Christmas Day Musings

Even more RoxX recording news...We will be returning to the studio on Thursday and Friday of this week to record vocals for 3 Beatles covers and 1 new original.  Yup, we're so jacked over the results in the first two Beatles covers, "I Am The Walrus" and unreleased "It Won't Be Long" that we're going to cover "Yes It's True" with Tommy on lead vocal and both "If I Fell" and "Anytime At All" as well as original "Unwavering Light".  Funny, he asked on the phone last night if I was good with doing Beatles covers, said he just assumed and started working on them and sending them to me.  Great minds, brother, he's choosing songs I can pretty much nail with a little persistence, and yeah, the Beatles were my first favorite band.  Ever.  

Christmas was a huge, or should I say YUGE? success this year with great family dinners on both Christmas Eve and again today.  Trish went all out for last night, was given a huge assist by Sharon and we all ate until we couldn't move.  I never even went for dessert.  Got to meet the family's latest addition from China, 13 year old Lilah.  The little girl is a doll, and one of the quickest thinking kids I've ever been around.  She's all Powell for sure.  Sallie went all out today and we spent several hours doing what no one does much of any more, reconnecting and just catching up.  With an exceptional spread of goodies, we once again consumed freely.  And once again, I enjoyed everything so much I never went for a dessert either, despite the beautiful swans at every place setting...One of the most peaceful holidays ever, despite Karen's evil retail schedule leading up to the big day.

Won't comment on yesterday's Panthers win over Tampa Bay, but 11-4 still seems just right for this team.  If only we could have beaten Brees once this season, but we'll take what they give us at this point.  #KeepPounding

Odds and Ends!

More lyrics written, working title "Unwavering Light", and submitted to Tommy, who I've not heard from in a couple of weeks.  Figures, his work is still on "crazy" overtime.  Had no idea until yesterday that our more recent releases on SoundCloud appear to be getting new listens and likes.  Still listening to "It Won't Be Long" freaking out that it is my voice I hear in the speakers or headphones.  Also still staring slack-jawed at the likes on "I Am The Walrus".  Thanks kids!

And by the way, from RoxX and our families, Merry Christmas!

I know real change doesn't come overnight, but it is almost beginning to appear that even the most liberal of publications are now admitting that Donald Trump is winning for America.  I never in my life thought I'd see the absolute most biased outlet around, Huffington Post, saying Trump was indeed winning.  On the same thread of politics, wtf is Obama up to?  Sedition for sure, possibly treason and he has indeed violated the Hatch Act and should be arrested.  But what do I know?

Read a PetRx article the other day that finally allowed me to figure out Pip's crazy vocalizations he does at the window sometimes.  Apparently some cats do something vets call "chirping", which is the cat thinking he's making bird noises to attract his prey.  Funny part is, when Dave brought him down here, he told me that Pip makes weird noises at the window when he sees a bug.  Seriously, you should have heard him the morning a huge turtle meandered up under the living room windows and hung out a few hours.  He was going bonkers!

RoxX Stuff & Updates

Crazy weekend off included another trip to the studio to record vocals for our third cover, the Beatles' It Won't Be Long.  I ended up singing both John and Paul's parts, Tommy added George's parts and we pretty much kept it true to the original, including FIVE voices on the final notes of the song.  After completing my parts on this, we went back and replaced Tommy's high backing vocals with my own (hey, it was his idea) on Time To Play.  Makes a huge difference in the overall sound that I wouldn't have considered without Tommy's suggestion in the first place.  

Tommy sent me another new original Friday (I think) and told me Saturday that he's almost got another new original ready to send to me.  Better get my writing hat on, which should come easy with a fast up-beat tune to play with like the first one.  He's not been standing still, ya'll.  Tommy's recent studio hack is inspecting his studio's power supply, making changes and finding new ways to remove unwanted sound from recording.  He hit something out of the park already, I didn't know my headphones were on Saturday until I made some noise in the mic.  Still jacked with the response to I Am The Walrus on SoundCloud, too.  Can't wait to see which track he publishes next...

So the tables have turned!  A few years ago when Karen and I would go out shopping or to eat locally, someone there ALWAYS seemed to know me.  It still happens but not as frequently as it used to, but Karen's gotten so popular with her customers at Belk that we can't go into Harris-Teeter for groceries without her running into at least three of her regulars.  She has this profession down.  Knows her products, knows what her customers want and hooks them up.  I honestly think she'd really enjoy her work if it wasn't for the other duties they have to handle and sometimes, people.  Personally, I'm at the point that I love this world and find it more precious than I have anytime in my life, but I have an issue with a LOT of it's people.

Carolina Panthers are currently at 8-3.  #KeepPounding ya'll!

Mid-November Random Update

Two dates remain on my 2017 wrestling calendar and I'm ready for a little break, which may be remedied by the break until our next event on Dec. 2nd.  Didn't realize until the last two weekends just how much these all-nighters are taking a toll on me, must be the advanced age, right Pops?

Tommy released our version of the Beatles' I Am The Walrus last Saturday to rave reviews on Soundcloud.  Pleased to share it here for everyone.  If you like it, share it and enjoy!  #RoxX

RoxX - I Am The Walrus cover

Why doesn't anyone sell zippered hoodie sweatshirts that would be long like a lowrider duster?  Bathrobe length or longer perhaps.  A freakin' Snuggie without your feet impaired maybe?  Not that much to ask...

RoxX, Phone Numbers and an Exit?

Due to no updates, I am up to not one but TWO updates on the mix of I Am The Walrus, and it may be released this weekend or next.  And the no updates refers to me on this blog, as us RoxX dudes are in contact regularly.

Tommy said he wasn't happy with a few of our previous releases' sound on Soundclound and is doing some remixing to make them sound better on the platform we release them on.  Gotta be their compression, etc. that changes up the sound quality and he's going to attempt to compensate.  Not sure which tracks or if he's changed anything.  Will update here if and when I find out!

Weird moment.  When you suddenly begin remembering telephone numbers from your past.  Like my great-grandmother Sally "Ma" Briggs, hers was 886-6411.  And my grandmother Anna's was 882-1463.  Early Tommy Smith phone number when we were kids 884-4308.  Mom & Dad's number 883-4503.  Grandmother Golda's number was 431-3272.  OK.  I'm officially weirding my own self out now.  I'm NOT a number guy.  I don't even know my own cell number now.

Yeah, I'm saying it.  Again...

Seriously considering slowing my roll on the pro wrestling gigs after the first of the year.  With only 5 bookings for the remainder of the year, I don't want to make the decision based on the emotion of one night.  My input has been reduced to basically zero over the past year or so at my wrestling home and it seems I'm looked at sideways when I dare make a suggestion.  I feel like an unused resource on many levels, but mostly ignored by the younger guys.  I mean, not to toot my own horn, but I was on the air announcing wrestling when most of today's announcers were in nursery school.  But hey, I'm not a WWE mark and don't worship at the feet of the mighty McMahon, so we have nothing in common.  Right?  That must be it.

Surprise!

Awoke Tuesday morning to an email from Tommy with the subject:  Surprise!  Clicked it open and he tells me he's been off work and had decided to go ahead and re-create the Beatles' I Am The Walrus, which was attached.  We spent five hours in studio today and I believe all of my vocal parts have been recorded.  Including part of a scene from King Lear, which you hear close to the end of the song.  I have goo-gooed more ga-joobs than I new could possibly exist today, but I can't wait to hear how this one sounds...

Tommy has re-mixed "It's A Lie" adding some harmony vocals and said he may release it on Saturday, making it our 16th release since we started this journey.  Tommy checked some listener stats today for his Soundcloud account where we release our music and discovered we're getting more listens in the Soviet Union than anywhere else in the world, so thanks comrades!

It would appear that the "powers that pull the strings" in High Point politics has decided to become a public entity, now referred to by the High Point Enterprise as the "PAC".  I refer to it as the City Hall/HP Enterprise/HPU PAC, which it appears to be.  They're all about the downtown stadium deal and making it happen and ran folks that support it.  Today in the Enterprise they were self high-fiving themselves for having all of their candidates advance in the primary.

Let's not forget that High Point is one of these progressive "non-partisan election" cities.  Let's not forget that a majority of failing cities are ran by Democrats.  Oddly enough, the partisan v. non-partisan deal is about a 50-50 proposition that generally allows the party that is not in power to keep folks in the drivers' seat.  Math is hard, ya'll, but it's not invisible.

HPU wants land to build a football stadium and I'm convinced that the powers behind these so-called "philanthropy dollars" consider this downtown deal to be theirs to use for this purpose.  Some reports are now calling this "baseball stadium" a possible "multi-use stadium" which is news to everyone.  I've smelled a rat since they first announced this deal and the stench is getting stronger and stronger each day.

Terror Close To Home

I'm on the other side of the country from Las Vegas, but it touched right here last night and this morning.  A friend here in High Point has a daughter that goes to Vegas for weekends and actually had tickets for last night's Jason Aldean concert.  She did not attend and had rather given her tickets to another friend.  The friend that attended's girl friend was shot in the leg at the show, but she should be fine according to friends.  Not enough degrees of separation between this kind of hate and home.

Violent gun incident in the US?  Cue the Gun Control freaks.  Certain to make the most of this opportunity, seeing how the media is only focused on NFL players protesting currently.

Pip had a bad night last night.  I was exhausted from the no-sleep road-trip weekend and he woke me around 2am swatting jewelry off of the dresser.  I retaliated by throwing my glasses case at him and he ran downstairs.  Total silence for every bit of six minutes and then CRASH!  I hear things from the living room credenza hitting the floor and being knocked over and jump out of bed hoping to save the lamp.  I come down the stairs to find Pip hanging from the top of the living room window, under the blinds, trying to climb higher with his back feet kicking like mad. 

I grabbed him, tossed him over to the couch and he jumped right back up there a second time.  Grabbed him again and put him on the couch and turned to start putting stuff back where it belongs and he dove between the glassware on there and the window, scratching at the glass all fuzzed up.  I turn on the porch light and see a mostly orange cat sitting casually under our window watching the Pip Experience from outside, and he saunters off after a second or two after realizing I was standing there looking at him.  Pip didn't wake me again.

He did, however, tell me he was sorry this morning by stretching out across my lap on the couch and burying his face in my hand.  Guess it's true, there's a fine line between sanity and insanity.

Happy Spocktober everyone!  Live Long And Prosper!

Things And Such

The big news in the local wrestling scene is how year 5 of Wrestlecade in Winston has now been upstaged by the WWE's announcement of Starrcade in Greensboro.  I can't believe in with a straight face that it is a mere coincidence, and I wonder if the shareholders voted on trying to ruin another company's "crown jewel" by their mere presence.

I've never been to Wrestlecade, but thousands have, and like pilgrims they go to Winston to see the legends of the past and current stars.  The WWE's announcement has an odor about it, as Dusty Rhodes is the man behind the classic StarrCade.  Why did they wait until after his death to honor him by naming an event after his idea?  

Pretty vindictive for a major corporation, wouldn't you agree?

In a much lighter vein, when the news broke, I immediately went about creating a THIRD event poster for the very same night, for a big event at Thomasville NC's NG Armory.  After dropping every promotion's name I could think of onto the poster, I began brainstorming what would be the single biggest draw between the three events.  Simple.  Free parking!  And to keep with the theme of the weekend, we'll call this one FabeCade 2017!  And yes, that IS "Red Hot" Tim Blaze (Wrestlecade/AML) in the bottom center of the poster.

One Day It's Summer, Next It's Monsoon, Now It's September...

The remains of Harvey (I assume) is rolling storms through the area today and I just made a run to the dumpster to discover that it's much cooler outside than it is inside in the AC.  If it's stormy, chances are I get soaked during the night, especially in the windows downstairs so the AC stays on tonight.  Also Pip uses open windows as an excuse to run from floor to floor to keep track of what he thinks he sees going on outside.  All night long.  

Karen got this notion that the folks that had Pip before us and after Dave probably threw him outside when he annoyed them enough.  He's got a routine guaranteed to keep you up all night, one that begins with running up the stairs in 3 bounds and then leaping on the bed.  He often stands on my stomach or pats my face with his paw when he's decided it's time for me to get out of bed and walk downstairs to feed him some treats.  He also jumps on Karen's dresser, which is elbow-high with jewelry and assorted items, which he pats off onto the floor one-by-one until someone bellows his name or acts like they're going to get up.

For some reason, Pip also likes to chew on a brush that stands in an umbrella stand in my living room.  It's a long plastic-handled windshield brush with an ice scraper on the bottom.  He chews on the brush bristles.  Must be his idea of brushing his teeth?  He also tends to find a place to sleep between Karen and I when we're both downstairs, and when she's at work he's either on my side desk or at my feet.  Yeah, this furball is still my sanity.  And the cause of some mild insanity when he disappears...

Got to see a VERY deserving young man survive some unexpected attacks and win the 2017 CWF JOHNNY WEAVER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT.  I've witnessed the entire history of this event, this being the 14th consecutive year, and was pleasantly surprised to see Chet Sterling defy the odds and win it all.  Dude is most definitely different for sure!

The August 6th RCW event is still making the news, almost a month after the night of the show.  Lizard Lick's Ronnie & Amy Shirley have released several preview videos from the Riders RCW event and several have over 100,000 views!  Still awaiting word where their new show "Lick Life" will be aired.  The RCW event will be the premier show according to the producers.  (Above:  George Rider Memorial Battle Royal Winner with the George Rider Cup - Fair Warning's "Pimp Daddy" Brian Hall)

New stuff on tap with RoxX, we got two new songs recorded on one Wednesday afternoon, one which I've yet to hear a mix of.  A "Soundgarden" type of tune was submitted by Tommy and I absolutely LOVE it.  Already have the lyrics penned to the tune currently being called "Man Up".  Hope to hear from Tommy again soon to return to the studio to make this one happen.

Facts May Cause Headaches and other stories

Spent six hours in the studio yesterday and Tommy and I completed my vocals on two (count 'em - TWO) new songs.  The song with the working title "Empty" is complete but now known as "You've Always Known".  The heroin song "It's A Lie" is also completed, and yes, it has a Marilyn Manson tinge to it in places.  Can you believe we wrote a song with the words "fentanyl and heroin" in a lyric together?  Yup.  We did it!

The Pink Floyd-inspired "Fly With Me" is also back in play with a "redundant" segment being removed post mix-down, possibly taking the song back under the 10-minute mark when all is said, sang and done.  Tommy also played the beginnings of a new track I'm eagerly awaiting that has a very heavy Soundgarden sound to it.  That alone makes it interesting to me!

In a weekend off situation with no wrestling.  Saturday will be interesting with the Panthers v. Titans pre-season game on at 3pm and the Bristol NASCAR race on Saturday night!  Redneck heaven, ya'll!  Saturday will be massive veg day for real!  Then, back to work the following Saturday in Gibsonville NC's Mid Atlantic Sportatorium for CWF Mid Atlantic's 2017 JOHNNY WEAVER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT Finals!  Tickets at cwftickets.com!  VIP Offers available!  Oh, and that #Neckbone thing, too!

Got so much going on politically, between my battle for transparency concerning the stadium project that the City of High Point announced was happening, taxpayers be damned.  Made contact with our only City Council member that has opposed this plan since day one and have an open line of communication set up between us.  Nationally, I broke Facebook today with the declaration that the state of New York was named after a famous British slave-trader, James II Duke Of York.  And that whole 1860 census map, which shows so many more held slaves in the northeast than across the south.  But enough of that.  Facts give people headaches and may be offensive.  Right?

Spread Thin With A Grin

With some time to reflect on the RCW BOOGIE'S BIRTHDAY BASH at Riders In The Country and realize how big my actual family has grown in the past 25 years around the sport.  Realizing that you are actually talking with several folks in person you've only known on Facebook for years is an interesting experience as well.  Riders will have a million stories, but searching for Robert Stanley a suitable entrance song, he discovered Rebel Meets Rebel, which he'd never heard of.  The second song, titled Rebel Meets Rebel, also features Hank Jr singing on the track, so that was chosen.  I look up and ask "and what's your name?"  "Robert Stanley."  Holy cow, we've been friends for years!  And Rebel Meets Rebel is actually a Pantera project (with the late DIMEBAG DARREL) with David Allan Coe on vocals, that I think was released in 2008 or 2009.  Mr. Kingfish uses the track "One Night Stands" for entrance music from the same album!

I don't know if we'll ever return to Riders for RCW Wrestling, I don't know for sure there will be an event next year at this point.  We had a big turnout, we had Ronnie & Amy from Lizard Lick in the house taping the premiere episode of their new tv show "Lick Life".  The crowd was as excited about being on television as they were about the added attraction show cars and the wrestling event itself and there was a roar throughout the entire evening.  Much like a larger arena show.  I won't lie.  I love Riders In The Country.  But in all honesty, I think maybe I loved George Rider and that bled over into his club and it's facilities.  I certainly felt an empty spot in the building Sunday night, and that was beside the bar where you would often find George grinning like a cheshire cat after complaining loudly about how many hot dogs the wrestlers consumed.  

I got to tell the story during the show Sunday of my first time meeting "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant.  Granted, I'd seen him at the Coliseum at least a dozen times over the years, heck, he was my grandfather's favorite wrestler.  But I remember before one of the very first ACW events that my mother called to tell me she'd met a "celebrity" earlier and was most impressed with his gentle demeanor and sincerely sweet attitude.  Yup, it was one of 3 people in my life that I'll sometimes call "Daddy", Jimmy Valiant.  I met him later that day at the same location and he treated me like an old friend on first meeting.  Pretty sure there's an autographed Polaroid here somewhere of Jimmy and I from that meeting.  [And for the record, the only other 2 folks I have ever called "Daddy" was my dad Jack Hedrick and my buddy Garry Stevens, the Madd Trucker!  Oh, and Dirty Daddy doesn't count!]  

Bits and Pieces...

Summer heat is already starting to get to me here in God's Country, as July has been impersonating mid-August all month already.  We've got CWF Mid Atlantic events rounding out the rest of the Saturdays of this month and the return of RCW on Sunday August 6th at Riders In The Country.  And yes, Lizard LIck's Ron & Amy Shirley will be on hand to help celebrate the 75th Birthday of our friend and mentor "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant at RCW BOOGIE'S BIRTHDAY BASH - LIZARD LICK STYLE!  All kinds of special goodies for the fans at this one, as the General Lee, the Ghostbusters' Ecto-1 and Starsky & Hutch's iconic Ford will all be on hand for the fans to see prior to the kickoff of the evening's wrestling festivities.

Celebrated Pip's 6th "birthday" on July 6th, the one-year anniversary of his arrival at the Crazy House.  He's already a long-time member of the family and an active part of our daily lives.  He's also been a very staunch supporter of my continued sanity and has a wonderful calming affect on me which I hope continues forward.  Pip still wakes me up almost exactly at 5 am, resulting in me going to the little boy's room and then downstairs to feed him some treats.  This cat's got us down to a science, I tell ya.

Nothing new to report on the music front, as Tommy's been working madman schedules for the past two months.  He told me he hoped to get the July 4th week off, but I've not heard from him this month yet at all.  His last report was he'd re-did the middle section of "Fly With Me" twice and lost both revisions when his Windows updated.  If I know him, that means he won't touch it again until he has this lost revision problem under control.  That's how he rolls.

Totally LOVE the new RoxX logo by our buddy Shugg.  Same guy that made ALL of the versions of the RCW poster, including the throwback black and white version that's being pasted on Domino's Pizzas delivered in Randleman NC all month!  

Father's Day Is Sunday!

He was my hero, my knight in shining armor and Superman all rolled into one loud, outspoken dynamo.  He was so proud of his sons and treated us like royalty.  He taught me so much that kept me out of trouble and helped me stay out of trouble if it did come around.  

Folks either loved him or avoided him.  Didn't seem to be too many in between, as he took over a room as soon as he walked in.  It became his show and he was the MC and the entertainment if needed.  It was all a part of a day's work being my Dad.  And you guys think I am loud?  Barely a whisper beside dear old Dad for real...

Dad was an athlete, still holds records in several sports at his high school and played some minor league baseball.  He was an exceptional golfer, pool player and card player, and was nearly impossible to beat even playing for fun.  He was the most competitive Putt-Putt player to not go pro I've ever witnessed.

I remember him mostly driving trucks, but he was also on the city fire department for a few years and even owned his own service station/garage for a while.  After my brother got old enough for ME to take care of, my mother joined him on the road as a passenger/companion for his treks to the west coast.  The night he pulled in front of the house, tossed out a couple of suitcases and drove off will never be forgotten.  It wasn't my mother on the other side of the street, it was Dad!  "Who's driving the truck?"  "Your mother."

And that's just part of the story.  I'm misty-eyed right now just considering which photos to include with this one.  Glad I thought ahead to prepare this ahead of Sunday, when I know I'll be working on websites and editing photos.  My Dad was the best.  He's been gone nearly 25 years, but not a single day goes by that I don't think of something he said, or how he would react, or something crazy he'd do to make you laugh...

Submitted lyrics for the so-called "industrial" tune to Tommy on Thursday, it is now known as "It's A Lie" and has nothing to do with Egypt or the story of Horus any longer.  Doubled back toward the original intent with the point of commenting on the illegal opiate problems we face today in America.  A little bit Manson-ish is how I'm hearing the first couple of verses, with a rapid-fire (almost rap) segment in between.  While remaining in the constraints of today's popular industrial bands, the song continues but by the fourth segment of the song, Roxx steps out to a more familiar sound...I hope!  I'll post when a recording date is set.

Grand-daughter Imogen is now speaking a few words and today her mother posted her signing a new sign.  "Food."  She's chasing older brother Alden, who has cookies, and signing "food" to him.  

A few weeks away from the wrestling ring and I'm getting antsy.  Good thing, I have an RGL show on Saturday and CWF ABSOLUTE JUSTICE the following Saturday.  Also, RCW made it official, we will run Riders In The Country (Randleman NC) on Sunday August 6th for Jimmy Valiant's 75th Birthday Bash, Lizard Lick Style!  Yup, we're doing it "one 'mo 'gain".  Honestly surprised by this, I thought last year was our swan song.  RCW honors the original Boogie Man along with Lizard Lick Towing's Ron & Amy Shirley, on his actual 75th birthday!  It's gonna be a PARTY ya'll.  We'll supply the #Neckbone, ya'll bring the #NoiZ!

See ya at ringside, ya'll!

No, the year is not "half over" yet...

Made a flash-mob style trip up to Brunswick MD to spend a day with the grandkids.  We headed out Memorial Day Monday early and arrived in time for a journey to the park, hours of quality time and bonding and near exhaustion.  Yeah.  Me.  Delilah was her sweet normal self, squealing when I rang the bell and Alden warmed up to me instantly, sitting in my lap as soon as I hit the floor in the playroom.  Immy was the star of the show, we caught her saying a new word, she was trying to say "Ready Set Go" like her Mickey Mouse car and had the "Go" portion down perfectly!

(Above) Delilah setting out snacks for movie time (Moana) for everyone in the den.

Our oldest, Delilah begins first grade in the fall and already reads, writes, counts and uses sign language fluently.  She's our little Queen Bee, she's the teacher, the playtime organizer and the budding artist.  Alden, not yet three, is such a quiet little soul, coming out of his shell and appearing to be heading toward being a big kid, size-wise.  He's the sweetest little boy I've ever met and showered me with love and attention all day.

(Above) Alden's hair goes full electric on the slide at the park!

Immy, the baby, is becoming her own little individual and I'm seeing one determined little girl on the rise.  She is almost walking and can scoot around on one leg pretty quickly, especially toward any staircase that has no kiddie gate.  And she can climb steps like a little diapered mountain goat.  She'll be walking soon if she's not now behind everyone's back!

 

(Above) "Baby" Immy, mean mugging Grandpa at the park.

Driving is always an adventure, this time no different.  We headed home the next morning after going with Delilah to her pre-school bus stop.  It was a most pleasant trip, as we took the Fit rather than renting (Enterprise was closed on Monday) and it kicked it out like a champ.  I did have some issues with other drivers, especially the drunken car hauler driver in Virginia driving 220 like a roller coaster with his left arm hanging out the window catching the wind.  It took 6 hours even going up, with traffic on the Interstate completely stopping twice because of wide load vehicles using the roadway, with two stops.  Made it home in 5 hours 25 minutes even with three stops (food, rest & gas).  Now to get back on my normal schedule, please!  

Tales of the Road

Crazy, crazy weekend(s).  The Chapel Hill journey went smooth as glass and the Burlington trip was a pretty cool afternoon overall.  CWF packed out Hargrave Community Center and had a vocal crowd from bell to bell.  Only problem was parking, as Carolina and Duke both graduated that afternoon.  Returned to Gibsonville this past Saturday to record 3 episodes of #CWFWorldwide and then to Burlington for Benefit Championship Wrestling on Sunday.  Sunday was a fun one that raised $1630.00 for Relay For Life's fight against cancer.  Matter of fact, on preview photos, I captioned them as "This is what raising $1630.00 in three hours looks like!"

This past Saturday night after the CWF event, I loaded the sound system into my car behind the building.  In the dark.  Carried a small rubber-covered flashlight in and out with me, sticking it in whatever pocket was available when I didn't need it.  Beat the storm and got home to realize I'd lost some cash, probably pulled out of my pocket by the aforementioned flashlight.  Sunday evening after the BCW event, I went behind the Sportatorium and took a look around.  Found my money.  Clean, dry, flat and perfect bills about 5' from the bottom of the stairs.  Right where I was parked when I loaded out.  Yeah.  I'd rather have stupid luck than just be stupid...

On the music side, today was the first day I sat down to try to pen some lyrics for the new "industrial" tune Tommy sent me almost 2 weeks ago.  Every time I'd messed with it before, "City of Misery" in a Manson-like sound was what I thought would come from this one.  But no.  I'm so contrary.  Sat down with the headphones and notepad and suddenly, I'm writing a story of Egyptian gods and the Eye of Horus.  You know what that is.  It's on the top of the pyramid on the back of one dollar bills.

Guess I should buy the t-shirt I saw today on Facebook.  It says "I'm not condonscending (that means someone who talks down to people)"...

Bits & Pieces

→ Received the first complete rough mix for the eleven minute unreleased RoxX original "Fly With Me" from Tommy and it is incredible.  So let me try to describe the almost finished epic to you...It's got a deep Pink Floyd vibe with Beatles overtones and a run-in attack by Yes/Styx/Kansas before returning to the Pink Floyd vibe with Beatles overtones.  Tommy's additional vocals create a great feel for this one and the backing vocals are indeed epic.  This one will turn a few heads when released, I'm betting. 

→ After feeling under the weather for several days, my new malady has exposed itself to me and is NOTHING more than a momentary discomfort, not some crazy painful ailment that would require surgery or such...  How do I spell relief?  W-H-E-W!  Pretty confident that I'll be 100% again in a day or so at the most.

→ Road trips abound this month in a spanning only a couple of weekends.  The scheduled CWF-RGL event over Memorial Day weekend has been cancelled to allow for family vacations.  So Saturday I'm rolling in with the CWF Mid Atlantic crew to Hargraves Community Center in Chapel Hill NC for CWF DOUBLE OR NOTHING!  The following Saturday, the 20th, CWF Mid Atlantic returns to their home base of Gibsonville NC for MADNESS IN ANY DIRECTION 2017!  On Sunday, May 21st, I'll be handling the sound duties at Benefit Championship Wrestling's CAGE UP CANCER in Burlington NC's Positive Attitude Youth Center!  Stacked cards all around, BCW includes FOUR bouts inside of a steel cage on a Sunday afternoon matinee!

→ Had a strange happening at 5am yesterday morning.  I walked downstairs to the kitchen to feed Pip Rocket and stepped on something on the floor in the living room in the dark.  Several somethings.  Turned on a light to discover a full package of Extra Peppermint gum from the bowels of Karen's suitcase-sized purse ripped open and most of the individual pieces of gum bitten through by cat teeth.  So after a good fifteen minutes of uncontrollable laughter, I went back to bed...At least now I know why the cat burrows in Karen's pocketbook.

Messin' With Gypsies

Totally freaking out at the kind words and the number of "likes" on SoundCloud from last weekend's release of "Gypsy Girl".  Gypsy is a tribute to the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan, an artist that both Tommy and I enjoy even today.  It's upbeat and it's bluesy, it's kind of like Texas Swing with a little North Cackylacky Cheerwine flavor thrown in for good measure!

RoxX's Gypsy Girl on SoundCloud

Both releases from 2017 are doing rather well, getting positive reviews as well as shares and likes like mad.  Thanks again for listening and sharing!

We still have the 11+ minute epic "Fly With Me" in production, our idea of hanging out with Pink Floyd and several others in the can awaiting release.  Possible new releases upcoming include "Life Is Good", "We Will Not Fail" and perhaps even a re-mixed "Eleven Or Bust".  Not sure what we're going after next, but I'm eagerly awaiting our next adventure!

Still Rasslin' Ya'll!

Spent some quality time with the "younger" set of the CWF roster, guys with 3 or less years of ring-time as pro wrestlers.  That's what our Rising Generation League is all about, giving a platform for the young guys to show what they've learned against other young guys instead of getting buried on a "big" event.  I keep seeing things that make me wonder and I sometimes see things that make me cringe.

The most cringe-worthy tonight was Ethan Sharpe driving Kool J into the canvas like a human lawn dart.  I don't have a clue how Kool J ever got out of the ring, but I will report I actually saw him on his feet before I left the building after the event ended.  Donny Ray and big Luke Grimes returned as a tag team and both of these young men continue to impress with their attitudes and skills.  "Film Maker" Movie Myk also appeared tonight, taking Nick Richards to the limit in a physical singles bout.  Manager "Real Deal" Big Zoe was ejected by the referee moments before his man was put down for the three count.

Young Cain Justice and Snooty Foxx main evented with Cain's RGL Title on the line and the bout ended as a time limit draw.  Snooty Foxx asked for five more minutes and the referee agreed and restarted the match.  Five seconds later, the referee was out cold by a Foxx spear.  The second referee appeared to have called the match over at 17:41 with a title change before ordering the clock to start again declaring Justice had his foot on the rope.  Cain Justice connected and got the pinfall win eighteen seconds later over Foxx.  And for the record, Cain Justice's Mom is over a lot better than HE is!  HA!

And with that, I'm heading up for a little shut-eye, which I'm sure will end when Pip decides it's time for his breakfast.  Happy Easter Ya'll!  He Is Not Here!

National Politics and Positive Music?

So let me understand this.  America is a nation of laws.  In 1952 the United States made the Immigration & Naturalization Act of 1952 the law of the land.  This law states that Muslims may not be granted citizenship and need specific permission to enter the country for work purposes on specifically timed visas.  Suddenly we have No Go Zones in Michigan, populated by those same alleged peace loving folks that will attack anyone who is not of their faith.

Any idea what happened in Europe and what is still happening there due to this so-called "refugee" problem?  France is in flames.  Italy can't stop new arrivals coming ashore daily.  The Muslim mayor of London tells the world that terrorism is a symptom of living in a big city.  Europe has fallen without more than a couple hundred shots.  It's all in their books, their folklore and their holy book itself.  It's a plan.  That plan is jihad.  In other words, those peaceful infiltrators are running from members of their own faith, leaving their wives and kids at home to invade far-away nations.  

Washington DC hasn't cleared up much, but progress is being made every day toward the promised draining of the swamp.  Liberals are cackling that Trump isn't able to snap his fingers and change every law (which Obama had no problems doing), but in the Art of the Deal, it's explained that sometimes you lose a times before scoring the BIG deal.  I expect more failure before the President has convinced both sides of Congress that it's better to cooperate than the alternative, which has been the norm for quite a while now.  Nuclear option?  Filibuster?  Funny how all of a sudden the party that got it's ass whipped last November is making demands for investigations and spreading false news trying to "take down" the presidency.  That's American as hell right there, ya'll, I tell ya.

Drop down to the previous post and check out RoxX most recent release, Sing Us Your Song!  Thrilled at the positive comments posted by SoundCloud listeners...

Sing Us Your Song Already!

Rather surprised that Tommy released a new RoxX tune last weekend that I'd not even heard a finished demo of, and it is taking off.  We released "Sing Us Your Song", an acoustic song of praise, totally unlike anything else we have put out there before.  It was one of three tunes Tommy composed in the same unusual tuning, and the lyrics for the song literally wrote themselves.  I'm so happy that this song already has an amazing amount of reposts and likes and comments by SoundCloud users, which is very encouraging.  Yeah.  It's a happy song.  Very unusual from the comments we're getting!

Click Here to Hear "Sing Us Your Song" On SoundCloud!

We completed our first "epic", or at least finished recording the vocals for our upcoming Pink Floyd-inspired "Fly With Me".  It's currently an eleven minute long offering that I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear completed.  There is so much Pink Floyd in the song that we're not sure how listeners will react to a portion that kicks into high-speed overdrive in a Kansas-like vein before returning to the Floyd-styled finale at the conclusion of the song.

So I will formally announce the END of college basketball season with Duke being defeated by University of South Carolina, who will be making their first-ever Sweet Sixteen.  Congrats to the Gamecocks on this signature win!  This year was a success for the Blue Devils, who defeated the University of North Carolina at home and on a neutral court, while only being defeated in the Dean Dome.  2-1 is a great head-to-head season record.  Carolina fans must be relieved that they won't have to worry about those pesky Duke Boys again this season, if you know what I mean.  Right Roy?

Where's Wally Gator?

Yeah, seriously, where is Wally Gator, Youtube?  Many of his episodes are posted in Spanish, but there's none in English anywhere I can find.  What you got against a hip stylish alligator with his own tv show?  HUH?

On the music front, we've not released a thing since Halloween despite having several songs finished and several in process and one huge monster on the drawing board as we speak.  What started out as something in the vein of Pink Floyd was sent to me as an 8 minute track.  I wrote lyrics, sent them back to Tommy and a week or so later I receive the same track, an updated version, that is a little over 11 minutes long!  Submitted final lyrics for it today, we're calling it "Fly With Me" and yeah, we're trying to catch a Pink Floyd vibe with this tune, but there's a few twists from other influences that should set anyone who listens to it on their ear.  Yeah I'm excited and haven't recorded the first word for it yet.

Wrestling took a turn for the worse this week, with Impact's new owners sending out contracts that strips talent of much of their income from previous contracts.  It's my understanding that the Hardys did walk away after Anthem refused to negotiate.  Also, this week's episode of Impact was the originally scheduled date for the event we had taped in our building, Omega Bowl.  I'm pretty certain it won't make the airwaves, but don't worry.  We aired it last month on #CWFWorldWide!  Simply go to CWF Mid Atlantic's page on Youtube and look it up!  Main event featured the Extreme Horsemen's CW Anderson & "Southern Savior" John Skyler v. All Stars' Roy Wilkins & Arik Royal v. "Broken" Matt Hardy & Brother Nero for the Omega Tag Team Titles.  Still may want to check out Impact this week as the main event now is advertised to be a couple of CWF's own, X-Division Champ Trevor Lee v. Andrew Everett!

Digging Gab.ai ya'll.  Heads and shoulders over Twitter simply because the folks on the service are almost all conservative patriotic Americans.  Gives you 300 characters compared to Twitter's 140, but doesn't have a means to upload photos or a telephone app yet.  If you check it out and sign up, find me at @heddroxx, just like on the Twitter-bird!  See ya kids!

Beating a Dead Roadie

Just had an hour of flashback fun.  The Brak Show, Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law and SeaLab 2021 on Cartoon Network.  Didn't realize how badly I've missed these old friends.  And now I'm ready for a few episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  Then maybe Airplane!

Guess I should put Spaceballs on the watchlist, I've not seen it in months either.  I have begun watching some of my vast collection of concert DVDs again and need to re-watch everything I have with Ronnie James Dio singing on it.  Yeah, got some Rainbow, Dio and Heaven & Hell on video.  Saw Dio a few times, he was a monster.  Great visual show with great music and Ronnie James roaring like Godzilla.  He is definitely in my Top 10 All Time Vocalists.

Never actually thought about who I'd consider the best 10 today, but I do recall some of the ones I used to enjoy.  Who would have thought a "favorite" singer list would have included the gravel-voiced Jim "Dandy" Mangrum of Black Oak Arkansas.  Got a few great memories with Jim Dandy.  John Kay of Steppenwolf has a unique voice that no one else has ever duplicated, and yeah, Steppenwolf are grand-parents of today's metal music, along with Judas Priest.

Yup.  Seen Priest a dozen times over the years maybe.  Last time was 2004 Ozzfest and it was the first time Karen had seen Halford.  On the trip home she told me I should have told her how great he was.  I'm thinking, "I play it all the time in the car, didn't you notice?"  She decided after one time seeing Halford that "Ripper" Tim Owens was merely a tribute to Halford.

Back on the strange singers list, Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir was downright nasty-sounding and very evil looking.  Dude I worked with at A.S.S. liked to tell me he sounded like Popeye when I was blasting "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" in the shop when the owner was out of town.  Funny.  He DOES sound a little like Popeye!

Always dug Noddy Holder, the lead singer for Slade.  You know, the Brit band that wrote most of Quiet Riot's hits 20 years before they arrived (Cum On Feel The Noiz, Mama Weer All Crazee Now).  Kevin Dubrow had nothing on Noddy, who I actually saw open once for Kiss in Greensboro, but he gave it out good.  

How about this?  No politics!  Aliens have hacked my brain!

Of course, this is history, but I'm old.  First actual concert in an arena was Grand Funk Railroad.  I was about 14 or 15 and my mother took me, my brother and a friend.  First road concert was Kiss in '74, a two-car convoy road trip to Fayetteville, riding with Tim Maners and Tommy Smith and witnessing the unknown trio Rush and the Atlanta Rhythm Section opening for the fire-breathing monster that is Kiss.  I've seen Kiss in concert at least 35 times, always the original four in makeup.  Never saw Eric Carr, a mistake.  

Best concert?  Pink Floyd.  Both times.  Biggest freaking production I've ever witnessed in an outdoor sports arena that seats 90,000 (both times) and the best sounding live show ever.  Despite 11+ musicians and singers on stage at once, it was like listening to the album with headphones.  I almost didn't go to see Floyd the first time and after witnessing them live, I jumped at the chance to see them again just a few years later.  Memories there, both trips, both concerts were unique and incredible.  

Honorable Mentions for Best Concert:  Rush (numerous concerts), the Who (BIG production, all star band), Judas Priest (numerous concerts - if you get the chance, see Rob Halford perform while you can), Ozzy Osbourne (if you catch him on a night he wasn't slurring), Kamelot (with Roy Khan singing), Yes (personally seen about 4 different lineups, including the reunion troupe), Iron Maiden (Big production, big loud sound, and Bruce Dickenson).

Regrets?  Missed out on the Beatles (Karen saw them) and Hendrix.  I've also never seen Clapton on stage.  Stopping this one now or I'll sit here typing all night, ya'll.  See ya next time.

More Or Less

Politics:  The Butthurt is still real.  And sadly, the problem isn't that the libs really believe Mr. Trump is evil, etc., they are terrified he will succeed in his quest to make the inner cities safer.  And you know what that means.  No more Democrats.

Music:  RoxX has been pretty much on hiatus since our last recording session until this very weekend, when Tommy sent me an 8+ minute new original that leans heavily toward Pink Floyd with a few hints of the Beatles.  I shall begin writing lyrics after a few more previews in the car at high volume or after a few sessions with the headphones.

Wrestling:  Enjoying a couple of consecutive weekends off from the squared circle and will return with a CWF Mid Atlantic event, a scheduled CWF-Rising Generation League event and the two-day first annual Kernodle Brothers Tag Team Tournament late in March.

Home:  Find myself almost physically connected with my four-wheel-drive Pip Rocket.  He rarely lets me out of his sight, and is currently sleeping at my right elbow on my desk's side table.  We've come to a much better understanding these days, as he often allows me to sleep all night without waking me for a midnight (4am) snack but once.  Karen was screaming at him earlier this evening while in the kitchen ironing her work clothes, apparently he was exploring the inside of our clothes dryer, which was still filled with clean dry clothes...When he wants my attention or to get me in the kitchen, his new trick is to open all of the cabinets and slam them shut.  Yeah.  He's one smart joker!

The Poison Pill

I'm witnessing it from many platforms.  The internet, in person and in the media.  I'm witnessing an entire generation of liberal-thinking progressive types losing their collective minds over a Boogie Man they invented inside of their own heads.

Liberals have used an attack and demean strategy for a half dozen years or longer and by making up "news" and "accusations" about their opponent, they created what they can only see as a monster.  A sexist, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic fire-breathing baby-eating beast that exists only in their minds.  And then, lo and behold, the monster they created gets elected President of the United States of America.  What to do?

Easy.  The five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression & acceptance).  The first stage, denial, continued from election day until Inauguration day.  Anger set in on Inauguration day and continued until the violence of these alleged "women's" marches took place and the bargaining phase began.  The final two stages will be dramatic, depression will be a quiet, self-loathing bunch of pajama boys trying to look all hard and the final stage of acceptance will be done in total silence.

Obama himself left our new leadership a ground scattered with poison pills.  He ALMOST made good on his campaign promise to empty Gitmo, really surprised he didn't try to give the base back to the Cuban government actually.  Obama moving tanks into Poland and trying to jump start the cold war is another situation which adults should be able to remedy without any problem whatsoever.  The world realizes the petulant miscreant that held America in a mini-dictatorship has fled and a new day has dawned in the USA where our military and LEOs are once again honored for their service to our nation and our communities.  America voted to become America once again.  Greatness will surely follow.