was the last one our drummer Matt would be playing in Nashville.  We have one in Kentucky in a couple of weeks, and after that Matt is done.  Don't you worry adoring fans, we've got a couple of dudes who have contacted us, so we'll be rolling again very soon.  Because it was Matt's last gig in Nashville, we wanted to play a few brand new songs...and because of this I needed cheat sheets.  Yeah, I had sheets of lyrics behind one of the monitors that I would be reading and screaming during a few of the tunes.  But it was a blast...I love playing The End because the sound is always so good.  However, I did make a bit of a screw-up.  When we were finishing our final number "Blood Feast Tonight", during the extended jam ending I was thanking/announcing the other bands on the bill.  Earlier in the night when we went to eat after soundcheck and setup, Wolfie was singing "20 Eyes" by The Misfits because he said when he heard the band name "A Thousand Eyes" who was also on the show it popped in his head.  So when I go to thank the Cruds for starting everything, and then say to stick around for Piranah and...yeah...the song "20 Eyes" was all I could think of.  Matt and Don hit the finale', and I was like "uuhhhh....what's the other band's name?"  I just said it was a major brain fart and couldn't believe I forgot.  Piranah was up next and kicked major ass.  They've been around for a while...but this show was the first one here in quite some time.  Full-on brutality...with guitar solos!  They were some very cool guys, and I swear, when their singer said after the gig "man, let's pack everything into a van and all go out on tour" I couldn't have agreed more.  I really hope to play more shows with them.  One really cool thing, and there were many that night, was when their drummer told me after we got done that we were a mix of Slayer, Black Sabbath, and COC.  Honestly, I have never heard a better compliment...especially considering those are the three bands me and Don have often kind of joked around that we're a mix of.  Ok, after Piranah got done, I was outside getting some air and packing up some stuff, and the drummer of Piranah was like "man, you need to watch A Thousand Eyes...they're going to do a cover of "Roots" by Sepultura".  When he said that...I did what I do when me and Don are discussing various metal stuff that excites us...we both held up our forearms and joked about the goosebumps we were getting...hahaha.  I absolutely LOVE that song.  Oh, and let me also say that Piranah closed their set with a kickass version of "The Mob Rules".  I was taking it easy in the corner...having a drink and just relaxing at the time...and when that intro hit I rushed up front.  Me and Don were both up there screaming along.  Man it rocked.  So A Thousand Eyes took the stage, and from the opening note these guys were going insane.  Now I can honestly say I'm not much into a lot of the newer metal bands I hear...but these guys had some monstrous riffs...and when the singer of Piranah told me how young they are I know there is hope for the future of metal...hahaha.  Hey, that may sound like a joke but it's true.  I LOVE metal...and to hear people play cool stuff that are much younger than I am is pretty cool.  Seriously, I don't stand up by the stage for most of the bands we've gigged with.  That's not some elitist attitude...it's just usually I'm so worn out after a gig I want to just hang out and watch.  These guys had energy...and I was close to the front watching the whole thing.  When they kicked into "Roots" I was ready to start smashing stuff.  What cracked me up was when their singer said they were going to play something old-school.  It hit me...that song came out in 1996...I remember the day that CD came out...and I was thinking "man...that was already 11 years ago!"  To me it only seems like a few years...but I'm an old fart in the metal scene I guess...hahaha.  Each band that night had something different to offer, and they were all very cool.  It was a good time and shame on you if you missed it!  Our next gig is coming up in a couple of weeks in Kentucky with Slander.  We played a show with them about a year ago, and they got us on this gig...I can't wait to play it.  You know why?  The best crowds come in areas that isn't saturated with clubs, like Nashville.  This is in Cave City, Kentucky, and it's an all-ages show.  Slander is doing a CD release gig and I have a good feeling that there will be a great crowd.

You know what I'm sick of?  I'm sick of seeing all these current and ex pro wrestlers appearing on news shows to defend their lifestyle.  This week I've seen Kevin Nash, Lanny Poffo (The Genius) and Sean Stasiak all crying about their horrible schedules and how they just HAVE to wrestle injured so they need painkillers and blah blah blah.  Cry me a friggin' river.  I'm so sick of hearing about how they have to do drugs so they can keep wrestling or they will lose their job.  Here's a bit of free advice - quit.  Yes, quit wrestling and do something else.  Oh I know, it's their passion...their love...whatever.  Now, I am in no way trying to make myself into some tough guy (even though I am...haha), but pain is something I deal with every moment.  For instance, I've got costochondritis which is arthritis on your sternum that can literally feel like a knife going into your chest...I've got one shoulder that's slightly separated and also has some rotator cuff damage, and my other shoulder had bursitis so when I'm playing bass standing with a strap on, after about 10 minutes my shoulder is burning and stiffens.  The only way I can loosed it after playing is taking my right hand and grabbing my left arm and raise my left arm over my head and rotate it a little.  I've had two back operations which still annoy me from time to time, I've got a very bad knee that has arthritis in it and will sometimes lock up if I don't wear some kind of wrap on it...oh...and I've got a big toe that doesn't bend due to an accident and it hurts like crap if I put too much weight on it.  So when I do the things I have a passion for like playing gigs or martial arts classes, so I get all doped up?  No, I take an Alleve and deal with it.  Although I can say that since I started taking a Chondroitin supplement, the joint pain isn't as severe.  If I had to keep taking prescription drugs so I could strap on my bass, no matter how much I loved playing I would probably not do it...it isn't worth it.  It almost reminds me of that logic I used to get from some people when they would talk about a movie or a band, I would say I thought it sucked, and they would say something like "oh man, it's awesome when you're tripping!"  Well if I have to take something to enjoy a movie or a band...odds are it isn't worth it because the movie or music SUCKS.  If I was given the chance of fame and fortune but along with it would have to down painkillers all the time...I think I would be pretty content to do what I do and sit in a cubicle from 8-5 every week day.  It's that way with any addiction to drugs...if you have to pop pills just to make it through the day to do what you have a passion for, you really need to examine your life and ask if it's all worth it.  Odds are, it isn't.  Oh, and of course all these wrestlers are saying that we shouldn't automatically think steroids had anything to do with Chris Benoit considering 95% of them take steroids.  Oh yeah, injecting your body with an over-abundance of hormones has NO harmful effect...uh huh.  It may not have caused what happened, but it sure as heck didn't help him out any.

Speaking of martial arts training...I'm thinking about going somewhere else.  Originally when I signed up back in January, all I wanted to study was Muay Thai.  The classes I take are mixed martial arts (MMA) which does teach this...but it's also combined with Brazilian Ju-Jitsu.  Now I am in no way dogging BJJ at all, but it's not my thing.  Honestly, the grappling stuff bores me to death, which is why I would MUCH rather watch K-1 fights instead of UFC.  When I watch UFC and they go to the ground, I get bored really quick.  Yes, I love a quick takedown followed by elbows or forearms pounding on someone's head...but when a takedown happens and it turns into several minutes of two guys wrestling around...I'm ready to turn it off.  Seriously, in my experiences, a street fight is not going to result in two guys in certain guard and mount (man that sounds bad...haha) positions.  Yes, a few good takedowns resulting in a quick resolution are extremely beneficial, and I don't mind practicing those at all...but the rest of it...eh.  I am getting more out of working out on my heavy bag at home doing kicks, knees, and elbows versus class.  I'm enrolled through the end of the year, so I'll keep doing it, but I'm looking around for other instructors.  I just keep getting this feeling that where I'm training is geared more to competitive fighting like UFC.  Don't get me wrong...I've learned a TON...but I want to keep training in Muay Thai exclusively in one-on-one training.  The true Muay Thai I've been learning has one very basic theme - to incapacitate your opponent as quickly as possible.  Seriously, if you were in a street fight and someone leads with a right...which most people would do...knowing how to counter that, wrap the arm, grab the back of the guy's head, and then start throwing knees into his chest or face is pretty cool.  You know what?  There is one part of me that hopes I'm never in a situation where I have to use what I've been training in...but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see what would happen.  That's just me being honest.  It's true though when you hear about martial arts instilling confidence...because when you're out somewhere and have constantly practiced several ways to counter strikes that would be thrown in most street fights, you just carry yourself a little differently.  You don't go out looking to kick someone's ass...in fact I really don't even think about it...because when I've been downtown or at some bars or wherever...that confidence I have in what I know and practice eliminates any uneasiness.  It's hard to explain.  You know what?  Last year when I ran for the Senate, I was constantly having to defend myself internally...what I value and what my beliefs are.  This year I've been learning how to defend myself physically.  Man, that's pretty cool when I think about it.

Ok, I'm off to play some Star Wars Battlefront II before getting some sleep.  More from my life in a few days...because I know how much everyone loves reading about me...hahaha.  Seriously though, I wouldn't keep spending time writing this stuff if people weren't reading it.  Hopefully it's somewhat entertaining.