The 90's
What bands from the 90's that have broken up do you miss?
Aztec Jade. They were a really good powermetal band, that broke up. Now the two main creative guys formed Ascension Theory, but it is much more Dream Theater-esque Prog Metal, and I don't like them near as much as the original band.
What was your favorite song from that decade?
Picking one is tough : Brian May - Too much love will kill you; Ayreon - Sail Away to Avalon; Rocket Scientists - Brutal Architecture are all in the running.
What was your favorite album?
That one is fairly easy - Rocket Scientists - Oblivion Days.
How did you feel about the whole "grunge" genre that popped up in the early 90's?
I loved it - I like hard rock, and it was a different kind of sound. I have complete discographies of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Temple of the Dog (all one CD), and Soundgarden. It was such an overwhelming force that it changed the face of music - now a lot of bands I liked disappeared during the grunge years, but they came back. I think that is really shook up the music scene and that is a good thing every now and again. And later pop and rock bands that incorporate some elements really make for a nice touch of music.
Plus it lead to Todd Snider and "Talking Seattle Grunge Blues" :)
What was your favorite 1 hit wonder of that decade?
Tubthumping.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Friday stuff
Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of pie?
I generally don't care for pie, can I have cake instead? If I had to choose a pie it would be apple.
Soup
Name something that made you smile this week.
Does grinning outrageously count? -- Monday, pretty much the whole day; the wife and I spent it hitting CD shops and thrift shops and finished it by watching the Rush Concert.
Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
Well, I live in a desert, so humid is rarely a problem. We keep 8 to 12 1.5 liter bottles of water in the fridge - I tend to down 4 of those a day. Lots of fans. Soaking a shirt in cold water then putting it back one.
Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
The upstairs room. Our house was originally two apartments, and we have what was the dining room/living room/ect upstairs, and it is huge. We have been working on cleaning it up, and then ripping out the carpet, clean the smell from the wood, and replace the flooring with tile or vinyl sheeting or something.
Dessert
Fill in the blank: My _________ says __________, but I __________.
horoscope / I will have a long trip today / don't believe in astrology.
Music Memiors
Top 5 artists you loved in college.
Talking Heads - This is when Stop Making Sense came out.
Petra - My first exposure to Christian Rock.
Gary Numan - now I listend to him before college, but there was this huge used/import record store near the University, so I got a lot of his stuff that I had not been able to find and listened to him a lot.
George Winston - Another discovery - love his stuff.
Twisted Sister - always a fan of Hair Metal, and they were the ones I really listened to at college.
Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of pie?
I generally don't care for pie, can I have cake instead? If I had to choose a pie it would be apple.
Soup
Name something that made you smile this week.
Does grinning outrageously count? -- Monday, pretty much the whole day; the wife and I spent it hitting CD shops and thrift shops and finished it by watching the Rush Concert.
Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
Well, I live in a desert, so humid is rarely a problem. We keep 8 to 12 1.5 liter bottles of water in the fridge - I tend to down 4 of those a day. Lots of fans. Soaking a shirt in cold water then putting it back one.
Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
The upstairs room. Our house was originally two apartments, and we have what was the dining room/living room/ect upstairs, and it is huge. We have been working on cleaning it up, and then ripping out the carpet, clean the smell from the wood, and replace the flooring with tile or vinyl sheeting or something.
Dessert
Fill in the blank: My _________ says __________, but I __________.
horoscope / I will have a long trip today / don't believe in astrology.
Music Memiors
Top 5 artists you loved in college.
Talking Heads - This is when Stop Making Sense came out.
Petra - My first exposure to Christian Rock.
Gary Numan - now I listend to him before college, but there was this huge used/import record store near the University, so I got a lot of his stuff that I had not been able to find and listened to him a lot.
George Winston - Another discovery - love his stuff.
Twisted Sister - always a fan of Hair Metal, and they were the ones I really listened to at college.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Take Me Back...
Rush is great. Rush is awesome. Rush. Rush. Rush.
Okay, now that that is out of my system.....
Take me back Tuesday:
Back in the day before the internet ruled the earth and people went to malls etc...
What was your favorite record store?
Toad Tape. They eventually had 3 stores, but when I went there all the time, they had one, and it was the best record store around. Back when I was about 15 or so, I got $100 for my birthday, and spend the entire thing there, and they gave me 10% off, which I then just used to buy more albums. That was when I first got Return to Forever: Romantic Warrior
Are there any non-chain stores that you still frequent for your music needs?
Not a national chain, but a local- they have 2 or 3 stores: Graywhale. I have discovered some great stuff there: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Pelican, Songs:Ohia among others.
What was your favorite "find" at your favorite store?
I had fallen behind on getting my Todd Snyder CDs, and was browsing at Graywhale, and found the last 2 CDs used. Nice stuff.
Okay, now that that is out of my system.....
Take me back Tuesday:
Back in the day before the internet ruled the earth and people went to malls etc...
What was your favorite record store?
Toad Tape. They eventually had 3 stores, but when I went there all the time, they had one, and it was the best record store around. Back when I was about 15 or so, I got $100 for my birthday, and spend the entire thing there, and they gave me 10% off, which I then just used to buy more albums. That was when I first got Return to Forever: Romantic Warrior
Are there any non-chain stores that you still frequent for your music needs?
Not a national chain, but a local- they have 2 or 3 stores: Graywhale. I have discovered some great stuff there: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Pelican, Songs:Ohia among others.
What was your favorite "find" at your favorite store?
I had fallen behind on getting my Todd Snyder CDs, and was browsing at Graywhale, and found the last 2 CDs used. Nice stuff.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Rushing Around
Just a short note - Today is the Rush concert. The wife and I are going to make a day of it, driving around hitting thrift shops and used CD shops between here and the concert, breakfast at Denny's dinner at Sizzler, then meeting some of our best friends at the concert. And have I mentioned that I have wanted to see Rush in concert for 20 years.
WOOHOO!
If you look at the music of the week this week, you will see that I have been preparing for the concert. :)
WOOHOO!
If you look at the music of the week this week, you will see that I have been preparing for the concert. :)
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Halfway!!
Well in the chaos and distraction of the new job, preparing for Rush, and the general stuff of life, I had fallen behind on my personal deadline for my next article for Digital HERO. And it was going to be a little more for me - it was going to be a character article, something I've not done, and wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off. But I have got about halfway on it, finishing the intro and the first character. Two more characters to go... and building the character isn't that tough, it's the background and such that feels like pulling teeth.
I currently have 2 articles in the pipeline (one is supposed to be in next months issue). The magazine comes out every other month, and I plan to have an article to the editor every month and a half or so. I want him to have 2 or 3 to choose from for each issue from me. :)
And I still have a scan of my first check - my first payment as a freelance writer for the HERO games magazine. Talk about heaven. :)
I currently have 2 articles in the pipeline (one is supposed to be in next months issue). The magazine comes out every other month, and I plan to have an article to the editor every month and a half or so. I want him to have 2 or 3 to choose from for each issue from me. :)
And I still have a scan of my first check - my first payment as a freelance writer for the HERO games magazine. Talk about heaven. :)
Friday, August 3, 2007
Firday - I can has memes?
The Feast
Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
8 or 9. I try to be courteous and nice to everyone. That includes while I am driving.
Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Watching Eureka. Great show. Highly recomended.
Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
If we include animate movies - Mulan.
If it is just shorts - Wiley E Coyote - I love to see him fail. :)
Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
8th grade English teacher. He also taught drama. He was a very unusual teacher, both in how he taught (he was trying to teach us how to think) not just his subject. And he used humor as one of his tools to do that.
Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.
I am going to really enjoy myself Monday night at the Rush concert. :)
Top 5 on Fridays:
Top 5 musical acts you would travel more than a hundred miles to see.
Well... I don't really get into concerts, but if I had the time off, the money to burn to go, and they played in a venue that I could stand (one of them plays private clubs a lot, and I can't go for the cigarette smoke) these are the bands I would do so.
Brian May
Gary Numan
Rocket Scientists
Young Dubliners
Ring of Fire
Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
8 or 9. I try to be courteous and nice to everyone. That includes while I am driving.
Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Watching Eureka. Great show. Highly recomended.
Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
If we include animate movies - Mulan.
If it is just shorts - Wiley E Coyote - I love to see him fail. :)
Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
8th grade English teacher. He also taught drama. He was a very unusual teacher, both in how he taught (he was trying to teach us how to think) not just his subject. And he used humor as one of his tools to do that.
Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.
I am going to really enjoy myself Monday night at the Rush concert. :)
Top 5 on Fridays:
Top 5 musical acts you would travel more than a hundred miles to see.
Well... I don't really get into concerts, but if I had the time off, the money to burn to go, and they played in a venue that I could stand (one of them plays private clubs a lot, and I can't go for the cigarette smoke) these are the bands I would do so.
Brian May
Gary Numan
Rocket Scientists
Young Dubliners
Ring of Fire