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!