Preview of my upcoming book "Down In The Whole"

Today is the first time in a longtime that I have been writing on this blog. I have been busy writing a new book simply titled "Down In The Whole", about a young man who gets a job as a bartender following being school for three months in bartending school. The story takes place in New York City in downtown manhattan he meets up with a group of misfits who become his friends and they consider them his "family", and is estranged with his biological family with whom he resents than more than feel the love for them. He has an affair with a female boss who is the new owner of the new renovated place.The affair ended with the boss being pregnant with their child. Underneath is a darker edge for Freddie. He had met with the wrong people at a party and indulges into doing hard drugs like Quaaludes and Cocaine. His best friend who works as a bounder accidentally shoots himself while playing with a nine millimeter pistol while ona drug and alcohol induced stupor. The story is complicated and becomes a writer . The character narrates the story of what is his side of the story. Its funny and provocative and its very edgy and sometimes erotic.The cast of characters are very funny characters that deal with Freddie's own state of mind. I have so much to say in this book. Wish me luck You can join the discussion if you like . You are more than welcome friends.

Grammy Awards 2012 review

Remember 9/11

Ten years ago, has passed since our nation was attacked by a
senseless evil act .
It was a day of infamy since World War II when Nazi Germany bombed
England in the House Of Commons and Japan attacked Peal Harbor which also
led to a war.
9/11 will live as the work of evil done to our motherland. On that day
we
became vulnerable souls that feel helpless and full of grief and anger and felt like
wounded, but ten years later we became stronger and more defiant ones and never let evil get to us.
The day of infamy has hit home for me,personally and it still gets to me. I applied for a job three weeks before ev


il struck us and that would have been my name there on
that memorial that was built for our fallen comrades.
The twin towers became symbolic on how to live our lives going to work and make time for their families and all of a sudden it became the end of an innocence.
My brother worked near that area and he too would have lost his life and thank god he was alive but like myself we were hurt emotionally and wounded our hearts from
something so senseless and despicable at the same time evil.
I also learned a high school mate of mine lost a spouse on that dreadful day who shall remained nameless for privacy reasons and I shall respect their privacy.
Ten years have passed and we still mourned our fellow Americans who lost their lives
and it has changed our lives and we are still of you and now these fallen souls are
now our angels of the nation and of the world.
Franklin Roosesvelt called the nation that we only had to faer is fear itself and is a called of unity . A decade has passed our current of the Free World has taken on
the work of evil and wiped him out for the terrible crimes done and was a show of pay back for terrorizing the nation and started an act of war.
These vulnerable souls left us way too soon but they will be in our hearts and will live to eternity. God Bless You all and our nation.

Jimi Hendrix

Hi everyone here is my latest blog that I have been working and this is about rock's greatest and influential guitarist who had put a stamp in rock history and has been a creator of what the use of rock guitar is all about. No its not Eddie Van Halen, or Stevie Ray Vaughan or Terry Kath or even Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page and Jef Beck. All these cats are great players and have put a stamp on their writings of rock guitar but the one who had the most inpact is a left handed genuis and his name is James Marshall Hendrix also known to the world as Jimi Hendrix.
He was born in Seattle, washington on November 27, 1942. He was influenced by the
likes of Muddy Waters, BB King, Chuck Berry and Buddy Guy and was a self taught player. H e was also the guitar player for little Richard and the Isley brothers before turning to a big rock legend by coming to England and being managed by former Animals bassist Chas Chandler and would form a power trio a la Cream, simply called The Jimi Hendrox Experience.
Hendrix was a genius in experimenting sounds and creating the art of rock guitar and has created an army of guitar players who were influential to their careers such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Ritchie blackmore, Joe Satriani,John Mayer, Terry Kath, Steve Vai, even his contemporaries like Eric Clapton have alot of respect for his musicality. He can play with his teeth and behind his back and would use feedback and can pull out his whammy bar with cathartic results.
Whether you are a fan of his music or not , you cannot say that he sucks as a guitar player cause he doesn't .You don't have tpo be an expert of guitar player the film footages proves his great showmanship and musicality. Songs like "Purple Haze",
"Foxy Lady" , "Manic Depression" showed why he was a true guitar hero.
I grew up listening to Jimi's music from my uncle's record collection , he saw Jimi live back in the 1960's and it was the Band of Gypsies record which shows the other side of Hendrix as protesting trhe turbulent Vietnam War with "Machine Gun" or the assassination of Dr. King, he gave a cathartic performance which reflects the turbulent times of an arrangement of Franic s Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner", which became the highlight of Woodstock.
Hendrix was one of the pioneers of heavy rock music which has transcended for many hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Cream, Black Sabbath, Mountain,
Creed to name a few and even got blues players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenney Sheperd, and John Mayer . He can even play the blues like "Red House" or be the Voodoo Priest in "Voodoo Chile".
Drugs got the best of him on September 18, 1970 when his life tragically ended in his London flat at the tender age of 27.41 years later, he still remains a big influence and his body of work is still vibrant and alive after all these years. Hendrix remains as the #1 rock guitarists and tops in all polls and to al;l who have seen him live and the recordings and films says it all.

Jimi Hendrix Experience performing "Purple Haze" May 1967

"Stone Free" 1967

"Fire" 1969 Stockholm, Sweden

"Foxy Lady" Rainbow Bridge 1970

Hendrix doing his most memorable performance reflecting the turbulent 1960's with "Star Spangled Banner" showing his catharces here and the feedbaclk showing the bombs throwing and his stance on the war which forever change america

Led Zeppelin Get the led out

Hi folks, let's talk about another band that is dear to me this is Led Zeppelin.The influential British hard rock quartet has been an inspiration to mqany hard rock and heavy metal bands, and in a way they were pioneers of the genre.It consists of guitarist/founder Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones and the late drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham. They were ecelctic and very diverse but they know how to rock.From 1968 to 1980 they revolutionized a new genre that has been pioneers of heavy metal rock.
I always had a love for this band they were such a kick ass band, they were pumping steroids into the blues. They were such a powerful band onstage and all four
men were such an equal match to their incredible chemistry. Songs like "Whole Lotta
Love" "Communication Breakdown", "Immigrant Song", "Black Dog", "Stairway To Heaven", 'Achilles Last Stand", "Kashmir" and "All My Love", etc. have been staples for classic rock radio.They had an imposing manager name Peter Grant who was the smartest businessman in the music business and made them rich.
The band's outrageous stories of mystical cult and lifestyles have been the subject of legends such as their trashing hotel and groupies in hotels and excessive
lifetsyles of drugs and sex and of course pure rock and roll.Jimmy Page what can you say he was a wizard guitarist and was ecelectic in playing rock and acoustic and has been a master in layering guitar solos and rhythm while as a producer and was a worthy leader. Robert Plant, the golden god as he was referred, has a powerful voice singing high banshee vocals that are bluesy and in your face. John Paul Jones a true multi instrumentalist and of course John Bonham, the thunder god of the drums, his powerhouse skinbeating has been the group's musical backbone.
Their legacy has been their 12 years of great music they have produced.John Bonham's drumming prowess has been influential to alot of drummers out there and has created an army of drummers and he has been influential to Led Zeppelin's music especially when Page and Plant write the music.Jimmy Page is one of my favorite guitar players, he has been a true guitar hero onstage and play heavy blues and can really rock his guitar with blues and power though he is not the most technical like a Hendrix or Jeff Beck but he is a production wizard in the studio and knowing how to craft songs and riffs and also an inspiration to many guitar players.Check out his violin guitar solo on "Dazed or Confused"

The excesses took its toll when their brilliant drummer John Bonham died tragically following a drinking binge during rehearsals on September 25, 1980 at age 32. His death signal the end of the greatest heavy rock band of all time when they announced on December 4, 1980 that their 12 years together is now over. The group had occassional reunions in 1985 in Live Aid and 1988in Madison Square Garden at Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary and in 2007 with Jason Bonham at the O2 arena in London.

I was fortunate to see them live in the O2 arena they were awesome especially Jason Bonham and he was awesome like his late dad pounding with such force and speed.But John Bonham will forever be the king of the drums. Here are some performances of the band I will post

Led Zeppelin playing "Whole Lotta Love" in Knebworth 1979

Led Zeppelin performing "Stairway to Heaven" 1975 Earl's Court

Led Zeppelin with the mighty drumming of John "Bonzo' Bonham and the exotic chords structure riffs by Jimmy Page and keyboards by John Paul Jones in "Kashmir" Knebworth 1979

Led Zeppelin reunion with Jason Bonham on drums playing a powerful opening of "Good Times Bad Times" I should know I was there December 10, 2007 London, UK at the O2 arena

Remembering The Lizard King

Remembering the Lizard King Jim Morrison (1943-1971)

Jim Morrison, charismatic lead singer, lyricist and founding member of the
influential rock quartet The Doors which features also keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore selling more than 80 million records worldwide. He was known for his throaty baritone vocals and his onstage stage persona of the Lizard King has been the stuff of legends. He was good looking charismatic and self destructive. He was also a creative force a poet and a shaman who would captivate the audience and had a edge to his rock n' roll persona.

Songs like "Light My Fire", "Break On Through", "Hello I love You", "Strange Days", "LA Woman", "When The Music's Over and "The End" were part of classic rock stations.Jim was both a gentleman and a volatile , he was this man who
had an obsession to writing songs based on reality. He was known for his bad boy
personality who was legendary for his heavy drinking and onstage antics that sometimes captivates the audience or alienates the audiences as he would say "Let's just I was just testing the boundaries" Oh yeah he tested boundaroes alright. Good one Jimbo , he can be such a complete asshole when he was on the bottle.He was very
theatrical

His songs hae been the soundtrack of our lives and has touched alot of people . The Miami concert was the beginning of the end when he was arrested for public drunkeness and the concerts were banned as a result of his actions and was facing six months in prison and a $500 fine. He even published his own poetry book
simply titled "An American Prayer" in 1970. In the last two years he grew a beard and became a mere shadow odf the good looking guy in the rolling stone magazine cover.He even stood up to Ed Sullivan in over the use "higher" in "Light My Fire" he just gave him that fuck you swagger. Dude I liked his style.

"Roadhouse Blues" was a great bluesy song that made them great despite the legal problems of the Miami incident, and it can be heard on the live show. Jimbo left to Paris , France in March 1971 following his final recording of "Riders On The Storm". Three months later, the 27 year old James Douglas Morrison after years of drug and alcohol abuse, died apparently of a heart attack in his bathtub from his Pari Apartment on this day July 3, 1971. It has been 40 years today that the rock world lost this talented man he left us way too soon.His grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery has been the most visited tourist attraction frokm worldwide fans who pay respects to the Lizard King.REst in Peace Jimbo wherever you are I hope you found peace. We still remember you after all these years.A comet on th sky that had a brief moment and disappeared like magic but his music forever live to eternity.

The Doors "Break On Through" January 1967

The Doors rare live performance at the Isle of Wight Festival August 1970

The Doors "Strange Days" official clip 1967

The Doors singing "Light My Fire" and yes Jim said "Girl you couldn't get much higher" as his way of saying fuck you to Ed Sullivan's objections not say the word "higher"

John Bonham painting