2018: The Last Hurrah

CWF BATTLECADE XIX is in the books and history was made with three champions being crowned and a long-time champion retaining his title against an army of All Stars.  The building sold out two days before the event and it was wall-to-wall.  I got to spend some time with my two favorite dolls, Chasity and Christie, probably made an ass out of myself with guest announcer Brian Hughes and found out a long-time friend was making his last appearance that very night.  I totally understand his decision, I back whatever he chooses to do, but it's not like he's suddenly decided he didn't like to wrestle any longer.  He's adulting, and I really hope to see his smiling face again soon.  Gonna be a big hole there where he usually is.  Miss him already.  Glad I thought to get a photo before we left...This bright young man is a rock.  He's steady.  He's capable and willing.  He will excel at ANYTHING he goes for.  And you just thought he was a sneaky All Star!

Tommy and I recorded the Beatles' "She Loves You" on Thursday, I've yet to hear a rough mix, surprisingly.  Seems Tommy has re-recorded a few of his backing vocals and may have re-did yet another guitar part in the never-ending search for freakin' Beatles PERFECTION!  We're thinking "A Hard Day's Night" next and even knocking around "Nowhere Man" and talking about "She Said She Said".  So basically, I did tell him "let's do them ALL!"  Really.  I did.  It's how I roll.  #RoxX  Oh, and enjoy the fashion of the day below on the record sleeve!

And that's the way it was, in 2018.  The year that spent more time on the highway barely crawling than driving the posted speed limit.  The year some clown thought he could smash into my car and drive off without consequence.  The year that I was attacked by two HPU executives and two different city lawyers on the newspaper opinion page.  The year I witnessed Karen stand up to our landlord and flat tell her to her face "this is B---S---!"  The year I have been conditioned to think that it's normal for my nearly 30 pound cat to jump on me to wake me up at least once a night from a deep sleep.  The year your GPS is nowhere near current with highway construction projects.  I could go on.  But I would probably get depressed!

Be safe ya'll.  It's full-blown idiot season on the roads today, remember to drive defensively.  Also, if you drink, please don't drive, the life you save may be MINE!  Have a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Newsprint, Enunciation & Christmas!

It's been a crazy few weeks, Karen's on severe retail schedule and I'm on a one week break from rasslin'.  Awoke this morning (Sunday) around 6am by Karen who's telling me from downstairs that the High Point Enterprise had published their interview with our French "exchange student" Ulysse Demos.  Great article, more than a full page including photos with an advertisement on page one pointing to the feature page.  And lo and behold, that's ME they interview about our friend Ulysse.  [That's how they justify doing the story, a connection to High Point!]  I have been immersed in NFL football the past couple of days (again) and working on a collaboration project with Tommy and a couple of British musicians.

Guitarist Phil McWalter and drummer Rick Medlock came on board for a collaboration with myself and Tommy covering Stevie Wonder's iconic "Superstition".  I thought I was finished with my vocals in studio but our British friends noticed something I had not, the fact I was dragging out some lines in the song where Wonder is precise and concise in his delivery.  I don't think there's much to actually change, as I recorded most of my lines with the original playing in my headphones.  I sang along with Stevie for hours!  We're back to work on vocals Wednesday or Thursday of this week, more studio time!

Had a young lady who works at a breakfast/lunch counter I frequent tell me "I've seen you sing here in High Point before, I know I have."  I'm kind of taken aback, so I ask, "When have you been in my shower?"  I'm thinking "No way she was at the City Lake for that one Nathan Hunt gig."  She continues by saying she sings, plays guitar and mandolin and if we needed a chick singer, let her know.  Funny, there IS a young woman working in the same place I've told Tommy about, a sweetie who has sang gospel in a family group.  She keeps asking me to bring her something so she can hear what we do.  I probably will after Christmas.  

Wishing you all some PEACE in your lives.  Have a Merry Christmas, be safe and we'll see you at ringside again on the 29th for CWF Battlecade XIX!

Back At It...RoxX & Rasslin'

Went back into studio this past Saturday and recorded vocals for new original "Smoke And Mirrors", received same song's first mix and I'm blown away with it!  Another almost 50's style crooner's tune, sang very softly.  You know, a tear-jerker!  Also got the latest mix of "There's A Place" and it's almost perfection.  Third mix of "Message In A Bottle" makes me think that will be the cover Tommy releases Saturday...Still having a blast being #RoxX although we have discussed considering an actual "band name".  He's also been considering how we could pull a live (with tape) performance and the problems with running sound and the equipment required to execute such a project.  His thoughts include playing different instruments on different songs as well as him singing backup.  I think the possibilities are endless.

Really gonna miss my new friend Ulysse "OPA" Demos when he flies home Sunday to France.  His country is in turmoil and flames while he proved himself to be one of the most sincere and coolest customers I've met in years.  Should he ever get the honor, he would make a wonderful Ambassador to the United States on behalf of France, but I would expect a branch embassy to be erected in Gibsonville NC.  Know whut I mean?  I'm sure Ulysse will be an instant celebrity at home after spending time in the US and training with American wrestlers.  As a group, we've made sure his time in America will be unforgettable and that we'll always be family in our lifetimes.  I just wonder how badly some of those who are much closer to Ulysse than I are going to take his departure?  I saw eyes getting misty weeks ago planning for his last night in town...

Wrestling memories?  I can't and will never forget Kameron Jenkins.  The look in his eyes when he got to talk to his favorite wrestlers, the excitement in his voice when he was remembered by name.  That young man treated me like I was special even when he was incredible pain.  I loved having a few minutes with him at ringside, he always shared what he'd like to see, who he'd like to see wrestle and what he liked about the last event.  He was so very smart and nothing got past him.  But the way he looked at me, like he admired me or what I stood for.  I am still humbled to have been his friend.  I'll see you again young man!

RoxX and Roll

We finished off vocals on the Shocking Blue's "Venus" and it wasn't until we got in headphones that I realize that the original song had a woman and two men who don't speak English as their first language basically singing lead together.  And in studio, I had to learn the WOMAN'S part, which is not what I've heard for years in my mind.  After all's said and done, we made it happen.  I'm really proud of the first mixes of the song and equally as proud of Tommy re-recording his vocals and reworking the ending of the Beatles' cover "There's A Place" which we recorded months ago.  

Tommy brought up the fact that when we release Venus that he wants to dedicate it to my mother, who encouraged both of us to make music as children and later as adults.  This was one of her songs.  My mother was one of the few people who knew that I had set up a place in the spare bedroom to practice singing and playing bass years ago and she was more excited about it at first than even I was.  It's no lie, she's why I do it today, especially the song writing, because I still have the urge to make her proud of me.  And she totally encouraged musical self-expression and had a diverse catalog of music she enjoyed listening to, from 50's classics to (dare I say) Scandinavian Death Metal and I can't thank her enough for keeping me up past my childhood bedtime to see the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Yeah.  We go way back with our love of music.  That has to be it.  She allowed me to blast the neighborhood hours at a time with my guitars and stereos over the years with a smile.

I am having more fun today than ever on the pro wrestling side of life.  Helped my friend Jimmy Harris raise $1853.00 for Relay for Life Sunday before last at BCW CRUSHING CANCER in Burlington.  We tore down the house this Saturday at the Sportatorium at CWF ULTIMATE SURVIVOR XVI.  We kicked arse on Twitch, too, according to the viewer numbers we saw.  There are (count 'em) three more events on my calendar in 2018, all in December.  CWF Road To Battlecade hits on Dec. 1; CWF Rising Generation League returns on Dec. 8 and then the BIG one, CWF BATTLECADE XIX is on Dec. 29!  Year 20 of CWF Mid-Atlantic kicks off in January 2019 with CWF NEW YEAR'S KNOCKOUT!  Tickets now at cwftickets.com for ALL events!

Karen's apparently not retired yet and is still working full-time in the retail environment, so I'm back to full-time driver for the crazy season around Thanksgiving heading into Christmas.  Kind of wondering if I'll have to rent again before the year's over, Enterprise has thrown me a few curve balls in the past month.  Had to rent for two shows two weekends ago and they put me in a 2018 Dodge Challenger.  What a ride.  This past weekend, the plopped my behind into a 2018 Ford F-150 STX Super Club Cab pickup bus.  Er, truck.  I'd get a ticket in a second in the Dodge and the Ford had a surprisingly great ride.  I'd take either again if they are "out of the car size I reserved" I guess.

Rasslin' and RoxX Updates!

Chugging right along on the pro wrestling front, leading into the big year ending anniversary event, CWF BATTLECADE XIX!  I've met a LOT of quality guys and girls over the years through this crazy sport, but I've had the pleasure of meeting my first actual "Frenchman" recently, a young man who traveled to the US to train at the CWF Dojo for several months, Ulysse "OPA" Demos (pronounced "YOU-lease").  I was told "he's going to be your next best friend" when I met him and the first thing he shared was that he played bass and sang in a band at home.  Yup, kindred spirit indeed.  He's became a fan favorite quickly as well as a locker room favorite.  When he leaves NC to return home to France in December, there won't be a dry eye in the house.  We got some more history to make.  I'd love him to return home as some kind of a "star" for making the journey to America and living with Americans and seeing the country and meeting our people.  

Music front continues to chug along with more RoxX originals ready to record, more to write lyrics for and another suggestion that Tommy has made happen.  Our next cover song will be the classic rock staple "Venus" by the Shocking Blue.  Tommy flat NAILED the music.  Nailed it.  Hope I can cover my end of it half as well as he has!  I accept the challenge!  I'm still bouncing off the walls over "Message In A Bottle" and how it turned out that I'm ready for almost anything.

Back to the wrestling thing for a moment.  There have been times I've wanted to quit forever, there have been times I wouldn't miss it for the world.  One of the reasons I stick around is seeing how folks that came through our little world have progressed and moved up through the business.  I've had the sweet opportunity to "mentor" a couple of young ladies in the ring announcing business and currently I am seeing them BOTH appearing on our events together.  I have always thought CL Party was a babe, a pretty face that can remember a large amount of info in a short amount of time before explaining it to the world, but now that I get to spend some quality time with her, I've really became quite smitten with her.  My first love, my protege, "Miss" Chasity has returned and I get the warm fuzzies every time I see her smiling face.  The first night they announced a segment together, I melted.  So proud of these young women and can't wait to see what the future holds for both.  And I also need a photo made with BOTH of these dolls together.  For posterity.  Yeah, posterity!

No Service

Another original penned and sent to Tommy today, "Smoke And Mirrors", and he did post the Halloween tune "Dead Again" this past Saturday!  Check it out on SoundCloud here:  RoxX - Dead Again (New!)

The second hurricane through here turned into the "bad" one, even more water in already water-logged places and massive power failures.  The rain was pretty heavy at times and the wind was serious, but the power failure ruined a perfectly good (otherwise) Thursday.  Power went off around 3pm and returned shortly after 1am, when I had to get out of bed and go downstairs and turn off everything that was on when the power went out, from lights to the television.

Cell phones were useless as the power failures included cell towers and mine read "No Service" like a champ.  I did have a couple of old phones, so I actually had a working landline during the mess.  Totally missed the Thursday night NFL game and even the chance to enter my football picks for the week that day.  Somehow picked up a couple of games on Josh, despite his growing lead after Thursday's game.

Two Halloween-themed wrestling events coming up, Saturday CWF THE FRIGHT STUFF at the Sportatorium and next Saturday in Chapel Hill for CWF TARHEEL TERROR!  Tickets now at cwftickets.com.  Now that's #Neckbone!

It's Officially Autumn?

Yes, it's not stifling hot 24-7 and it IS dark before 7:30, so I will admit it must be autumn once again.  Supposed to still be hot all week, so I may change my judgement at a later date.  Still have two fans running in the house, the windows down and the AC on.  Partially because of my neighbor's miniature Dobermans that bark constantly, partially because of our allergies I suppose.  

Finished up the wildest original yet on Saturday, well the vocals and effects anyways, for what I assume will be our Halloween tune for this year.  The song is called Dead Again and describes the brutal murder of our hero who is in the hospital recovering from a trauma that caused him to...yeah...die on the operating table only to be brought back.  It's creepy to the max, I got to expand my vocal role to sound effects, echoes and growls but it has a great hook that should be over with the musically inclined.  We hope anyways.  Tommy released "Any Time At All" Saturday on SoundCloud, another Beatles cover under the #RoxX banner!

Four straight weekends of wrestling upcoming in October, three at the Sportatorium and the final our return to Chapel Hill NC.  The 18th Annual CWF RUMBLE is this Saturday (10-6), the RGL returns the following Saturday, CWF Mid-Atlantic again the next and then off to Chapel Hill.  Jacked about the Rumble, it's going to be BIG this year, I can feel it in my bones.  Tickets for any of these events ANYTIME at cwftickets.com (unless event is SOLD OUT).

When you pay more for rent than you believe the property to be worth, you notice things like poor exterminator service provided by the owners.  My kitchen was over-ran with ants late in May and I called and asked for an exterminator.  Of course I spent the next 4-5 hours scrubbing, exterminating, spraying and cursing until every one of them were gone.  We left for a couple of hours and when we returned, nothing crawling so I assumed the exterminator had came in while we were away.  Two weeks, yes WEEKS later, the maintenance guy shows up with an exterminator's sprayer and says "I hear you got ants."  He didn't spray inside since he didn't see any, but did spray down the back side of the apartment which faces the woods.  Mid July I had the same problem, handled it myself again, left a message on the property manager's machine.  Nothing.

This time I left the message early on Saturday morning asking if they could tell me when the last time an exterminator actually walked into my apartment, despite the fact I have seen them at the apartment next door 3 times in a month.  I also raised hell on the message about losing sleep over my neighbor's dogs barking all night after the police left around 10:30.  Yeah, neighbor dude likes to slam his girl into the living room walls between slaps and punches, police were here around 8pm, along with her parents, who eventually left with the tiny baby in tow.  Police left, girl leaves for the night leaving the dogs in their kennels to bark all night.  Yeah.  Gotta love people.  Not sure if he's in jail for a cool-down period or what, but his car is here and he's not.  Last time he whooped her up he left in his car and stayed out of sight for nearly a month before moving back in...

More Rain, More Music, More Volume

Been fortunate here at the Crazy House to have missed the majority of the destruction of Hurricane Florence.  We're in a holding pattern of rain and constant Flash Flood Warnings, but we've had little or no wind as was expected with the storm.  Also, don't tell IHFC building owners that, they'll call you a liar considering how much facade of their building was in the road this morning.  

Monday it was all "We gone die!" and by Wednesday it was "It gone rain."  I understand there have been deaths here in NC and in SC already from the flooding and I feel fortunate to have been spared this time around.  Power did go out here today three times in about a one minute span, not even long enough to reset the clock on the microwave.  So that and rain are the extent until there's a mudslide behind the apartment tomorrow or trees start uprooting.  Oh well.  Life in the city, right?

I witnessed the transplants living here go into full panic buying mode on Monday, making bottled water rare as hen's teeth around town.  People were buying 4, 5, 6 cases of water at a time, I'm thinking these people must bathe in it or something, right?  The transplants also couldn't get the sarcasm in the eyes of the "natives" when we'd see them loading hoarded supplies into their Subarus and SUVs.  Same with gasoline.  Stations were running out and people were panicking over gas.  It's not like they won't have more tomorrow.  Where you going tonight, New Jersey?

Karen and I went to see Judas Priest and Deep Purple on Tuesday of this week, despite the imminent death hurricane barreling in on us.  Traffic was murder on I-85 and dammit it was CLOSED completely coming into China Grove.  All cars exit.  We didn't miss any of Priest, Rob screamed that hurricane into a puddle of salty tears as they tore down the house with a wonderful cross-section of their career as a band displayed in their songlist choices.  Judas Priest was the loudest I recall hearing them, but we were on the 11th row, close enough to see them sweat. 

Deep Purple hit the stage with Highway Star, a medley I didn't recognize and a handful of "new" originals, to which I eventually joined Karen sitting.  We left shortly after only to discover how great Purple sounded in the parking lot, so much better than down front.  I was exhausted, so happy to be able to exit straight onto the interstate after one exit and make it home with no delays or road closures.  Small favors I suppose.

When Life Is Fun Again

It has come to my attention recently that done right, life can be a lot of fun.  I'm certain it beats all alternatives, to say the least.  I'm trying to enjoy the little things again, a lost art in 2018, and I'm trying to keep a positive view going without wearing the dreaded rose-colored glasses.  I'm relatively healthy, don't really look my age (NEVER acted it either!) and I have three beautiful grandchildren.  I still get around, I'm still enjoying wrestling and I'm feeling pretty good these days.  I'm still writing, still singing and still covering Beatles tunes and having fun doing it.  

On the RoxX front, we have recorded everything planned, original Earthbound kicks out the jams and the first mix of the Beatles' Help blows my mind.  Can't wait to hear later mixes of both.  I have two songs now to write lyrics for and haven't penned a single word on either at this point.  Guess what I'll be doing the rest of this week?  Tommy's back to work this week, so I don't know when the next time we'll record, but I'll update when it happens.

On the rasslin' front, CWF Mid-Atlantic has finally moved it's produced events to a pay channel, the HighSpots Wrestling Network!  Subscribe to the network for $9.99 a month or rent single events on demand!  We are currently still airing our live events on Twitch for folks that can't join us at the Sportatorium!  Tickets to CWF Mid-Atlantic events at cwftickets.com!

And yes, wrestling has become fun once again.  I've wavered between continuing and retirement for a couple of years before deciding to stick with it, if only to irritate the ones who would rather I quit.  I'm digging seeing guys I've watched unloading and setting up the ring finally step through the ropes and show the world what they've learned at the CWF Dojo.  That whole Circle of Life in real time.  It's what we do.  And you thought it was just rasslin'.

Wide open on the pro wrestling schedule again, if you can count four events in 3 weeks "wide open".  Heh.  I seriously remember doing 3 events in 2 days without batting an eye.  What can I say?  I'm particular about what I do these days maybe?  Picking my spots perhaps.

We'll be doing a free live event Wed. August 15th on Twitch kicking off at 2pm!  It's our end of the summer annual bash for the Alamance County Boys And Girls Club from the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium!  Nothing like a little free weekday wrestling before school starts back up, right?

Pip has became an even larger part of our family in recent weeks, demanding attention between 2-4 am daily.  Some mornings I can pat the bed and he'll lay down and go to sleep.  Then there's most mornings.  When I hear Karen screaming at him I know he's on her dresser swatting her jewelry around.  He's smart enough to know that both of us will react to him doing that.  Smart darn cat.  The only mornings I know I can sleep in are the ones after a late night (wrestling) or after being up with acid reflux and spending quality time with the cat on the couch for an hour or longer.

We're still kicking out new music, both originals and covers and will be heading toward the studio in the coming weeks to attempt our cover of the Beatles classic "Help!".  New original "Earthbound" lyrics (original referred to as the "Foo Fighters inspired song") are finished and it's on the list to record as well.  

https://soundcloud.com/tom-roxx/the-hellion_electric-eye-cover-by-tom-and-hedd-roxx-new

Shocked at the positive reactions to our cover of Judas Priest's Hellion/Electric Eye, it's going through the roof!  Thanks ya'll!

Screwed

Follow up on the previous post, we got royally SCREWED by our landlord.  Our rent did not increase $26 a month, it increased $56 a month.  Claimed we were have "supposed to paid $15 a month for a pet fee and a $15 a month maintenance fee" the previous year and they forgot to charge us.  Didn't budge a single dollar, basically told us we were screwed.  Point of order:  What the hell did we pay a $250 non-refundable pet deposit for if they are going to now charge monthly?

Screwed isn't the term for this one.  Karen's mother passed Tuesday morning.  We have not been in contact with her or Karen's sister Pam since September 2016.  We got a call from our nephew at 7:30am saying she wasn't going to make it through the day.  Um.  We didn't know she was in the hospital.  OK?  Later that same afternoon I get a phone call from an old friend of Pam's who informed me of the death and the time of death.

Then she went into that "I know I'm not family" spiel and eventually it turned to "Pam can't afford to do anything except donate the body to HPU Medical and get the ashes when they are finished with it."  I replied quietly and evenly, "I'm sorry."  

She hadn't mentioned anything definite to me, but I was SURE Karen was going to do something toward her mother's final rest, but this morning we awoke to a newspaper obit with the message that there would be no services and the body was being sent to a crematorium.  Then to top it all, Pam's son posts a "full obituary" on his own little Facebook page this morning, with names and dates, etc., purposefully leaving out Karen (oldest daughter), our son Josh (grandson) and his three kids, who are her great-grandchildren.

That explains my own post on Facebook today where I proclaimed that the Karen A.T.M. has closed permanently and customers should find alternate sources for emergency cash.  Speaking of cash.  No.  I shall not go there.  Not now or ever. 

Future Shock

Tomorrow we venture to the leasing office to renew our lease here for the 18th (and FINAL) year at the Terrace and I'm afraid I'm going to sound off over everything that has not been handled as promised by the "new" owners own set of rules.  I have a neighbor whose car has been broken down since she got arrested around Thanksgiving '17, yet it's still parked in front of her apartment with 3 flat tires.  I snapped a photo of it last month with no license tag (it was being used on the "newer" ragged car she was driving) and the manager came over and give the tenant a "heads up".  Next morning the old car had a plate on it again (albeit expired) and it's still sitting in the driveway.

Their second or "newest" car has been sitting across the parking lot for three days unable to be moved because it appears someone has driven it into a ditch or culvert, ripping off much of the exhaust system.  The donut tire on the front of the car is canted at a super weird angle which tells me most likely that the front end is damaged beyond the ability to drive it as well.  Seeing "Sugar Daddy" making an appearance yesterday to look at the damaged vehicles proves to me that this woman once again has two wrecked cars in the parking lot, neither able to be driven.  She only calls Baby Daddy when she needs cash money homey.  I don't recall seeing him in a few years actually.

There's also the "102 Jamz" Nissan in the parking lot, which has had a flat tire for months and has not moved.  I see kids playing in the car and an occasional adult accessing stuff locked in the trunk, but the car does not and can not move.  Pretty sure when we signed our lease last year one of the main new rules for this complex is all vehicles parked on the property must have valid license and inspection and be able to be driven.  So really.  WTF Terrace?

Don't get me started on 18+ year old carpet and paint inside.  Or the early 1970s stove we still use here.  We did finally get our bushes trimmed, I can finally see my own car in the parking lot again, but only after several calls to the office.  Was actually informed that the crew had been sent to "another property" when they stopped here, but hey, at the time this place was full.

They tell us that the market value for our townhome is well above the price of a beginner house and they are trying to raise the rent accordingly, but by law are not allowed to raise it more than a couple of percent a year, so we are going to make tracks out of here before the next lease is due, possibly buying something of our own for a change instead of paying "full market value" for a rental with no return.

Really getting tired of the neighbors here.  Not the neighborhood.  Not the location, but the neighbors.  Same neighbor with the trashed cars has a fire pit behind their apartment and sit outside partying some nights.  That explains the charred remains of burnt wood often spread all over the parking lot.  And the pile of charred wood that is piled in front of the dumpster along with full baby diapers and other signs that cave people live in this complex.  I can't understand how the same folks send the same kids to the same dumpster, to have the same result, garbage on the ground around the can.  I can only imagine what the inside of their places look like.

It's not all of the neighbors, mind you, my next door neighbor of 16+ years is a gem and a friend.  Next door on the other side is a young inter-racial couple with a tiny baby.  They've already had the police and Social Services visit a few Sundays ago after he struck her and she called the po-po.  Saw where he was charged with assault on a female and he quickly moved out.  It's been a month or so and now he's starting to try to weasel his way back into the apartment, making numerous visits recently.  Funny.  He doesn't come by until one of his or her relatives comes by to take the baby.  

Enough of this.  Back to music, rasslin' and more music!

Satan Vacations In the Tarheel State

Satan vacations in North Carolina?  If he doesn't he's missing weather aimed to please him.  Ten degrees above the average temp yesterday, hotter today.  We're getting August in June with a rising humidity.  All of this on the heels of our late spring monsoon season.  I really dread an afternoon shower, with this heat it will be an ugly electrical storm it one comes over.  Weather on tv saying "hotter and higher humidity".  Thanks for dropping by and remember, it's not technically summer until Thursday!

Tommy's on "crazy overtime" once again, but has sent me new music for covers of the Beatles' "I Will" and Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and I'm champing at the bit to go back to studio with these two favorites.  He also told me he thinks the next one will be another original, which I welcome openly.  Seriously considering pulling out the guitar and work on something different but with strings over a year old, I quickly remember why I don't.  Heh.  I should sell the Ovation, the Jag bass and the Fender Rumble 75 w bass amp.  I haven't picked them up on months.  Keep eyeing a couple of new guitars I'd like to get my hands on, particularly the Eastwood Moderne (50's Gibson design) and Eastwood Backlund 100, currently being used by Todd Rundgren on the Utopia tour.  The Backlund series ALL have a beautiful retro look to them, similar to 50's car lines and color combos.  Matter of fact, here are the three colors available in the Backlund 100 line in blue, red and black:

In case you don't know, Pip rules the roost in our home.  He has the center command seat and uses his authority to get what he wants.  Especially between 2 and 4 am when I am required to walk all the way downstairs to the kitchen to watch him eat.  He won't leave me alone until I do just that.  Otherwise, it's jumping on the dresser and swatting jewelry in the floor all the way to knocking over a canned drink sitting on the nightstand.  And that pitiful little meow like he's about to die.  Being old and waking up in the middle of the night is an opportunity to go to the bathroom, so downstairs isn't all that much of a big deal.  Yet.  We'll see going forward.

Bits and Pieces

Tommy and I actually recorded our first Judas Priest cover, "Hellion/Electric Eye".  His guitar work on it is incredible and his backing vocals make the tune scream.  Of course, I've only heard the first rough mix at this point.  We're looking at another couple of covers to tackle, Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and the Beatles' "I Will" seem to be on deck next.  I'll know for sure when the raw music files arrive!  #RoxX  Fingers crossed for new originals, too!

Seems like it's monsoon season around here the past few weeks, raining daily.  Frog-strangler rains and such.  I did see the sunshine yesterday a bit and for minutes today, but only long enough to make it stifling hot.  Yeah.  June 1.  Way too early for unable to breathe just because you're outside, North Carolina, it's time you fix that mess.  

Speaking of summer, are these young Braves a real thing?  I'm finding myself watching daily, almost like 1995 all over again.  The pitcher I've been told is going to be great, Teheran, scares me to death on the mound, but in his defense, I've seen him put on some REAL quality starts of late.  Fingers crossed he pans out and turns the corner.  Really excited about the wave of youth that is showing out daily.  #ThisIsWhyWeChop

Date added to the rasslin' schedule with the Rising Generation League this Saturday, June 2 at the Mid Atlantic Sportatorium in Gibsonville NC.  June 9th is the Summer Spectacular, CWF ABSOLUTE JUSTICE 2018!  Tickets at cwftickets.com.  Then the July schedule begins on June 30th when CWF returns to the Sportatorium.  See what I did there?

Insurance: A Gamble Or A Rip-Off?

After 3 estimates (actually 4) the Fit was taken to the body shop for repair last Monday morning.  It made it home the following Monday since the original completion date of Thursday was the day the rear bumper cover arrived.  I don't like talking to the "other guy's" insurance company and had words with the gentleman that came here and spent 3 hours looking, measuring and photographing my car.  He calls to inform me "one of the dents" on the back wasn't his guy's responsibility.  I went full master fabricator on him and demanded he show me in what book it tells you that formed steel will not bend, roll or crease away from an actual impact and he began to stutter.  The car is fixed to our satisfaction, from the back the car looks new.  The clean up they did inside and out was worth the 7 days in a rental, which was a monster gas hog.  (Toyota, ya'll!)

Pip got us last Saturday.  In the rush of renting a SECOND car for Karen to take to work, I dumped some stuff she was carrying to work on the kitchen cabinet.  When she was ready for work, she grabbed the bag, her lunch and her handbag and left.  She arrived at work wondering what the H was all over the seat, the bags and her blouse.  

I called her about an hour after she left to ask if there was a reason there were 3 Arby's Sauce packets busted open and smeared all over the kitchen cabinet.  Pip did it.  He has a thing about biting bananas and apples, not eating them, but biting them.  He went vampire on the Arby's sauce and it made it's way from here to Belk and back.  Sadly, Pip probably bit the things the night before, prior to me bringing in the groceries...

Double-shot weekend for me with the return of CWF's Rising Generation League Saturday May 19th at the Sportatorium for THE WORLD IS YOURS!  Doors open at 7:00pm and belltime is 7:30pm!  Sunday afternoon Benefit Championship Wrestling returns to the Positive Attitude Youth Center in Burlington NC at 3:00pm Sunday May 20th for a stacked afternoon matinee!  See you at BCW's STARS AND STRIKES!

No more rasslin' for this guy until June 9th and then June 30th, both CWF Mid Atlantic events (Absolute Justice 2018 on the 9th!) at the Sportatorium in Gibsonville NC.  Plan on watching extra Braves baseball and more NASCAR than usual during off-time.  Seems like a plan to me!

Invisibility Rocks

Invisibility?  Yeah.  I'm guessing that maybe 2 folks a month find this "blog site".  Certainly never had any interaction.  Such is life.  I write for myself frequently as it is.  I'm good!

We put CWF Worldwide on "hiatus" for a few weeks while we change up production companies and allow the new folks the opportunity to get up to speed.  I don't envy whoever takes on the task, you get nit-picked to death by the folks that watch it.  Currently we air on Twitch, which provides a chatroom on the side of the screen for instant interaction.  Or we will when we return.  You know what I mean!

IndyInsiders on Facebook seems to be a popular destination after years of "meh" response.  Not sure if it's because I've kept on doing it or that a new group of fans and wrestlers are coming along and catching on to what we do.  Having a core of people around me referring to the site as "spoilers" wasn't helping my numbers, looking back with 20-20 hindsight.  Happy to see new faces and love seeing the reposts from our page.  I've been focusing on a one-man campaign on behalf of our home base which seems to be catching on.  "See You At The Sportatorium!"  

Tommy and I have finished recording vocals on everything we had in the loop and currently have NOTHING set to record, either original or cover.  We've discussed a few cover ideas (from old Grand Funk Railroad medley to a Judas Priest staple) and for some reason last night I got to thinking I'd like to cover Epic by Faith No More.  I have no idea why, but I did work on that song years ago and it's got a lot of places Tommy could REALLY shine on guitar and piano on it.  You want it all but you can't have it...

Tore up the Fit Saturday night, was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Interstate 85 around 11 pm.  In 5mph construction zone traffic, merging from 3 lanes down to 1.  I pulled over, he didn't, I got back on the highway and called 911.  After a minute or two on the phone with the NC Highway Patrol, the dispatcher asks "are you back on the road" and I told him I was.  He informed me I needed to pull over immediately or they couldn't do an accident report, so I complied.  About 10 minutes later blue lights approach up the median behind me and pulls off the road to the right.  Trooper asked if I was OK, I am, and tells me to "sit tight" and sped off after the guy that hit me.

About 10-15 minutes later he  pulls in front of me and instructs me to follow him at the speed he's driving exactly where he's driving.  Then he DIMS the rear strobes and emergency lights on his cruiser and tells me "I'm getting you past this construction, follow me" and down the median we went like a flash.  Pulled up on another trooper a couple of miles down the road and they stop traffic to allow me to pull in front of the car that hit me.  They did their report, took photos and had me fill out a statement.  They told me "we'll get you home as quickly as we possibly can" and delivered.  I was on the road back home in less than an hour after the actual accident.  Lucky for the backed up traffic, the trooper was in traffic behind me and KNEW he could catch the guy that hit me.  I assume he got a hit-and-run in a construction zone, so I can't imagine him having any auto insurance after this fiasco.

You have no idea how mad I was when the joker hit me.  You really have no idea how furious I became when he drove past me after I pulled off of the highway.  The Jack Hedrick in me is still strong, ya'll.  And I won't apologize for it, ever.  Have a good-un!

Dateline: January 107, 2018

Oh the weather outside is psychotic...No joke.  Tornado close to home (well in the same county) freezing cold and early summer heat all in the same day or two.  It would probably be 85 outside right now if the wind wasn't howling.  I'm beginning to think that Mother Nature has been on a bender for real.  

The one-day KERNODLE BROTHERS TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT came off smooth as glass, and history was made in an incredible day and night of action.  Congrats to Trevor Lee & Chet Sterling on the ultimate win over Chikara Tag Champions the Closers' Rick Roland & Sloan Caprice.  Touched on everyone involved on a special Insiders' Soapbox on the Insiders' Facebook gimmick earlier in the week, Monday I think.  We're returning to the Sportatorium Saturday for the Rising Generation League's THE NEXT EPISODE!  Tickets at cwftickets.com, ya'll!  And #Neckbone and stuff.

Also, PWI International Ultra-J Crown Champion Andrew Everett will be on hand to defend his title NEXT Saturday April 28th at the Sportatorium against the incredible Cam Carter!  cwf247.com

On the music front, I've heard two mixes of No Matter What, the second being incredible.  Still nothing on the "R&B" tune, but that may come at any time.  Tommy did throw me another curve ball by shooting me another upbeat rock original for me to throw some lyrics at yesterday.  An hour or so with it today, and I'm one line from being done with the "pre-chorus" and choruses and that leaves only a couple of verses.  Yeah, I write some of my stuff backwards, just like I edit my photos for the Insiders.  I may explain that someday.  Or maybe not.

Sinuses, Singing & Suplexes

I'm almost human again and after actually MISSING WORK (GASP!) Karen's nearing feeling human again.  She's still not eating much, but it seems the heating pad I bought her did wonders for her when she felt her worse.  Odd, she's only drinking Coca-Cola now after years of Diet Dr. Pepper and says everything has a strange taste to it.  The other day she said everything smelled like stale coffee to her.  Different the next day, but the same level of repulsiveness.  Hope she continues to get over this mess, her stress level at work is at an all-time high.

Back into the studio tomorrow with Tommy to record our, get this, BEACH tune "I'll Be True".  Totally expected another original before we returned to the studio, and kind of figured when it never arrived he was going to record another cover for us to tackle.  That is EXACTLY what he did and after going through the song tonight, I am JACKED at the opportunity to cover Badfinger's classic "No Matter What".  Jacked is an understatement.  We are re-creating the music we grew up on between original projects.  And yes, I still listen to our cover of "Limelight" expecting to find a flaw.  Still haven't.  Still makes the hair on my arms stand up when I hear it.  Not sure what we'll release next, but we do have almost a half dozen originals still unreleased.  

After several weekends off, we kick back into gear Saturday at the Sportatorium with TWO huge events comprising the 2018 KERNODLE BROTHERS TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT.  First round action kicks off at 3:30pm and the Finals begin at 7:30pm.  Tickets to BOTH sessions are available now at cwftickets.com.  

In non CWF Mid Atlantic headlines, I'm so jacked to see our old buddy Cedric Alexander win the WWE Cruiserweight Title at Wrestlemania 34.  Even more jacked to see our old buddy No Way Jose (who was Manny Garcia in CWF) make his debut on WWE Raw the following night, taking on recent Trevor Lee challenger "Southern Savior" John Skyler.  And to think, people used to make fun of me for working in pro wrestling, and now a lot of guys I have worked with are stepping into the big spotlight.  No, I'm not taking credit (although "Jose" IS a CWF Dojo trained wrestler) for these guys, but seeing them making headlines makes me feel damn good, like a personal accomplishment.

Misery

The past two weeks have been pure allergy misery.  Yes, even with snow on the ground, my sometimes spring allergies have hit me like a sledgehammer and don't seem to be easing up anytime soon.  And now it's warm enough today that I had to turn on the AC in the car to keep from appearing to be crying like a baby while driving in the sickening green fuzz covering the world.  

My next door neighbor locked her keys in her car this morning and couldn't get into her apartment.  I called the emergency number for her and opened the living room window to see if they called back.  Big mistake.  I probably look like I've spent the last half hour crying like a baby at this point.  Everything inside is now glowing an eerie green like a cheesy sci-fi movie.  Invasion of the sinus monsters is in full effect today.  Even my face hurts at this point.

Which television series produced the most spin-offs?  Always figured it was All In the Family, with a huge family tree of spin-off shows.  All in The Family begat Maude which begat Good Times. All In The Family also begat the Jeffersons and we all moved on up.  Then came Gloria, Checking In, 704 Hauser Street and Archie Bunker's Place.  But wait!  The Mary Tyler Moore program actually spun off three series as themselves!  Rhoda, Phyllis and the one-hour drama Lou Grant ran between 1974 and 1982, which is what Yahoo claims to be the series with the most spin-offs.  Good thing we're not also talking animated spin-offs, because Happy Days would probably wipe them all out considering that Happy Days was a flipping spin-off from the Love Boat.  BOOM!  Minds blown.

And yeah, I never even mentioned Three's Company, Star Trek, Bugs Bunny or Scooby Doo!

Stretching out...

After four consecutive weekends of CWF Mid Atlantic live events, I'm looking at a couple of weekends off.  Enterprise Car Rental won't like that, but hey, what can I say?  They'll see me by mid-April I'm certain.  The Sportatorium is hot.  Not physically, mind you, but literally.  Queens of Combat have the stage this Saturday, which I'm no longer associated with, so weekend off!  Funny how that works...

Tommy's throwing me files that I can't even keep up with.  Since buying a new Marshall Combo, he's been going back and re-recording old recordings and sending me the new versions.  He started with our first outing, Ashes To Ashes and today I discover a new mix of I Come Tumblin'.  That's after he drops a BEAUTIFUL second mix of the Beatles' If I Fell, which includes the sound of a stylus making contact with the record before the song begins.  That's a great memory and feeling all by itself right there, kids.  Yeah, there are more, but at this point I'll have to get into my music files to see which ones he's sent. 

Marshall 14 - Computer 0  F

I really hope some inspiration hits him and he sends me some new original stuff soon, I'm itching to tell some more stories.  Of course, it also requires him to physically have the time to take on these chores too, so I totally understand.  I get it.  It just gives me time to harass my crazy cat, who spent the bulk of the day today under my desk popping me on the leg asking for attention.  It took a new catnip mouse and a half-hour of playing fetch before he decided it was nap time.  Yes, Pip plays fetch.  He's fond of chasing down hair bands, he'll catch Wasp and Poison...No.  The elastic-fabric covered rubber bands you buy for ponytails, silly.  So basically, you know now why it took me until after dark to get IndyInsiders.Com updated.  I kid you not.

Also, have I mentioned how much I enjoy when Pig Daddy Cool, the Proletariat Boar of Moldova or Ol' Juke Joint Lucas Calhoun appear on our events?  Guys brought a huge gentleman, half of the current Chikara Tag Team Champions Rick Roland with them and they were all three involved in a great six-man tag.  Aiight, I'm outta here.  Here's Roland catching the Boar out of midair and Lucas Calhoun stopping time with a single chop!  Night kids.

Mo Better Update?

Wrestling is rocking along with a new life again, RoxX is rolling along with a couple of more songs recorded since my last post here and things are looking good all around for a change.  Even Pip is living the life, eating, sleeping and sleeping some more.  Karen's actually talking retirement, says she's not going through another Christmas season in retail, but if I know her she'll be looking for a part-time job within a week of retiring.  I'd bet on that.

Happy as a clam to have our old buddy Shane "Hurricane" Helms with us again, heck, he's holding our Worldwide Television Championship currently!  We're running the Sportatorium Saturday for a CWF Rising Generation League event called THINGS DONE CHANGED!  Saturday the 10th CWF Mid Atlantic returns to Hargrave Rec Center in Chapel Hill NC for CWF THE BIG PAYBACK!  Saturday March 17th the "Hurricane" Shane Helms returns to the Sportatorium for CWF Mid Atlantic's GREEN WITH ENVY!  Tickets available at cwftickets.com.

Tommy and I hit the studio on Monday (yes Monday) of last week and recorded a surprise song he sent me only Sunday.  Backstory is that he discovered the drum track, which he had did maybe 15 years ago for a one-off one-man performance at his company's Christmas Party.  So he built the song around it, sends it to me on Sunday and calls Sunday night inviting me over Monday to record.  Long story short, we finished Rush's Limelight, I doubled my parts and we moved on to our newest original "It's Gonna Be Alright".  I've called this a "Tom Petty" song because it was written very similar to a Petty song, but I feel it came out a little closer to a Traveling Willbury's tune.  Still haven't heard the first mix of it yet, but I'm driving around in the car just to listen to Limelight...

I Feel Good.

You know, I feel good about a lot more today than I have felt good about for years.  I feel good about continuing to record with Tommy (RoxX), I feel good about the direction and mood of our niche in pro wrestling and I feel like I've been set free.  Free from something I can't touch, can't see, but have felt off and on for years it seems.  Even Karen has told me my whole mood has changed and that I'm much more "bearable" to be around.  That's good, right?  Gotta be, she's still living here.

I'm really excited about the future of CWF and the new attitude from top to bottom that is bouying everyone involved.  The cooperation is at an all-time high and everyone is helping everyone else.  Volunteer isn't a word that's avoided right now, either.  The core group has got some of the younger guys involved and they're taking care of their end of the deal.  A few friends have stepped in to help smooth out any bumps along the road and give us options for visual expansion of our product (talking my buddy John Moses here, ya'll!).  

We hit the studio last week and put down vocals for And Your Bird Can Sing, an old Beatles favorite and, not kidding here, the Monkees' Pleasant Valley Sunday.  I'm digging the early mixes of both and can't wait for the next original that I've still yet to hear.  Sure it's in the pipeline and I'll see and hear it shortly.  

Working currently on less than six hours of sleep (went to bed around 3:15am and was out of bed at 8:45am) and things are looking fuzzy, but in a good way.  I stumbled through the day, finished editing photos and publishing the websites before hitting the shower.  While showering, it hits me that I had totally forgot to update one of my usual 3 pages following each live event.  Handled that in about five minutes and I'm good until next Sunday for updates after CWF-RGL RISIN' TO THE TOP!  See You At The Sportatorium!

Out With The Old...

Our wrestling company had a bit of an upheaval early in January when we parted company with our main booker for the past few years.  The waves of cause and effect rolled my direction, too, and I had to make the decision to replace my long-time partners on my wrestling website, IndyInsiders.Com.  One of the fellows that left was the center of the company issue and the other is a very close friend of his, who has decided to take some time off to reconsider what he wants to do.

Two trusted friends have stepped up to join the madness that is IndyInsiders, the Artist Formerly Known as CWF Fancam, Steve Zeban and the critical eye of graphics guru Scott Neese, a.k.a. IWC Fancam on the interwebs.  Two guys that I have nothing but admiration for have helped insure that the website continues forward.  I'm also throwing this one out there, with the addition of Steve, our frequent contributor Taylor Zeban is firmly on deck for a spot in the show too!

The "new" Insiders crew will present the 2017 IndyInsiders Awards on Saturday February 10th at Gibsonville NC's Mid Atlantic Sportatorium during CWF STRONG!  Tickets, directions and everything CWF can be found at CWF247.COM!

The day after my last update here, I did receive the first mix of "If I Fell" from Tommy and it brought back another wave of warm and fuzzy feelings.  We had discussed moving forward with more originals, but this morning I awake to an email with the finished music track for another Beatles classic, "And Your Bird Can Sing".  I'm jacked.  This is one of my absolute favorites, which I always thought was the highlight of the 25+ minute long Beatles Medley by Stars on 45.  Can't wait to tackle it.  I can see us doing this until we have enough tracks to release a "Beatles" album before it's over.  

So, my current mood has elevated into the "zone" again for the first time in years.  I'm excited about CWF Mid Atlantic and our plans for the future ensure many more years of high-impact pro wrestling fun and action for the fans.  My thoughts of retirement are officially on the back burner and I'm ready for whatever CWF requests.  Tommy must be seeing a weekend off in his near future or he wouldn't be sending new tunes, and I'm extremely honored that he continues to want to record with me on our various musical projects.  The future looks bright for both CWF and RoxX and I'm wired by the prospects offered to me by both.  Excuse my grin, but I'm feeling great.

A Damn Cold Beginning

2018 kicks off with record cold temperatures here in God's Country and I guess it's ok to say that Mr. Trump has fixed Global Warming in his first year in office.  First time my water here has frozen up in 17 years.  At least it was stupid.  Yeah, stupid.  Water frozen solid, maintenance puts in an electric heater in the utility room and tells me to call them when the water starts running.  It didn't.  Got a hotel room at the Marriott next door and wore out their huge Euro-style shower.  Checked out, came home and maintenance comes back asking if I have water yet.  Nope.  Well, let's go take a look!

Out to the utility room, he opens it.  The heater is running and the light is on.  It's cold as &@^# in there!  He walks around the building to the vacant apartment next door's side and the door is standing wide open.  Which explains why my water froze up in the first place.  Ten to twelve minutes later my water returned with a roar.  Kept it dripping since, but I'm hearing frozen water stories everywhere.

Very successful weekend in the studio.  Finished Beatles tracks "If I Fell", "Anytime At All" and "Yes It Is" as well as new original "Unwavering Light".  I've got demos and rough mixes of all of these except "If I Fell" and am freaking out kind of hard.  The new original shows off a lot of what we've learned learning and performing these complex Beatles tunes.  Wait until Tommy releases "Yes It Is".  I still can't believe that is US singing these songs!  We still #RoxX!

I imagine we'll focus on new originals as soon as we have more to concentrate on, Tommy's still on mad overtime working six days a week.  Figures he won't have another week-long break until April.  We've knocked around doing some other covers down the road and the next one may be "I Got The Fire" by Montrose.  Or it may even be a Judas Priest tune.  I dunno, with the release of "It Won't Be Long", we still have three Beatles tunes unreleased as well as five originals.