Dead But Dreaming

I think i made you up...

2011-04-28T23:26:00.001-07:00

inside my head.

Reggie and the Full Effect Live Video New Years Eve

2011-01-02T16:48:00.001-08:00

Here is a link to the video from the Reggie and the Full Effect show on new years eve at The TLA in Philadelphia.

Its only 56 minutes, but covers quite a few songs and banter. Enjoy it.

Reggie and the Full Effect 12-31-10 from Rich Gaccione on Vimeo.

Mouth Of Flowers Live Video from New Years Eve.

2011-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here is the video from our set on new years eve in philly. enjoy it.

here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksQDyLrbB6o

i dont know why Youtube videos are stupid and dont get resized for blogger and wont resize when i adjust the HTML. whatever, just watch it on youtube.

REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT LIVE ON NEW YEARS EVE

2010-11-08T12:21:00.001-08:00

We're back!

One night only on New Years Eve in Philly at the TLA.

My other band, Mouth Of Flowers is playing and the dudes in Soul Control are helping out this go-round as the rest of the backing band.

Come to this show, you wont want to miss it.

12/31/10
Reggie and the Full Effect
Live at the TLA in Philly
9pm

get tickets at livenation.com

Im in a new band. It deserves a post.

2010-10-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Click here to check out the blog.

There is a Myspace as well.

i dont know how to use facebook, nor do i plan on learning. But i think the other 2 people in my band will figure it out.

check out the myspace to listen to a song. We have a 4ish song demo almost done, just finishing mixing and doing vocals.

Sean Murphy- Guitar/Vocals
Alyssa Amaral- Bass
Rich- Drums

Our first show is November 12th at the 201 in providence. Its 21 plus, so we are also going to try and do a house show too around the same time.

VERSE LAST SHOW PRINTS ON SALE. ONE WEEK ONLY.

2010-05-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

One week only, to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of the last show, im selling these 2 prints. They can be ordered separately or as a package together, saving you money on the prints and shipping. The color is offered as a 20x30 inch print. pro printing and packaging and shipping. The Black and White is 12 x 18 inches.

the package of 2 prints is $55.00 plus 5.95 USPS priority shipping. International shipping is more. See website for details.
Each print will be individually numbered. These will not be available after 5/30/10

for more details and to order click here DEAD BUT DREAMING WEBSTORE

The Get Up Kids Live 10.28.09

2009-10-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

The Get Up Kids. Live in Worcester Massachusetts, 10/28/09

Click the photos to view larger.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE SET OF PHOTOS.

HAVE HEART. Last Show. Edge Day. 2009

2009-10-18T03:01:00.000-07:00

CLICK PHOTO ABOVE. BEST VIEWED LARGE.

Hi. its almost been 4 months. Yea, whatever.
Last night was have Heart's last show ever. They accomplished more than many bands ever do. They had great morals and ideals. They touched thousands of people with their music and work ethic of a 100% do it yourself hardcore band.

i took some pictures....

Click here to view the set of over 100 photos from Have Heart's set

Today I ate...

2009-06-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Vegan Japanese food at Shojin in Los Angeles. Vegan Vietnamese food at vinh loi in Reseda
That food at Thai gulf in Huntington beach.

Fuck I'm full.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

TRASH TALK Photos. House Show in Los Angeles. 6.7.09

2009-06-08T01:40:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE FOR A SET OF PHOTOS FROM THE TRASH TALK HOUSE SHOW IN LOS ANGELES ON JUNE 7th 2009

DISEMBODIED live at Chain Reaction 6.6.09

2009-06-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE OVER 100 PICTURES OF LAST NIGHTS SHOW AT CHAIN REACTION.

Thai Gulf.

2009-06-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

If you are ever in Huntington Beach California, I highly suggest visiting this establishment. So much food for ten bucks. The owner (?) John, is super friendly and way generous. You have to just go and see what I mean. Thanks Keith and Dave, from Monument to Thieves for taking us to this gem.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

This is my favorite video on the internet. Hands down.

2009-05-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

It speaks for itself.

VERSE Final Show Photos.

2009-05-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

From AS220 last night in Providence. It feels like the end of and era with Verse breaking up.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SET OF FINAL SHOW PHOTOS.

Thanks for everything Verse.

VERSE. 2003-2009 R.I.P.

2009-05-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

I took this along with about 150 other pictures, of Verse, playing in our friends basement thursday night. They did a "secret" show leading up to the official final two shows of their career. Tonight is their last show as AS220 in Providence. Im headed down in a little while to enjoy the last show by these amazing guys. They did a lot for the providence hardcore scene over the past 6 years, and did so much as a band, that they will be sorely missed. Thanks for being such a great influence.

Burning Fight Weekend recap, and a lesson in who i am.

2009-05-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend i got to relive the spirit and sound of the era of hardcore of when i was introduced to this whole world and lifestyle. Back over 10 years ago, my friend Neil gave me a mix tape. It was a tape of a bunch of bands that he told me were " essential" for me to know and get into. The first song on this tape was D4, by Unbroken. I had no clue there were bands that sounded this aggressive and emotional. The intro riff to that song has stuck in my head for years. It was that very tape that got me to where i am today. Ive travelled the country and the world, all because of that song and mix tape. Its funny how if you rewind and connect all the dots in reverse order, you will see how the smallest things can lead to the biggest results.

So back to this weekend. Ive noticed there have been hundreds of people writing about their experience and feelings already, just by doing a quick google blog search. But, i have to add my story. I think in a way that room full of 1200 people all felt the same thing, but each of us took something unique away from it.

For me it was nostalgic and cathartic. The bands that played were bands that i either got to see when i was 16 years old, or they were bands i just missed and got to see them for the first, and possibly only time in my life. The months leading up to this show were creeping by. My friend Mark bought tickets the morning they went on sale. This was back in november i believe. The fact that Disembodied and Unbroken were reforming for this event was cause enough to say YES, no matter what the cost and circumstance, we are going. Unbroken has been one of the most influential bands on me in multiple ways. Straight edge, music influence, Lyrical content. Unbroken did it all for me. I dont have " Life Love Regret " tattooed across my chest for no reason, ya know?
Then, on the flip side of it, Disembodied. Wow. This band. in 1998, when i first discovered the sheer awesomeness that is Disembodied, i was mind blown. This band was THE definition of HEAVY. In that time period, there was NOTHING that was heavier, and more crushing than Disembodied. If anyone knows me, things i am a fan of....Heavy, Riffs, Crushing. Disembodied did it all. Listening to that band for YEARS, after seeing them only one time, at The Met Cafe in providence Rhode Island in 1998, made me so mad sometimes that i didnt get to see them more. But when the news surfaced that they were back for this show, my brain almost popped. Mark and myself drive around and just put on Anvil Chandelier and laugh at how fucking heavy that song is. We are total nerds when it comes to Disembodied. So, it was obvious that the trip had to be made.

A few months go by and the word is that Soul Control, a group of my closest friends, were now added to this show. It made me so happy that SC was getting to play this show. They are exactly what the show was about. A celebration of past and present. Emotion in music and lifestyle that hardcore embodies. These guys work hard, write great music and deserve to be included in shows that are showcasing bands that are important to todays hardcore/punk scene.

Im realizing at this point, that this post is going to be LONG. So, be prepared to read. A lot.

Fast forward to thursday may 1st. Mark, myself, our friends Adam and Bobby ( jim from soul control's brother) leave providence to drive to chicago. We figured we'd rent a car, and drive because it would be cheaper and more of a fun adventure. The trip took about 17 hours getting there and at about 11:30am chicago local time, on friday May 2nd, we arrived at our hotel right near O'hare airport.

We basically laid low that day. I immediately fell asleep for about 5 hours when we got there, being i drove from 1:30 am to the hotel, which is like 11 hours or something straight. So, we just recovered, had dinner and rested up for the first day of the fest, which started at 1pm the next day.

We managed to get a parking spot right in front of the venue, which was The Metro, on Clark street, right in Wrigleyville. There was a Chicago Cubs game going on only a block away, and 2000 people there for the show, so getting this spot was like winning the lottery.

The collection of people, bands, shirts, music and everything that the Burning Fight show was about was completely tangible in the air. As soon as i saw all the people lined up outside and read the lineup on the door, i just felt like i did 10 years ago, going to shows and just being stoked on the fact, for that one night, i can forget the outside world. Forget the bills, and the rent payment, and the job, and the drama. The anticipation of seeing a band you love, and can connect with through words and music. There is nothing else on earth that can compare to it, and really, no words, picture, video....nothing can correctly translate that feeling to another human being who doesn't know what you are into.

When "normal" people, i.e. mom, dad, co-workers, family members, people who are completely disconnected from this world of hardcore and punk music, when they ask what you did, how do you explain it? How do you tell them you stagedove and screamed your heart out to words like

" CAN WE START AGAIN, GO BACK TO WHAT IT MEANT BACK THEN..."

or

" I'm sorry if I can't feel. I'm sorry I'm not real.
every time I think I'm right. I come out wrong.
every time I think to myself. It's just me against my self."

To the regular world, our world is grouped into the same category as an ozzfest, or radio metal, or hot topic punk. Its an unfortunate thing too. Because if our counterparts at our job, or our family members who still dont " get it" knew the impact and importance of the hardcore community, i think it may even bring a catalyst of change and positivity to people that have no ties in the scene whatsoever. But i think thats what makes it so special. For a night or a weekend, we are all surrounded by like minded people. People who know the importance of words in a song. People who understand that lyrics can be literally, LIFE CHANGING. The importance of doing a zine, taking photos, putting out a record, writing a book. All of it. Its all ours and special. Thats what the Burning Fight weekend was about.
The mid 90's were a time of revolution in underground music. it was the transition phase of when punk music became even more aggressive, people became more active in their ideals, and brought it to the masses by having more and more shows, more information exchanged at shows. The spirit of exchanging a zine, learning about some sort of activism, veganism, protests, buying a new record and a shirt and singing along to a band became almost next level.

This weekend i met some people that i only know from the internet forums and things, like my blog, and photography. I met an awesome dude named Patrick, who bought a print from me a few months back, and to this point i only knew him from messageboards and via email. He approached me, and introduced himself out of the blue, which was awesome. He and I are both straight edge and are close in age. After the basic pleasantries were exchanged he asked if i was having a good time at the show, and i dont know what it was, but my brain just exploded with thoughts and ideas and feelings. He made my internal dialogue come out in a way i didnt think was possible. I have to thank him for this, as i may have started rambling or just sounded weird, but when asked if i was having a good time, it hit me. I WAS having a good time. It felt like it did when i was 16 years old. i was surrounded by people who felt the same way i do. We were all sharing the same brain waves in a way. How special this show was, and how important the hardcore lifestyle is for us, and the people around us. It hit me. I wouldnt be who i am right now, if it wasnt for this music, and these bands, and these people i wouldnt exist in this world and hold these values so strong. its not just about straight edge either. Its about being " a hardcore kid" in a modern society. mainstream culture wouldnt get it. Parents dont fully understand it. But if you are one of the people who are 31 years old, and working a job that you arent happy with, with the passion to go to band practice later that night, or maybe get in a smelly old van with 5 other people and drive around the country and play in basements...you get it. If you cant wait for a certain band to come to your city so you can feel the emotion that thier music brings out in you, and you want to stagedive and dance and sing along...you get it...and then you have to explain to your co workers why you have a bruised face, or in my case a sprained thumb, you cant explain it. " Oh i went to a show." those words cant express what you did, or how you felt. Think about the feeling in your stomach when you see bands like Bane or Trial. When you sing along, and associate yourself with those words. YOu feel it in the pit of your stomach. You take those words into the world and you live by them. You dont fall into the american dream expectations. You live outside of them. You do what you can to survive. You write music, you go on tour, you go to shows, you print merch, you set up shows....you do everything you can to make sure this lifestyle will never die for yourself, and the younger kids coming into this community. Its not an elitist club, and its not a popularity contest. Its a community of like minded individuals that can function as one cohesive family when brought together, like this past weekend at Burning Fight.

Onto the fest highlights for me....

Convicted- i had never heard of, but i watched their entire set and was way into them. a really energetic and heavy band. I want to track down their music.

soul control- had an impressive set, and im sure won over a few new fans. Flawless execution of a newer band that has been influenced by older bands, and are taking their own direction. Check this link, its their entire set: http://hate5six.com/player.php?album=90229

108- owned the crowd. From the second they started their set, the entire room was captivated. I dont know what got into those guys that afternoon, but whatever it was, it was almost spiritual. They brought me to move around, sing along and just watch in awe of the sheer intensity they emit while performing.
Check this link, for their entire set: http://hate5six.com/player.php?album=89709

Trial- This band embodies what hardcore is. The lyrics. the music. the energy. you just have to see the video from this show to get an idea as to what its like to see them play.
check this link, its a video of their entire set:
http://hate5six.com/player.php?album=89580

Disembodied- I really cant say more than what ive explained above about this band. Crushing. Emotional. Heavy. Dark. These guys ( and girl) did it right. Think about hearing a band like this in 1997. Your mind would be blown, just like when Black Sabbath played their riffs in 1968, people didnt know what to think. Check out the full disembodied set i posted in the blog entry below.

Have Heart- close friends, dedicated guys full of passion and dedication. This band is another new generation of hardcore that is keeping the spirit alive of this lifestyle.

BANE- One of the top bane sets ive ever seen. I really got emotional with this one. Bane have been around for years and ive been there for many many bane shows. ive become very close with the guys in the band, and when they performed at this show, it almost brought me to tears. As crazy as it sounds, Aarons lyrics are so moving and meaningful that they pull that emotion out. When you have some of your best friends singing along, climbing on top of you, you just cant help feeling a bit more emotional than usual. This set was moving beyond words.

Converge- It has been years since i saw converge. i was pumped. They played The Saddest Day and Locust Reign. I moshed. Nuff said. Converge shred and have influenced and impacted enough bands to fill a generation of music. They deserve all the praise in the world even though they look for nothing of the sort.

Unbroken- The reason for where i am today. Im not going to try and type out the emotion and importance of seeing Unbroken finally. Lets just say it will always be a special day for me and i hold this band deep in my heart as the reason why i am Straight Edge and why i am sitting here writing about how important this life is to me.

This weekend made me realize why i got involved in this scene in the first place ( as Bane would say). My friends in soul control. My Friend Mark, who i wouldnt have a partner to geek out about music to every day. Jesse, Tom, Adam, Bobby, Rory, Chiptooth, Eric A., Tom Z and everyone i re-connected with and people that i met finally for the first time. The feeling is in my stomach still. Having to come back home and go to work, having to slide right back into place of the " normal world". Im glad i have this community of friends and music who get it, and get why we live the way we do. I dont ever plan on changing who i am. I came home with a new found appreciation for the way ive chosen to live, and i have decided to make decisions based on this feeling. To keep this spirit alive in myself and for others.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and maybe have taken something away from it, and maybe understand a bit more about what im all about.

Disembodied Video. Full Set @ Burning Fight. Chicago May 2nd 2009

2009-05-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

Disembodied (Burning Fight, Phase 1) from hate5six productions on Vimeo.

This footage is courtesy of Hate5Six productions
Disembodied reunion set from the Burning Fight Book release show in Chicago on May 2nd 2009. The set list is as follows:

Anvil Chandelier
Forget Me
Cynic
Seven Stitches
Gone
Devil's Grin
Heroin Fingers
Barbiturate
Deity
Eulogy
Dislocation
Amaranth
Cascade
Bloodshed Rain

If you look close enough, the guy in a baby blue collard shirt and brown shorts...thats me...losing my mind. Ive been waiting 10 years to see this band again.

I will have a full, lenghty recap of the Burning Fight show/weekend/trip etc in the next few days. There was a lot that happened and even ore thoughts that sparked a wealth of writing for me. Stay tuned. For now, watch the video.

Chicago. Day 2. Burning fight.

2009-05-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Look at that lineup.

Christ.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The pinnacle of humor

2009-04-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

If youd like an inside look as to what i think is the FUNNIEST kind of humor...this will sum it up for you. The State. It was a show on MTV years ago and rumor has it that the DVD's will be released in July of this year. YES. YES. YES. This is one of my favorite skits and totally explains a lot of my sense of humor.

Giving new music a shot... XIBALBA

2009-04-06T23:53:00.000-07:00

so this bands name has been surfacing quite a bit as of late and i keep hearing them compared to Disembodied, Roots/ Chaos A.D. era Sepultura and mid 90's metalcore bands.
So today i finally gave a listen. Woah. Heavy, pissed, moshy. Everything i like to hear in a band of this genre. So, their demo is available for free online, so i upped it and hosted it in my mediafire account as well.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 6 SONG DEMO

Band rules. Check them out: XIBALBA MYSPACE CLICK HERE.

Thanks for being heavy!

Dinosaur Jr.

2009-04-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

yes, they are as loud as they are talked about to be. Tonight was the first time i've seen them, and it was awesome. It feels as if someone punched me in the ears.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE SET OF PHOTOS

Dinosaur Jr Live @ Club Hell, Providence RI 4/2/09

Vegan Deep Fried Chicken Strips!

2009-03-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted fried chicken, so when i was at the store earlier i decided to grab a few things to experiment with the deep fried chicken i was envisioning.

The only vegan "chicken" the supermarket had, were these Smart Strips Chick'n style strips. They worked just fine.

Onto the quick and easy, and most importantly, tasty recipe.

1 package smart strips Chick'n strips
1/2 cup flour
1 and 1/2 cup canola oil ( just enough to cover the strips in your pan of choice)
2 tbs Garlic salt
1 tbs seasoned salt

Take the flour, 2 kinds of salt and strips and mix together in a bowl, thoroughly covering the strips with the flour/salt mix. i used a bowl with a cover and shook the bowl a bunch of times and that worked great.

While mixing, heat up your oil for about 5 minutes over a medium to high flame.

When ready, reduce the heat on the oil to a medium heat and put the strips in.

let strips fry for 10-13 minutes.

remove strips from oil, let sit on a papertowel for a few to absorb excess oil.

serve with a small salad and garlic butter corn like i did.

Super easy and tasty!

Next time im going to try and get larger "chicken" style seitan and try the same thing.

What Feeds The Fire- Intro From our "Last Show" video. 7.27.03

2009-03-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is a video Ben "b-roll" Kelly uploaded recently of the final show What Feeds The Fire ever played.
It was the Steve Neale Benefit show in Worcester, Ma July 27th 2003

We had broken up as a band that previous october and werent going to do anything else if i recall. It was pretty much just over. But, when we were on tour with Hatebreed and Bane in 2002, the morning of our show in Oklahoma City, the guys in Bane got a horrible phone call. Their close friend Steve Neale was killed in a car accident the night before.
The guys in Bane were devestated, and they left the tour that night to go home to their friends and family of their friends involved. So, fast forward a few months and Zak from Bane wanted to do a benefit show for Steve and the Neale family. If i recall Steve left behind a wife and child. So, Zak asked us if What Feeds The Fire would play one last time for the show. We talked it over and it was a no brainer really, we had to play. For Steve and Bane and all involved, it felt like the right thing to do, it was closure on many levels for us as What Feeds The Fire and for the accident involving Steve and the guys in Bane and what they went through dealing with the loss of a close friend.

So, this video was taken by Ben Kelly, from the show at the Palladium in Worcester MA on july 27th 2003.

Thanks Ben for upping this. Check out Bens Blog also, hes in a band called Death Before Dishonor. They are awesome, and one of the hardest working hardcore bands around.

What Feeds The Fire. Still, the best time of my life.

Oh in case you dont know, thats me all the way over on the right, with the yellowish guitar and tan shorts. and about 60 more pounds....

Movie Suggestion Of The Month.

2009-03-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

This Month's Pick:

" He Was A Quiet Man "

Starring Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert and William H. Macy.

i got this through suggestion via Netflix. Something about its description had me curious to check it out. I actually forgot i put it in my queue, and when it showed up yesterday i was anxious to watch it.

Its a well directed, quirky and interesting movie. Christian Slater plays "Bob", a to himself " quiet man" who works in a cubicle at some big company. He brings a gun to work ready to go on one of those crazy workplace shootings, but is too conflicted to actually go through with it. So by a crazy turn of events, another office worker goes on a shooting spree and Bob comes out the Hero by putting an end to the other workers rampage.

Without giving too much away, i'll say that the quirks in the movie are great, such as the goldfish tank Bob has at home, that contains a talking goldfish that eggs him on to go through with his plans of shooting up his office.
The Directing, and fantasy sequences that bob has are awesome too. It reminded me a lot of David Finchers directing, especially similar to Fight Club. The visuals and little tricks he pulls off on the audience.

If you have an hour and a half , take this movie in. Its got a weird dark humor vibe to it. William H. Macy is a great actor, and Elish Cuthbert is hot, even bound to a wheelchair.

Click Here for an IMDB link for more info

I need this guy in my life. For REAL.

2009-03-25T00:41:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap.
This is just too cute/amazing.
I want one. If anyone can find a Narcoleptic Wienerdog....call me.

"What the fuck have YOU done?!"

2009-03-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

The ever so thought provoking words of Minor Threat.
Ive been having a tough time lately answering that question in relation to the current state of my life. Ive been having talks with friends and such, and i dont know how i have such a low opinion of myself, and what i contribute to this thing we all collectively call "life", but i decided, that im going to try and list " what the fuck i've done".

What prompted this brainstorm and deep thought, is the way ive felt lately. Spending nights alone, awake until the sun comes up, laying there watching television shows ive watched countless times before. Eating just to eat. Staring at the internet and its pointless words and images.
When I sit there and think about my "meaning of life" or point to being alive, it always somehow comes back to my desire to help people and make a difference or better a situation. I like the feeling of seeing others happy. Sometimes it could just be as small as picking up someones dropped keys on the sidewalk when they have their hands full, or maybe teaching a child something new and exciting.

But, now, im in limbo. Sitting here every. single. day. Its hard to figure out. But, onto what the fuck i have done....

I've:

Been in the Macys Thanksgiving day parade.

Won a breakdancing competition when i was 11.

Been to japan, russia, england, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finand, denmark, Ireland, Spain, portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Canada.

Drivin by myself, from New York, to California and back.

Lived in Los Angeles.

Lived in New York

Live in Rhode Island.

laid in the middle of the world trade center plaza and looked up and watched the two towers sway.

toured and traveled the entire United States numerous times, and am still in love with the west coast.

Caught a (tiny)shark.

Met Ice-T

Been an extra in a movie. Its called " Threat " IMDB that shit.

did backup vocals on the New Found Glory CD "Sticks and Stones"

Went to college for 4 years and learned that my photography was "shit in a glass" according to my teacher, and changed majors to Art history.

Put out 2 records for friends bands.

Played in a band with a dude from Slipknot.

Played in a band with a dude from The Get Up Kids.

Played in a band with a dude from My Chemical Romance.

For some reason im having trouble with this.
i thought the " things ive done" would be easier to list. But i guess the memories are harder to sort through when you have so many? Who knows.

Im just going to post some pictures now.

My friend Eric at Devils Canyon in Utah.

Driving to California, summer 2007

Me, Mike Frey, Ivan and Nate after a long day working the download festival in England for My Chemical Romance.

Me in Russia.

Me in Japan, totally stoked on the gigantic grabby game.

Tomorrow a baking update. Its Jim's Birthday and im gonna make him a cake. What else is ne. Rich makin cakes for friends.

Im also in a new band and im totally stoked on it.
we are called The Devil, My pocket
I play drums. Click to go to our website!

Art? Propaganda? Vandalism? You tell me.

2009-03-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

The well known street artist named Shepard Fairey, graduated from the acclaimed Rhode Island School Of Design aka RISD, here in providence RI. He has gone on to start a very successful company, called Obey Giant Inc, which does artwork, posters and clothing, and most recently Shepard created the Barak Obama " Hope" poster that gave a face to the 2008 election for President Obama.
Without going too deep into Shepard's history i want to just get to the case in point.
Shepard recently came to providence, back in February, around the time he was having an exhibit opening in Boston at the Institute Of Contemporary Art. He put up a few original wheatpaste pieces around the city, and this is one of them, located in an empty lot in downtown providence.

A few weeks ago, i noticed someone had defaced this piece with an ironic twist to the choice of defamation. Obviously a poke at Shepards status and notion that he is no longer an artist, but a " sell-out".

The question has come up. Is His work just another form of vandalism, or graffiti?
Is a persons talent nullified when it becomes a source of fame and money and success?

Tell me what you think.

I took these pictures late last night using my Canon 30d with a Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Congratulations Jim and Jesse.

2009-02-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

If i were James Dewees, i would have written a song, that has the same title of this blog entry. But, i suck as a songwriter, so i just stick to taking pictures.

Jim and Jesse are two of my close, best, oldest friends since ive lived in Rhode Island.

They got married yesterday at a small ceremony for close friends and family in Providence, then had an amazing party at a bar called The Scurvy Dog after wards.

Congratulations Jim and Jesse. You guys are amazing and i wish you all the happiness and good fortune in your life together.

How awkward (awesome) is this Rollins interview!?

2009-02-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

That kid looks like he wants to go run home to his mom as soon as Rollins looks at him.
So good.

Wings, the TV show.

2009-02-20T00:42:00.000-08:00

THis TV show holds more memories for me than any other show ever. I used to watch this show when i was in jr/sr high school late at night on TBS. There were 2 episodes on back to back every weeknight at like 1-2am.

At some point Wings went away from television and i hadn't watched in years.
Recently i found some episodes online and downloaded season 8 in full. I watched at least 4-5 episodes a night when on tour, after the shows at night this past summer.
Then when i moved into my apartment, i would always fall asleep to Wings. No matter what episode, even if i watched it 2 days prior, i dont care. Its funny. Its warm. I relate to the characters in a weird way. Me and Steve Looker agreed...the show is just... "comfortable".
I was given a gift by an amazing friend in november. I came home to find seasons 1-7 of Wings on DVD on my doorstep one night. Thank you. SO much.

I kid you not, i have now watched the ENTIRE SERIES, in order, 6 times. Yes. 8 seasons. All the way through. 6 times.

In fact i have it on now. Im on season 4 disk 1. The episode is "Blackout Buggins".

Here is my ode to my favorite TV show ever.

i have just realized you can watch every episode of Wings on youtube in clips.

Annnnd i love Antonio.

"This is Nantucket, not San Francisco. We are a simple people, we fish our waters, we till our lands.....we eat...a big sandwich."

No matter how shitty of a mood you are in...

2009-02-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

THIS, will snap you out of it.

Thanks Mark and Bianca.

Welcome Home Dudes.

2009-02-15T22:46:00.001-08:00

one more week of these guys gone i think i would have jumped off a cliff.

Welcome back, and good job coming back from a 7 week tour, not breaking up and not killing each other.

Rory VanGrol Interview.

2009-02-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Rory is the front man for the Rhode Island band Soul Control. I have become very good friends with him since he joined Soul Control and was very excited to have him do this interview. He is a passionate, convicted and intelligent guy, who puts more of himself into performing and his band than i've seen from others. Onto the interview.
All photos taken by Rich Gaccione.

1- Give me a description of where you come from as a person, and as a musician. Where did it all start for you to get you where you are today with Soul Control and the projects you've done leading up to Soul Control.

As a person I would say that I try to be a compassionate human being. I think that sums up the way I try and live my life, I realize that I may not achieve that all the time, but I try. As a musician I try to be as honest as I can with what I am doing.
I guess it all started when my friends and I got together to form a band in about 96' maybe. We were called Longshot, that was a total music casserole, then Standfast(1998-2002) this was the first band I toured with, recorded with, and probably learned the most from. XWitnessX(01-04), Achilles(03- present), How We Are(04-07), these were the most active bands I have been in. I'm bad with dates so some of the times might be a little off.

After HWA broke up and Achilles wasn't going to be super active so, I was asked by a close friend to move to Providence, RI. I didn't have anything keeping me in Rochester, Ny so I decided to say ok and move to a city where I really didn't know anyone and do something different. I told myself I needed to be there for at least a year before I moved, So far it's gone past a year so I'm doing alright. Jim asked me to try out for SC when I was working at Nice Slice one day, I said I was down to try it out and see where things would go, and well that brings us to where we are now.

2- Coming from upstate NY and being a transplant into a small scene like providence, was it hard for you to find a common group of friends or did it come natural? Also, what prompted you to move to providence?

Well I will start with Rochester,Ny has a pretty small tight knit scene as well so I don't mind that at all. When I first got involved with shows and so forth getting 30 kids to come out to a show in Rochester was amazing. So with that in mind, I didn't have any pre concieved idea of what Providence would be like. It took me awhile to get used to the Providence vibe, people are a lot more closed off to new people in Providence than what I'm used to. I feel like I'm a pretty easy person to talk to and meet so with a little bit of help from some acquaintances I managed to meet some great people. My friend Lauren and I hungout a lot and that helped me adjust and feel really comfortable, I also got used to relying on myself a lot more which is something I really wanted to happen.

The move was prompted by my friend Brian who also played drums in the first bands I was ever involved in(Longshot and Standfast). He was going to be attending Johnson and Wales for cooking and well he asked me to move, the rest I already explained in question #1. I loaded up my van and drove down.

3- Ive been thinking a lot about the level of passion that people have for hardcore and the beliefs that are involved with the hardcore scene, such as straight edge, krsna, vegetarian/veganism etc. I remember back when i started going to shows, there were always tables full of literature, and shirts and flyers for meetings against animal cruelty and just tons of involvement and passion in these things. Do you think this era has that passion for these things, like i remember having, and im sure you do as well, about ten years ago?

I think the passion is there, I just think people have become to concerened about what other people think of them. They don't want to be pigeonholed as one of those crazy Vegan(or straight edge, krishna) kids trying to convert everyone, when in reality they are just trying to spread some information in a manor that they know how to, whether that's a zine or pamphlets at a show. Although I do see some bright spot now and again in Santa Barbara there were vegan baked goods benefiting political prisoners and some women at out Vancouver show were handing out Why Vegan? pamphlets at our show. With the abaility for anyone to walk into our community and then instantly attack and pass judgements so easily from a messgeboard moments later after the show is very disheartening and takes away from anyone wanting to be a part of something. I think (with animal rights anyway) the issue should still be pushed, look at how easy it is to be vegan now than it was ten years ago? I think that we owe a lot of credit to the bands and people who were very outspoken about those issues before us. I think the people who care about these issues just don't take the hardcore and punk scene as seriously as they once have and they put their energy elsewhere.

I don't think I would be vegan if it wasn't for those pamphlets and videos that I saw when I first started going to shows. I took the information in, read up on certain issues and made my own decisions from there. The same happened when I first found out about Mumia, and the MOVE 9, and Leonard Peltier. I was informed about these issues at hardcore and punk shows.

But like I said it's easier to just talk shit, consider anything like that preachy and pushy. So people tend to take what other people say and don't think for themselves that's why things like that become discouraged.

4- What or who, has influenced you the most as a front man for a band, and what/who has influenced you the most as a person in general terms.

I have a couple people who have influenced me as a front man for a band.

Aaron Bedard- From the first time I saw Bane I saw blown away by the energy and honesty that was conveyed hrough the bands music and message. I loved how the band was more than just music and yelling, it was a celebration and it was such a release of everything in our lives. I felt a lot of the things that were said in between songs had a huge impact on me when I started singing for bands and a part of me wanted to convey that feeling.

Tommy Corrigan- The lyrics for "Life of a Spectator" are some of the most honest that I have come across. Connecting to that record got me through my senior year in high school. Those connections are something that happen less and less these days for whatever reason. But, I still get chills at certain times when I listen to Silent Majority. Plus Tommy is down right hilarious in-between songs.

5- 4 bands. One show. Living/dead/together/broken up. Who are the bands and where do they play?

Minor Threat
Inside Out
Nirvana
Buddy Holly

They play at AS220 becuase it's honestly one of the best venues in America, it sounds great and the stage is perfect for dives.

6- Tell me what its been like with SOul COntrol, being you took the spot of someone who left the band. What has the Soul Control experience been like thus far?

I was nervous at first, I think think it took me a good week of shows to really feel it out and get comfortable with the songs live and so forth. This was my first time replacing someone in a band and so that aspect is weird. Always being compard to someone else and having to sing lyrics I didn't write is a bit weird. It's nice when people say they like it, but I'm just doing what I do and having fun with it, it's nice that people dig it. As far as the experience so far, well I think this tour we are on right now has definately made us all a lot closer which is a good thing. We definately feed off of each other now and can feel things out, which is great. Things are vibin great!

7- What have been the 2 most memorable experiences in your career in bands. Give me the Worst one and the Best one.

I'll preface this with I wouldn't take back any experience back at all. It might have sucked at that point in time, but you learn from this stuff and it's made me who I am today, so with that said. . .

The Worst- I think the worst was the Standfast US tour that ended before the first show. Our van died in Ohio on our way to our very first show of our first full U.S tour. Well we never got to do another U.S tour and I'm just now completing my first U.S tour now with SC. I think it's the worst because we were all bright eyed and so excited. The van died in Ohio and we had to rent a U-Haul box truck with a trailer hitch to take back to Rochester, Ny. So three of us rode in the closed box truck for a few hours in the heat. That wasn't all that fun thats for sure.

The Best- Might be touring Central America with Soul Control. Just being able to do that was amazing and I hope that is just the beginning.

8-You are a very very passionate person, when it comes to music, performing, and i guess mostly anything you hold close to yourself. Ive seen you perform many times and you always give 110% of yourself, no matter 5 people or 500. Give me an insight as to how your mind works, onstage, off stage, in the lyric writing process and such. What fuels your passion to get up in front of the people at the shows and do what it is you do?

As far as my mind working offstage, I don't know how to really explain that in everyday life. I just try and focus on what's in front of me and go from there.

Onstage I would have to say I just feel it out for the most part. I just loose myself when we play, I realize that when we play I have my eyes closed a lot of the time. I think that's because I really just need this as a release and for the most part it's such a stress reliever for me, it makes me a calmer and more centered person.

As for lyric writing I tend to just go with my gut at first. I try not to force anything. I usually come up with ideas at random and write them down and then when I have time I continue my train of thought. If I have time I usually just write, maybe free flowing writing style is what I am for. I usually tend to write and revise a lot because of that style, but I think that allows me to then focus on what I'm trying to say.

What fuels me to play shows? Damn sometimes I have to ask myself that a lot. For me a lot of it has to do with just the release it gives me. I know it's selfish, but I feel so much better when I'm playing music. I feel creative, I feel like I'm doing something. It's motivating to me, It makes me happy. I know that sounds cheesy to some extent but it's true. It also feels good when people are generally into and can relate to what your doing. Seeing the world and meeting people is also an inspiration to keep on doing what I'm doing. I also believe that hardcore an be an open forum for communicating ideas, so that keeps me coming back to these rooms.

9-Whats your take on the " MySpace Generation" of bands, the bands that get together, get a million friends, play a very similar and generic style of music that tons of other bands are playing, that is all the rage with the more mainstream aggressive music fans. Part 2 to this question, how has the internet in general changed hardcore and underground music, in your opinion.

The ability to be a hardcore/punk band right now is very easy and to expose yourself to so many people via the internet. So with that said the world is over saturated with awful bands right now with no real attachment or grounding within hardcore. They have the sound but they just don't get it, they think that just because your in a band and have a demo people should be singing along and moshing for your band. So in my eyes I just see these bands trying to" jump onto someone else's train." I think the real bands will shince through and the crap will be just that crap.

As far as the internet changing hardcore. It's simple it's made being a hardcore/punk kid easier, lazier, and more spoiled. You can sit at your home and be connected to everything that happened at a show without actually being there, You can read the messgeboard updates, the pictures, you can even buy the vinyl and shirts online, and download the records. For all intensive purposes you don't have to step inside a basement, legion hall, or beer soaked club in your lifetime. I'm not saying this is everyone, because if it was bands wouldn't be able to tour and I wouldn't get to meet new people and so forth. I also think that it's helped in some ways by making booking tours easier and staying in touch with friends and loved ones that you have met along the way. So it has it's pluses and minuses, so you always have to take the good with the bad.

10-Will you please grow your hair long again?

We'll see what happens. I'm not making any promises, but I will say this the people who missed out on the long hair Rory want to see it happen. The people who were around enjoy the current hair more.

11-What are some things that you are stoked on at the moment in music and in life?

I'm stoked to be in a band that actually is motivated to tour and travel as much as I want to. I'm excited to start writing a full length record. The How We Are LP came out on Secret Jams and Stop Whining Start Winning Records and that makes me happy. The new Propaghandi is going to be fucking awesome. Like Wolves!

12-Ok, on a lighter note....first thing that comes to mind when i say:

Jim Connolly: Loves facebook!

Touring Europe: I want to right now!

Hardcore Messageboards: Blah!

being straight edge in 2009: Rules!

Providence RI: Nice Slice!

Barak Obama: Loves The Wire!

home made vegan pancakes: I will now add peanut butter as a topping thanks to Kim Possible.

13-What are your long term goals and expectations of the life you lead? Where would you think youll be in 15 years from now?

My goals and expectations holy fuck I have no idea. I think i would feel good about working in a field helping people in some sort of way. That or open some sort of my own business. In 15 years I'll probably living back in Rochester,NY and who knows what else.

14-Thanks for cooperating and humoring my questions. Any last comments or anything you'd like to put out there for people who would be reading this?

Think for yourself! Go Vegan!

Check out Soul Control on tour when you can. They have a busy spring/summer coming up, so be sure you go and say hello.

www.myspace.com/soulcontrolhc

Vegan Vanilla on Vanilla cake.

2009-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

So my friend Ben is a cook at the restaurant i work at. He makes me my same dinner every time i work ( falafel salad with no cucumber sauce). The cooks are great. They always make us our food with no complaints (at least to our faces). So the other night i got into a conversation with Ben about what his favorite flavor cake was. And he said Vanilla. SO. I thought it would be a nice gesture to make him a vanilla cake. Vegan style. So, here it is.

Vegan Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Frosting
1 1/3 cups unbleached cane sugar
1/2 cup Spectrum Naturals Spread or other non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
3 cups unbleached flour
1 T. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
2 cups soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
1 T. vanilla

Lightly oil a 9x13-inch pan and set aside. Using an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, place the sugar and Spectrum Spread, and cream together until light and fluffy. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternating with the soy milk, and continuing to beat the mixture well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat the mixture an additional 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

VANILLA FROSTING

1 c. vegetable shortening
1 c. smart balance/vegan butter
2.5 c. granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup. flour
1 c. very vanilla soy milk
2 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt

Beat 15 minutes WITH A MIXER. this wont blend unless mixed with a high speed hand/stand mixer. so be sure you have one available.

this will also make way more frosting than you need for the cake. so feel free to cut the recipe in half. I did it this way because i was basing it off of a non vegan guideline.

Onto the Pictures!

For the Frosting:

The Velvet Teen

2009-02-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

I absolutely can NOT stop listening to them lately. Maybe because the memories they bring back, or maybe just because they are amazing. Whatever it is, i cant, and wont stop. Proof: Last 7 days of my Last.fm chart-

This is my favorite song by them. "Noi Boi" From the Cum Laude album.

UGH, SO GOOD. Listen to them if you haven't. Please.

This is why i think im getting "old"

2009-01-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

more prominent gray hair in my beard and hair

ive been listening to National Public Radio instead of my Ipod when driving.

i drive a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis with a fedora in the back window ( aka old man car )

ive been listening to Jazz and Big Band while doing work online at home.

I look forward to my morning cup of coffee and reading the news online ( i dont have television )

Ive actually contemplated moving to a warmer year round climate because i cant stand the winter. Florida retirement community at age 30? Yes Please.

Im talking to myself a lot more than usual ( see prior entry re: talking to myself. )

i get annoyed when im interrupted during " my stories " aka watching Wings on dvd season by season, and repeating when i get to the end.

"youths" are really starting to irritate me. Like. " Kids these days, pffft, back in my day we didn't dress like that! Have some respect"....etc

im finding it harder and harder for ANYTHING to make me smile or happy.

BUT. Im certainly not looking to be a Grumpy McGrumperson. I think its just the season and the lack of a potential future. When the suns out, the ice melts and the plants start to bloom, ill take it as a hint to do the same.

Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cake!

2009-01-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

So, today was my friend Robins birthday. She, like me, is vegan and cooks/bakes lots and lots of vegan treats. So, i found out what her favorite flavors were and made her a nice special treat for her birthday. This was a simple but very tasty treat.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon oil (for the pan)
* 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup applesauce
* 1/2 cup soymilk (or your favorite non dairy milk)
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, vegan (or chopped up chocolate bar)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of soy milk
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Directions:

1.
Preheat over to 350°F Oil a 9 inch square or round cake pan.
2.
Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir.
3.
Combine the applesauce, non dairy milk, and peanut butter in another bowl and mix till smooth. Mix witht he dry ingredients and whisk till creamy and smooth.
4.
Stir in the chocolate chips (and almonds, if you decide to put them in) and pour in the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or till a fork can go in and out with no batter.
5.
Allow to cool at room, and serve, yum!

Frosting Directions:
1. Pour milk into small pot, over a VERY low heat
2. Add Chocolate Chips
3. Constantly stir as to not burn the bottom.
4. as the chips melt, add in sugar
5. Remove from heat when fully melted. Frost COOL cake with room temp frosting, refrigerate to harden. Yum.

Happy Birthday Robin!

Follow the pictures in order!

METALLICA. METALLICA? METALLICA!

2009-01-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Harvester Of Sorrow
04. For Whom the Bell Tolls
05. One
06. Broken, Beat And Scarred
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. ...And Justice For All
10. All Nightmare Long
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Battery
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
16. Stone Cold Crazy
17. Hit The Lights
18. Seek and Destroy

SO.

After 17 years of listening to them....

I finally saw Metallica.

Being i am friends with some really amazing people ( Alan Hungerford, Machine Head's Tour Manager NAME DROP MUCH, YES, I GOT A DUDE FROM SLIPKNOT ON SPEED DIAL TOo, SO GET OFF ME.) i got super awesome free seats to see Metallica at the Boston Garden on sunday night.

Now here is the background of the importance of Metallica in my life.
When i was in Junior High school, i had this friend Joe Castoro. He played guitar and was always talking about this band metallica. Hes like, YO LISTEN TO METALLICA. I had no way of getting to a music store and saving the 24 bucks or whatever a cd cost in 1989.
So, i asked this dirtbag kid Dave if he had any Metallica cd's i could borrow. I knew he would have them, because every dirtbag has Metallica cd's.
So, he came back the next day and brought me Kill Em All. This was a version on Megaforce records. I popped it in. MIND BLOWN.
I had no idea what i was hearing, but it was like taking a bite of your favorite food and just chewing it and being in complete auditory heaven.
I kept that cd for weeks. I told Dave i kept forgetting it, and eventually he just stopped asking and i scored the cd. Note. Dont ever let me borrow anything.
SO, i eventually got some random job here and there and saved enough money every couple weeks and would ride my bike to this music store called Twin Oaks and i'd buy a new metallica cd each week.
When i bought ...And Justice For All, it was like listening to the most intense math equation ever. I knew from then on i need to play guitar.
Weeks went by, i started saving for a guitar and amp and was also still buying cd's.

Finally i had enough money to buy my first guitar. A First Act stratocaster copy, and some no name amp.
i had a friend in my computer art class named Jim Slavin. He shredded the guitar and told me if i ever wanted lessons, that i could come over and he's teach me.
Well, i took him up on the offer and the first song i ever learned to play was "Last Caress" by the Misfits but covered by Metallica. I had been listening to Garage Days on repeat for weeks and i LOVED that song, but i had no idea who the misfits were. I just knew the dude said " IVE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY, I KILLED YOUR BABY TODAY, AND IT DOESNT MATTER MUCH TO ME, AS LONG AS ITS DEAD" ....woah.

So i learned the 3 power cords and that was it. In my head i knew a Metallica song. I ruled. So hard.
Next lesson i wanted to know how to play Orion, off of master of puppets. Jim happily obliged by teaching me the guitar parts. I was playing these songs as much as i could.
I finally bought a Music book. Half Slayer songs and half Metallica. I didnt even look at the Slayer section. I looked at the tablature...and i figured it out...how to read it and how to play. My most gratifying moment was when i taught myself the beginning of Enter Sandman by deciphering the tablature in this book. I actually still have this book in the basement at my moms house somewhere.

The reason i play guitar, is Metallica. I never saw them up until this past Sunday night.
Me and my best friend in headbanging Mark went up to Boston and took in this show.

The Sword opened the show and really really impressed me. I was expecting a boring show from them, because the times ive seen them in small clubs, they just....bored me.

Machine Head, as usual, destroyed the place. So heavy, energetic and just pumped on life. Those guys really know how to get a crowd going. Kudos my friends.

and then.....Metallica.

I have to say, i did have doubts that they would let me down. After the Black Album came out and did its thing, Metallicas next efforts just straight up sucked. "The Unforgiven II"? REALLY? youre writing songs and just adding "2" to the title of a song you already wrote and made millions off of its success?

Load. Re-Load. StAnger. S&M. CRAP. There was a point where i think i gave up on them. BUT. With Death Magnetic actually being GOOD, i was going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Good thing.

They opened with 2 new songs, which BUMMMMMMED me out. I was hoping for them to rip into an older song for the big entrance but...no.
Kind of a buzz kill, but, right after the 2nd song...they go into Harvester Of Sorrow.
I actually just got chills thinking about that moment. Hearing this epic band play a song that i sat there teaching myself as a teenager. I threw my arms up in the air and actually jumped up and down a couple times and just screamed so loud. It put me back in the place where I was when i was younger. When it was just me, Metallica and my guitar.

Seeing metallica play all their classic songs that ive listened to countless times, was almost as important as seeing At The Gates this past summer ( nothing will top that).

Unfortunately Mark and I decided to leave after they played Battery, because he has to work at 430am and it was around 11, and they still had a bunch to play AND we didnt want to fight 20,000 people leaving boston at the same time. Oh, and we got outside and it was a blizzard.

But here i am. 17 years from when i wanted to play Metallica songs on the guitar. I made it a reality. Saw my Idols and they didnt disappoint.

I went to Las Vegas and all i got was this lousy t-shirt.

2009-01-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, i didnt really get a t shirt. I got a coffee mug.

Me, and my 2 friends, Melissa and Bianca came up with the idea to go to Vegas and surprise our friends in Soul Control, being that they were playing there last week.
The trip was booked, everyone kept the secret and the dudes were surprised beyond belief.

It was a good trip, even though las vegas now has some of my money.

Oh, i met Doyle Brunson too. So thats cool.

More Pictures Click here.

One time, I Met Ice-T.

2009-01-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled upon this picture.
My friend Neil used to work on a tv show called "Casino Cinema" on the Spike network.
Every week they would show a movie, have a special guest of the week, promoting whatever tv show, movie, music they were promoting at the time, and in between commercial breaks, they would play some sort of casino/card related game, and the end of the show, someone would win. Cheesy, but fun. Neil was the Dealer of the show. The two hosts were one of the dudes from The Sopranos and Howard Sterns wife. I cant remember names.
One night, i was staying in new york at my moms house, it was the summertime in 2006 i think, and Neil called. He said..." You need to meet Ice-T. Come to work with me tomorrow."
Well, "DUH" is the only acceptable answer here, and the next morning i went to NYC, HArlem to be exact, to the studio where the show was taped. I hung out all day. Stood around alot, and Finally met Ice-T. Dude was legit. His wife Coco is just straight out of a porno mag. Over the top. I cant even explain it. Just. Wow.

Yea. I met Ice-T once.

Leathermouth Photo Published in the new Alternative Press.

2009-01-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

This picture i took over the summer from the Reggie/Leathermouth tour:

Turned into this, from the February 2009 issue of Alternative Press magazine, which came out today:

click to view the review of the Leathermouth record.

Stoked. first time any of my pictures have been used in any magazine.

Top 20 artists i listened to in 2008.

2009-01-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

Fuck it. i like lists. i like music. here we go.

EDIT JANUARY 5th 2009.
i just realized that had i listened to ONE MORE Black Sabbath song last year, there would have been a 3 way tie for 6th place....6.6.6...Sabbath, Slayer and Trash Talk.

That would have been epic.
Looks like i have a goal for this year.

1. Reggie- I was/am in the band and needed to practice the songs. So, its not like im some emo-synth-pop punk sap...im just IN an emo-synth-pop punk band.

2. Bury Your Dead- Early in 2008 i filled in for 11 shows as a guitar player, and i also helped contribute to their album that came out in 2008, so there again was a lot of me practicing guitar, but also listening to their album i helped write.

3. My Morning Jacket- I hadnt ever heard them until this past year. Ive heard the name forever but i just passed them off as some weird rock/hip band. I was wrong. They write and play really amazing and beautiful music. They have a hippie-ish vibe to them, but whatever. I like weed as much as the next dude.

4. Roky Erickson- How can you like music and not listen to Roky. I got into Roky many thanks to my cousin Keith and him bringing me to see the documentary about Roky called " Youre gonna miss me" i highly suggest you see it, fan or not. Roky is a schizophrenic genius. He created psychadelic rock with his band The 13th Floor Elevators and for decades just wrote some of the most amazing rock and roll songs. His voice is amazing and lyrics that are out of this world. Do yourself a favor and just listen to one Roky Erickson song. You'll be hooked.

5. Morbid Angel- This is one of a few "give in's". Im a metal head. I sit in my house and shred through Domination or Gateways To Annihilation on the regular. Its what i do.

TIE for 6. Trash Talk and Slayer- Woah. Trash talk has to be one of the biggest and most hard working DIY hardcore bands that exists today. I am on a friendly basis with these guys and they are genuine and passionate about what they do. Their music is real, angry and raw. They put out an amazing " full length" this year and it was totally played many times over due to the fact its so short, but so good, its ok to listen to 3 times in one sitting. And Slayer....well c'mon, its slayer. Who cant resist putting on Reign In Blood and cleaning the house?

8. Black Sabbath- Should always be #1 but whatever. Sabbath is Sabbath. 75 years from now, this band will still be getting ripped off and payed homage to, and it will be all good then too.

9. Nirvana.- 2008 seemed to have a weird Seattle/grunge/flannel revival, but that was all good with me. The first show/concert i ever went to was Nirvana in november of 1993 in New York City at Roseland. It was on the In Utero tour. I wish i could find the t-shirt i bought from that show. Anyway. I kind of have to admit, i hadn't listened to Nirvana in a long time, but it was everywhere this year and i got back into those albums deep, and i was reminded why they were the first band i ever wanted to see.

10. Meshuggah- ObZen is in the running for one of the best modern metal albums of all time. These guys are out of their swedish minds. EVERY album gets more intense, complicated and HEAVY. So, with ObZen, came an interest to listen to the older stuff as well. Yea. Go listen to the album 'Nothing' tell me you dont shit yourself, or smash your head on your computer desk from furiously headbanging.

11. Torche- Masters at this genre. "Stoner-pop?" is what i think the media branded it. I just call it fucking heavy. And i will go ahead and admit another thing. I didnt think Meanderthal was a great album upon first few listens. Then Jim and Mark called me a fucking moron and i re-listened. Yea. I was wrong. Grenades off of Meanderthal is epic.

12. Nasum.- Too bad about the loss of their band member a few years ago in thailand when the tsunamis and such happened. This band is raw, brutal and fast. Its just something to throw on and rage to.

13. Eyehategod- I lived with Will Evans for 8 months. Eyehategod destroys everything good and makes you not care about it. Best riffs ever. Most depressing lyrics. Sometimes you just gotta get down in the dumps and totally wallow. Eyehategod makes it sound great.

14. Saves The Day- Ok, so i cant be heavy ALL the time. Saves the day write some of the best "emo-pop punk" ever. Even their newer stuff thats more rock influenced is still amazing. Lyrics that can make you think about girls, good times, bad times and shit like that. I think even the dude in Burzum listens to Saves The Day.

15. Witchcraft. Fucking Witchcraft. Their album " The Alchemist" came out in 2008 and it was a BIT of a let-down for me. Firewood is a flawless fucking record. I can listen to it on repeat. To top it would have taken a miracle. I still think they are one of the best modern day sabbath/pentagram worship bands ever. In fact im wearing a Witchcraft shirt right now.

16. Melvins. Secret ineverlistenedtothemelvinsbefore2008andifeel
reallybadaboutitsoididsomecatchingupthankgodidid.

17.Entombed. How can you not listen to entomed and not pump your fist and just want to go ride a motorcycle and get into a fight with some vampires or something. Fuck.

18. Slipknot. They can never do any wrong by me. Ive been a fan since befre the release of their roadrunner debut, when i was working at my college radio station. The cd that i got didnt have an insert, just the cd. I had no idea it was 9 dudes in costumes. The music spoke for itself. I think it took me like a year before i found out that these dudes dressed up. didnt matter to me. They fucking SHRED. fuck all the cool-guys and the " oh thats nu-metal crap" comments. Listen to the fucking music. You may learn something.

19. Cannibal Corpse.- So this year i had a debate about what my favorite CC record was and i have someone still not letting me live it down. I said "The Wretched Spawn" was my favorite CC record. yea. "The Bleeding" is a fucking milestone and a masterpiece. But LISTEN TO THE WRETCHED SPAWN. That record does way more for me than The Bleeding.
And cannibal corpse has like 857648 records, so i did alot of comparing.

20. God Dethroned.- Melodic death metal from The Netherlands. I got into these guys like 11 years ago. They are just catchy melodic metal, with awesome brutal vocals and sweet guitar parts. They got really heavy on the last album " The Toxic Touch" and heavy is one of the things i will never hold against a band for getting.

More Tour Memories.

2008-12-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

What Feeds The Fire US tour 2002.

From Left to Right: Unknown Dude, Sean Murphy, Jim Connolly, Tom Z, Mark Drop, Me, Sean O'Connor, Unknown dude #2

i found this actual photo in my stuff while cleaning up, and realized i could scan it and have it on my computer.
Its a picture of me and the band i was in What Feeds The Fire when we were on tour in 2002. This is taken from the pier overlooking Alcatraz. There are also a couple dudes in the picture that i cant remember who they are, but were nice dudes.

Go Cook Something.

2008-12-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

enjoy.

vegan pancakes:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/12/sunday-mornings-arent-same.html

Vegan pumpkin cheesecake:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/11/vegan-pumpkin-cheesecake.html

Vegan Pumpkin Pie:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/11/vegan-pumpkin-pie-and-being-pretty-much.html

Vegan Banana Bread:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/11/vegan-banana-bread-winter-new-tattoo.html

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/10/cookies-cookies-cookies.html

Vegan Hoe Made Hot Pockets:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/09/vegan-steak-bacon-and-pepper-pies.html

Vegan TVP Burgers:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/vegan-hand-made-tvp-burgers.html

Vegan General Tso Tofu & Broccoli:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/vegan-general-tsao-tofu-broccoli.html

Vegan Raspberry mocha Cake:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-30th-birthday-and-vegan-mocha.html

Vegan Spicy Chili:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/vegan-spicy-chili.html

Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/vegan-bbq-pulled-pork-sandwiches.html

Vegan Brunch Tofu Scramble:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/07/today-i-cooked-vegan-brunch-for-some.html

Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/06/vegan-peanut-butter-jelly-cake.html

Vegan Chicken And Pasta:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/06/vegan-dinnertime.html

Vegan Afterschool Snack:
http://memoriesinpixels.blogspot.com/2008/06/quick-vegan-snack.html

Leathermouth...

2008-12-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

I love each one of these guys more than i can explain.
I'm glad they are my buds, and i wish them all the best with the release of their record, XO, on Epitaph records coming out in January 2009.

Leathermouth at Lupos, Providence RI 12/5/08

"GOD SAVE US!"

2008-12-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

This is what i did 12 seconds into getting home from work today.
i had an instant message from Will Evans with a link in it.

i clicked the link, and the next thing i knew...i was staring at this:

at least i know ill be back in california exatly a year after i left it... what the hell man.

Memories on videos....

2008-11-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

So, when i was in What Feeds The Fire we did a tour with Hatebreed, Bane and Poison the well, from late January to Late February in 2002.

I finally got around to uplaoding some of the video from a whole Hatebreed set i taped in San Francisco.

Visit http://richgaccione.com for more videos, click on the "Hatebreed Video" along the top of the home page to view some more. This will be a work in progress.

Thanks
-Rich

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake!

2008-11-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

I wish i had someone to cook for like this all the time.

So i found this on the internets. A recipe for a vegan pumpkin cheesecake!
i hadn't made a "cheesecke" yet, so i figured...why not.

Be advised, a food processor/blender of some type is required. I didnt have one available, but i did my best.

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake:

2 graham cracker crusts

Filling:
2 tubs Toffuti brand "Better Than Cream Cheese"
2 cups firm silken tofu
1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch
One 15oz can pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
Cube the "Better Than Cream Cheese" and place in food processor with remaining ingredients. Blend until everything is smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour over the crust, and bake on 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to set for 10 minutes on a wire rack while you prepare the sour cream topping.

Sour Cream Topping
1 tub Tofutti's "Better Than Sour Cream"
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp vanill
a dash of salt
Blend all ingredients in your food processor until smooth. Pour over the still-warm cheesecake and return to the 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Chill the finished cake in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Thats how i made it. They look decent still, and the pre-baked mix tasted dreamy.
the above recipe made 2 pies. Cant wait to eat it tomorrow.

this is the topping. Needs to be food processed, otherwise it wont pour easily onto the top of the pie in the part of the recipe that calls for it.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie and being, pretty much, the best friend ever.

2008-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Its no secret. I like to cook/bake/eat. So, my friend Danielle, who works at the store across from me at the mall, asked me to make her and her co-workers a pumpkin pie, i was more than happy to. Even if it meant after working 2 jobs today, having to be up at 7am and getting in at 11:30pm. Im still doing it. I guess im just that awesome, and thats why im surrounded by all this awesomeness. (can you feel the sarcasm dripping from that last line??) ANYWAY. here is a super super easy and tasty holiday favorite.

Vegan Pumpkin pie.

1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup soy milk
tablespoon apple sauce
1-2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
cinnamon and allspice to taste

mix all together, put in pie crust,( i use graham cracker crust, i suggest you do too, its soooo good.) put in oven at 350 for 50-60 minutes. I usually let cool, then put it in the fridge to help solidify the pie a little bit more. Makes it easier for cutting and serving, and it wont fall apart.

How simple was that? Right?

Vegan Banana Bread. Winter. New Tattoo.

2008-11-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a cooking update for a while, so today when i got home from work, i just had a random inspiration to make Banana Bread. So, a quick google search, veganize the ingredients and this is what i made:

Vegan Banana Bread

4 ripe smooshed bananas
1/3 cup melted earth balance stick( 5 tablespoons)
1 cup of vegan sugar
3 tablespoons of applesauce
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of flour

Method:

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Smoosh bananas up nice in a large mixing bowl. Add earth balance when melted.
mix in sugar, applesauce and vanilla. Next sprinkle in baking powder and salt.
lastly, add in the flour, mix well until fully blended.
pour into a 4x8 size baking pan, bake for 1 hour, let cool then enjoy!

Here are pictures for a step by step tutorial!

Next up... Reason #2 why i miss California. I dont have to suit up like this to go outside...in November.

And finally, i just got tattooed. Ever hear the saying " You've got a chip on your shoulder."? Well, i have. And i do, but at least i try to keep a sense of humor about it. Done by Luke Taylor at Hope Street Tattoo Providence, RI.

Something More Than Ink.

2008-10-19T15:13:00.001-07:00

These are my hands after the show i played last night.

I havent "X'd up" in years, although ive been Straight Edge since i was 15. Last night was almost like a rebirth of that feeling when i decided to call myself Straight Edge.

1- Last night, I had the chance to play a set with the band Have Heart, at the annual "Edge Day" show, in Massachusetts. This came about, kind of in a weird way. My job at the rehearsal studio lead me to bumping into the Have Heart guys a couple weeks ago. It had been a while since i had seen them and it was cool to see them practicing and getting ready for their tour and what not. So, one night when i was working, they were practicing as well, for their edge day set, and before the end of the night, i was sitting behind the desk, figuring out Alone In A Crowd songs and HH songs.
P.S. Click to check out pictures from the show here. Dan rules.

We had one practice together, and the show last night went off perfect. It was an awesome opportunity to play with those dudes. They have been friends and tour mates, and to play those songs with them was something that ive secretly wanted to do ever since the summer tour i was on with soul control 2 summers ago. So, in short. Thanks Have Heart.

2- I now have 3 jobs.

job 1: Jamstage rehearsal studio, 2 nights a week and filling in random shifts (like right now)
Job 2: Ritz camera store at Providence Place mall. Not a bad job for someone who likes to take pictures.
Job 3: Trinity Brewhouse. Barbacking 2 nights a week, mostly Fridays and Saturdays. So many frinds work and frequent this place. Its really fun and keeps me busy. Straight Edge 30 year old working at a bar. yea. I know. I don't drink, other people do, not a big deal.

3- I'm Straight Edge. Im proud to be, and dont really understand what makes people go from being edge to " oh man, straight edge is so dumb....pass the joint dawg." Its a decision i made long ago when i understood what being straight edge was all about. I was told its a life long decision. People DO change and yes, i understand this, but those who go from being openly straight edge and being proud of it, to becoming just another dude who drinks/smokes/smokes weed...whatever, its just...sad. Im glad im a part of something that so few seem to hold onto for a long time.

4- apartment life is good. but, im lonely. really lonely. Its getting cold, its starting to be that time of year where i get...sad. It happens like clockwork. Last year was ok, becaus ei was in LA and there were palmtrees, instead of trees losing their leaves, so i was able to keep a chin up last year, but, this new england season brings out the best and worst in my brain.

5- Please visit my flickr page and if there are any photos you would like prints made, please email me and give me the link to the photo and i will get back to you with size availabilty and prices for different options. Thank you.

COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES!

2008-10-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

i woke up at 8am today, knowing last night i bought the supplies to bake stuff.
i was excited, so, i got this recipe for some basic chocolate chunk cookies. Its the first time i baked in my kitchen, so i kept it simple.

I "veganized" the following recipe:

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

2 sticks of "butter". i used the store brand "buttery sticks" which have no dairy ingredients.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup soy milk. i used Silk Very Vanilla

2.25 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1.75 cup dark chocolate chunks ( i only had Baking chocolate chunks available, so i chopped up 4 squares into small chunks and used these. It worked just fine. I used Bakers Brans semi-sweet baking chocolate ( no dairy, of course)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Baking Instructions ( pictures included of each step to help out):

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. grease baking sheet(s)

3. beat the butter and sugar together in large bowl until pale and creamy

4. pour in milk, beat to combine ( this mixture didnt fully blend together, but it all pulls together in step 6)

5. In seprate bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa and baking powder.

6. stir dry mix into butter/milk mixture and combine well, but DO NOT beat.

7. take about a tablespoon of mix and place onto tray ( i didnt want to make a billion cookies, so i used way more mixture per cookie, as you can see in the pictures.)

8. bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. ( mine were done in 16 minutes)

9. remove from oven, let stand on baking sheet for about 5 minutes. After cooling on baking sheet, transfer the cookies to cooling rack or similar.

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

STEP 6

Step 7

STEP 8

EVEN ROSS FROM CEREMONY APPROVES!

I made sushi at home. I win.

2008-10-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

i finally put that sushi kit i got as a gift like, 4 years ago, to use.
i just went for it and im glad i did.

the rolling part will take some getting used to, and trying different vegan options for the filler will be fun, but i stuck with the ole, Avocado and Cucumber for my first attempt...

i also had a job interview at Ritz camera, which went well, but i have no idea what the outcome will be. Tricky interviewer dude made me "sell" him the camera i own.
i mean, i did well, but i haven't "sold" something since guitar center in may. i was a little rusty, especially not really knowing 100% of the cameras features and benefits, but, im told im a good salesperson, and the guy confirmed this at the end as well.

Im currently in starbucks using free internet, listening to Hate Eternal and contemplating my next life moves.

I agree with this shirt. I dont agree with police brutality.

2008-10-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the Providence band, The Body, from a benefit show they played on friday night at AS220. It was a benefit show for Alex Svoboda. She was brutally hurt BEFORE a peaceful demonstration, in an altercation with North Providence police officers, resulting in this injury:

Please click the link above to read her's and the IWW story. It is acts like these that make this society so incredibly sick and twisted. Where people that are there to speak their right of free speech, are mangled and broken, by officers of the law.

The shirt above, sums up my feeling for this situation and many of those like it.

Also, if you ever have a chance to see The Body live, i suggest you do so.

Soul Control Promo Shoot

2008-10-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

The dudes won some sort of online contest run by Taco Bell, where they submit the band, and some sort of " tell us about yourselves" thing and taco bell chose a bunch of bands to win $500 in "taco bucks". Well, soul control, amongst some other bands won that part, and the winners move on to a next round that could lead to a $15,000 recording session or something crazy like that. Well. They needed some promo shots for the taco bell profile thing. Here are a couple. Eyeballhead is the official Soul Control icon from here on.

Vegan "Steak", "Bacon" and Pepper Pies!!

2008-09-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

So, i finally am home and have been dying to cook some food. A month of being on a bus with microwaveable boca burgers and peanut butter and jelly every day has got me going crazy.

i was flipping through my moms Womans Day magazine yesterday when i was in the bathroom, and in the food section, there was a recipe for these Sausage and Pepper pies. I looked at the recipe and it could easily be converted to a vegan treat, so i was gung-ho to try it. Basically, they can be considered Calzones, but whatever you call them they are awesome.

i already had some Smart Steak strips and Smart bacon, so i figured id go with those as the filler.

here is the recipe as modified by me, and the pictures follow!
This was the first time i dealt with real pizza dough, so it was a little awkward, but it came out awesome anyway!

VEGAN STEAK AND BACON PIES

1 package of smart strips steak style strips.
1/2 package smart strips Bacon style strips
1 hunk of pizza dough- i used a piece directly from the pizza place next to the supermarket.
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
1 tbs basil
1 tbs oregano

cut and chop peppers and onion to smaller pieces.
chop garlic and chop into small fine pieces
chop steak strips and bacon into smaller pieces

roll dough on floured surface to be large enough to cut 4 5 inch x 5 inch pieces

heat oven to 425 degrees
oil 2 baking sheets

heat saucepan large enough for all ingredients to a medium heat

cook steak and bacon pieces for approx 3 mins
add all other vegetables,spices and garlic, cooking for another 3 minutes, stirring continuously, as to not burn and equally cook all items.

remove from heat.

place enough of the veggie mix into one side of the dough,
pull over the other side of the dough, and pinch closed all the sides, to contain all the ingredients inside.

place 2 per baking sheet

cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

remove from oven, let cool and serve with marinara sauce for dipping!

Side note.
You can add cheese if you want to these, just add in the step when you are scooping the mixture into the raw dough.

Its over kids.

2008-09-15T15:53:00.001-07:00

Reggie and the Full Effect final show happened last night at the TLA in Philadelphia.

It was amazing and anyone who was a part of it, i thank you.

i will do a bigger update in a the next couple days. I got home at 6am and my head hurts.

till then...

Top bunk, drivers side...

2008-08-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. Im finally on tour. After moving back from Los Angeles, spending about 2 months on either my mom's couch or Jim's couch or Mark's couch, now my bed is the top bunk on the drivers side of a tour bus with 9 other dudes and a miniature hairless chihuahua named Peppers. We are currently somewhere in Alabama, parked next to a Holiday Inn express so our driver can sleep till about 5am, then its off to Houston TX for a show.
Last night was the first show in Orlando Fl at The Social. The set was a little rocky, being it was our first show as a full band, but all in all it was really fun. Although the crowd was weird and just kinda stood there.... it was sold out though, so i cant complain!

Dont Forget....

REGGIE & THE FULL EFFECT FAREWELL TOUR
Featuring: Leathermouth, MC Chris and Warship

August 22, 2008 Houston, TX Warehouse Studio
August 23, 2008 Austin, TX Emo’s
August 25, 2008 Tempe, AZ Clubhouse
August 26, 2008 Hollywood, CA Avalon
August 27, 2008 San Luis Obispo, CA SLO Brew
August 28, 2008 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
August 29, 2008 Sparks, NV New Oasis
August 30, 2008 Salt Lake City, UT Avalon Theater
August 31, 2008 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
September 2, 2008 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
September 3, 2008 Chicago, IL House of Blues – Chicago
September 4, 2008 Detroit, MI The Magic Stick
September 5, 2008 Pittsburgh, PA Diesel
September 6, 2008 Buffalo, NY Club Infinity
September 7, 2008 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
September 9, 2008 Cambridge, MA The Middle East Club
September 10, 2008 Farmingdale, NY Crazy Donkey
September 11, 2008 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
September 12, 2008 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
September 13, 2008 Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club
September 14, 2008 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore at the TLA

Beneath The Green... VOD Long Island Ny.

2008-08-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Vision Of Disorder. Also known as VOD. This was the first band i saw at my first hardcore show in 1994. I was instantly hooked. The aggression, the sound, the energy, the crowd singing along. It was a new world, and i wanted in. From the first time seeing them, i knew i had to see them again. So, my years in high school, and college, i did all i could to see VOD where ever they played, on Long Island, Rhode Island, Boston, wherever. The experience of a VOD show is never duplicated. Its a feeling that i hope i get to feel at least a few more times before VOD "officially" call it quits.

They played on Long Island last night at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale. As usual, it was bonkers, and i felt like i was back in 1994 again.

CLICK HERE for more VOD pictures

I've often wondered about the demons coming in the pale skirts of midnight,
I never really paid much attention to them though.
I knew they were coming (and they came).
And it made me sick to see myself all broken down,
couldn't get a grip,
on my dour self,
as I slipped into a state of disbelief...
Don't even think for a second,
don't you put your filth and guilt on me,
don't you put your filthy hands on me,
don't you say you ever believed in me when you did nothing but lead me....
Into a forest of nothing but darkness
with no thought regardless of my heart relentless,
Processed...
Something is broken and I can't recover,
I saw the waves were crashing,
my arms were bleeding,
my eyes deceived me,
my eyes will bleed...
To trust and to sleep,
to trust,
to deceive,
never in my life have I ever felt such,
desperation...
Progressed...
Never felt so alone,
I couldn't face tomorrow,
because the sting of today,
has left me here in dismay.
Under the sheets of green,
just recollecting,
I told myself,
never shed a tear for you and those who are alike,
and so I turned away.
And I never look back...
Something is broken and I can't recover...
So I saved myself from your fuckin' misery,
that lingers reputed relation,
I'm falling to function,
because of temptation,
we should fuck ourselves...
Don't talk to me about your love...

New Reggie & The Full Effect video!

2008-08-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Reggie and the Full Effect - J Train

J Train, from the new record " Last Stop: Crappy Town"
i make a cameo as the bouncer.

VEGAN HAND MADE TVP BURGERS!

2008-07-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today seemed like a burger day. But instead of the old, boring, pre packaged Boca burgers that i usually cook in the microwave, i opted to try and make my own from scratch, with TVP. SOOOO, as usual, this came out amazing and im so full.

check it.

Vegan Meaty TVP Burgers

1 cup TVP
3/4 cup flour or wheat gluten
2 tablespoon bbq sauce or ketchup
1 tablespoon HP sauce
1 tablespoon Hot Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (make sure its VEGAN, some use anchovies)
1 tsp multi seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 large onion chopped and diced

prepare tvp as instructed on package (1 cup water to 1 cup tvp, let water boil, add tvp, then let sit and rehydrate)

add all other ingredients in a bowl and mix together and form patties to an average veggie burger size WITH YOUR HANDS! This was a fun part. Lots of squishing. But it lets you form nice size patties that wont be super huge and will cook correctly.

Make sure you dont make them too big, as they wont hold together too well, and will take longer to cook through. I made my second one smaller and smooshed it down while cooking with the spatula, and that one came out way better..

Over a medium heat, oil a frying pan, and cook each side until browned over.

The insides will still be softer than the outsides, the tvp texture will be sorta chewy and awesome.

***dont be afraid to experiment with different spices and sauces in your mix, its totally up to your taste, but these came out very savory and delicious. Also, if your mix seems a little too "loose" when formin your patties, add more flour so it thickens up and your patties will be firm when formed and cooked***

i put mine on mini pita pockets with avocado and tomato, one with ketchup, one with hp sauce. HOLY SHIT. OM NOM NOM NOM.

Vegan General Tsao Tofu & Broccoli!!

2008-07-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

So, i got the urge to make a favorite chinese dish amongst many vegetarian/vegan folk.
General Tsao fried tofu and broccoli!
i got the urge when my mom came home the other day from the store and showed me she bought some General Tsao sauce from Trader Joes ***NOTE THE TRADER JOES BRAND SAUCE IS NOT VEGAN, MAKE SURE YOU READ THE LABELS CLOSE!*** (she remembered i ordered the same dish when we went to dinner last week, and she knows i like to cook, so she hooked me up and inspired me. I have a great Mom!)
So i ran out and got the tofu and broccoli and whipped this one up!
This dish is soooo simple and SO TASTY.

One note is that the more time you fry the tofu, the more crispy it becomes, so the fry time is variable. Fry to your hearts content!

VEGAN GENERAL TSAO TOFU AND BROCCOLI!

1 brick of extra firm tofu
1 bottle of General Tsao sauce (MAKE SURE THE GENERAL TSAO SAUCE YOU BUY IS VEGAN, SOME BRANDS USE OYSTER EXTRACT, INCLUDING THE TRADER JOES BRAND, SO BE AWARE!)
1 head of Broccoli
1/4 cup flour or corn starch
3/4 cup or so of peanut oil ( you can use veggie oil too, these two oils have a high smoking point, so they are better to fry in, and they wont smoke up and burn)

you can either cut the tofu into smaller pieces for multiple servings or, cut them into quarters, like i did mine (mainly because i was hungry and didn't want to chop tofu"

fill a frying pan with enough oil that will cover the pieces of tofu you have prepared, and let sit over medium heat for about 6 minutes.

while oil is heating, coat the pieces of tofu in flour or cornstarch. This will give the tofu its crispy outside.

Submerge tofu in heated oil for about 15 minutes flipping occasionally. Be careful not to splash up oil when putting tofu in the pan.

while tofu cooks, fill the bottom of another pot with water, about 1/4 cup or so.
turn on over high flame.

chop broccoli into individual pieces and add to hot water.
cover and let steam for about 5 minutes tops. You just want it to look bright green

remove from heat and water, arrange on plate.

When tofu is done cooking, put it on a plate with paper towel and let it sit for a few minutes to let the oil set and cool down.

finally, cover with General Tsao sauce and DIG IN!!! Also great with some white rice.

so simple and so good!

Enjoy and thanks for looking yet again!

Have Heart and Verse Show pictures. Long Island, NY 7/19/08

2008-07-21T00:33:00.001-07:00

Have Heart

Verse

See more. Click here

words cant describe this...

2008-07-19T23:36:00.001-07:00

Click image to see it larger...you have to, in order to take it all in.

this is my friend James and Danikas dog Talulah. seriously. Try not to smile.
Yes, she's in a pool, with a doggy life jacket, on a raft.

Vegan Spicy Chili!

2008-07-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Vegan Spicy Chili

so. i was sitting here and i got the urge to cook. Luckily im at my mom's house and have a kitchen to work with. Unfortunately, i dont really have much food to choose from, so i went for a total shot in the dark. My mom had some TVP (textured vegetable protein, think "ground beef"). I wanted to make something fun, and i just decided... CHILI!
i had beans, all the spices and this fun TVP to use for the meat-like texture for the chili. So, i totally made this up off the top of my head, and seriously, im a fucking genius. This stuff came out so good!

Onto the recipe!

1 cup of TVP ( textured vegetable protein makes a "meatlike" ingredient)
1 can of kidney beans
1 whole tomato
3 teaspoons cajun seasoning
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup natural tomato sauce

prepare TVP first. The kind i got all you have to do is boil 7/8 cups of water for every 1 cup of TVP you want to use. Once the TVP is rehydrated, set aside and prepare
other mixture.

chop tomato into small pieces

in bigger pot, pour beans, all spices, tvp, tomato sauce and tomato over a low/medium heat.

once the mixture starts to bubble, let simmer over low heat, stirring frequently for abut 15 minutes.
Beware, i made this version pretty spicy, so change up amounts of spices at your own leisure.
After you take it off the heat, let sit for about 5 more minutes. The TVP will soak up the spices and make the chili an even better dish.

This will make 2 large bowls. So share it with someone you love.

most importantly...EAT IT!

Another simple and effective VEGAN diner. Enjoy with a nice fresh salad like i did.

THIS RECIPE IS A NO FAT HIGH PROTEIN MEAL!

This is the TVP after re-hydrating:

This is the chili while simmering:

And this is the finished meal!

My Soul Has Been Slaughtered.

2008-07-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Its been 12 years since..."the incident".
"The Incident" is when i chose hanging out with my then girlfriend( who i didnt even end up hanging out with that night) instead of going to see At The Gates and Napalm Death at CBGB. I find out a few months later they have broken up, and all hope at seeing my all time favorite band crumbles.
fast forward 12 years....the place....the internet.
rumors start circulating that ATG are going to play a few shows in europe this summer...with possibility of a USA tour. Woah. Could it be true? Well, the day i thought would never come, actually came tonight. Irving Plaza. July 9th 2008, ATG Played their first show on USA soil in 12 years. I can not begin to type how epic this was for me.
EVERYONE knows ATG are my favorite band. This was literally a dream come true.
I watched in awe as they blazed through almost all of the Slaughter Of The Soul album, also going as far back as their debut EP and playing "All Life Ends" off that.
also played:
The Beautiful Wound
The Burning Darkness
The Swarm
Terminal Spirit Diesease
Windows
Raped By The Light Of Christ
Blinded By Fear
Slaughter Of The Soul
Cold
Under A Serpent Sun
Suicide Nation
World Of Lies
Nausea
Need

Like. I cant even type how epic they sounded. The old songs sounded SO HEAVY.
Im just going to leave it at " this show will never compare to any other show i will attend for the rest of my life."

Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

2008-07-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

These were a huge hit at our 4th of July party that i did a bunch of the cooking for.
I saw the idea on another site somewhere, but i decided to just wing it, and try to make these from "scratch". I can't begin to tell you how amazing these were. SO tasty, and a great treat for vegans and meat eaters alike. So, this is what i came up with...

Vegan BBQ "Pork" Sandwiches. Follow the photos!

The following ingredients made about 10 sandwiches on standard size hamburger buns.

3 packages of Westsoy traditional seitan

1 12oz botle of BBQ sauce of your choice. here i used whole foods 365 brand Tangy BBQ sauce.

Small bottle of hot sauce of your choice. here i used some random Magic Pepper hot sauce. I know people take their hot sauces seriously, so this is totally up to you..cholula, tabasco, texas pete, etc. Whatever your pleasure. Have at it.

1 large white onion
sandwich/hamburger buns. (larger size are better...these can get messy)

2tsp salt
2tsp pepper.
2tsp garlic salt
1tsp paprika.
2tbs light brown sugar

chop onion into small small pieces.
chop seitan pieces into small pieces.
using all of the spices, cover the seitan in the spices after chopping up.

in a medium saucepan, combine the seitan, onion, bbq sauce, and brown sugar.

simmer, covered, over the LOWEST flame possible for about 30 minutes. MAKE SURE YOU STIR IT A FEW TIMES SO THE BOTTOM DOES NOT BURN!

Pile on to bun, add hot sauce to taste...and then...

ENJOY.

Sidenote. While i was uploading the photos, i just went on a bike ride at 1:30am with my best friends dad and dog. weird.

Vegan Brunch! Tofu Scramble and fun.

2008-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

So, its not a secret. I like...no...love to cook. Since going full on vegan in December, i've really enjoyed cooking more than ever. I also love to cook for people. its the Italian side of me really shining through. So, last night, me and a few friends were sitting around in a coffee shop, trying to figure out what we were going to do for the evening. After no good ideas surfaced, and we quickly realized we are all just lazy and have no real motivation to "do stuff" we decided the night was over and we were all going to go to our respective homes. As we were saying goodnight, i suggested that we (or whomever wasnt busy in the afternoon) have a vegan brunch at Marks house. Being his parents were away and i was sleeping there it would be a fun little get together.

Jim, Rory, Mark and myself were the only ones to attend this feast, but it was more food for us.

So, this morning i woke up and got some stuff at the supermarket and cooked this all vegan brunch:

Vegan chocolate chip pancakes. ( you can find this recipe in an earlier blog entry, just scroll down...)
Tofu scramble with corn and tomatoes.
Smart Bacon.
Gimmie Lean sausage patties.
Strawberries.
Bananas.
English Muffins.
Coffee.
Orange Juice.

Here are some pictures and cooking instructions for the Tofu Scramble, which was the big winner of the brunch. Let me know if you ever want a good dude to cook you some sweet food. I will cater any hangouts if you provide the food, ill cook it up. No joke.

Here is the whole tasty meal:

The tofu scramble is as follows.
1 brick of soft standard tofu.
1/2 box or bag of yellow corn.
1/2 tomato.
salt, garlic powder, oregano, parsley, basil, paprika.

cut the tofu into small cubes.
add to a veggie oil coated frying pan over a medium heat.

cook tofu for about 5 minutes then add corn, tomatoes and about a teaspoon of all the spices.

take a spatula and mix and chop the mix together so everything is mixed and cooking.

cook over heat for about 15-20 minutes while constantly chopping, flipping and mixing the contents together. Make sure to keep it moving, you dont want to burn the mixture.

Serve with ketchup. SO GOOD.

NO ANIMALS WERE EVEN LOOKED AT IN THE MAKING OF THIS MEAL.

Mine. Mine? MINE!

2008-06-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

Finding Nemo seagulls. My pal Jeff Pageau, who is studying to be a tattoo artist did this for me today. It was his 23rd tattoo. Im way too laid back on the subject matter of my tattoos as of late. Oh well! If you know the movie, you'll laugh. If you dont....

Finding Nemo Seagull Mine Clip

thats all i got in me for today.

One thought.

The night time is the worst time.

goodnight.

No matter what, he will always love me.

2008-06-21T10:31:00.001-07:00

This is Gershwin. I adopted him about 10 years ago, at the time i adpoted him, and his brother, Zizak. Zizak died of liver failure in 2001 while i was on tour. It was really sad. Gershwin has lived with Jim since i have been on tour/traveling/living other places for the past couple years. Gershwin loves me no matter where i go and how long im gone. The minute i walk in the door, it's like i never left. We love each other.

Vegan Peanut Butter & Jelly CAKE!

2008-06-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

So ive made this cake 2 times now, with both times going over very well.
it is a very rich cake, and a small piece will fill you up, and goes well with a tall cold glass of Vanilla soymilk.

here is the recipe converted to vegan ingrediants. feel free to experiment.

This cake can serve 6- 8 people. Like i said, its a RICH cake, so smaller pieces are recommended when serving. Pictures make it look smaller than actual size.

VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY CAKE

i got 2 smaller size (6"x6"ish) disposable foil baking pans for this. any bigger, you lose the "big PB&J sandwich" aesthetic.

2 c. all-purpose flour, unsifted
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. earth balance whipped spread, softened
1/4 c. whole foods 365 peanut butter, creamy type
1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 ripe banana ( cut and smooshed) this is to replace the egg. feel free to add egg replacer if you dont like banana, but adding this you can BARELY taste it in the finished product.
1 c. very vanilla Silk soymilk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 to 1 c. raspberry fruit spred/preserves

you will also need 2 cups of confectioners sugar for the frosting part of the cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9x1 1/2-inch layer cake pans. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt onto wax paper. Beat together butter and peanut butter in large bowl with mixer at high speed until well blended. Gradually beat in eggs. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk until well blended. Add vanilla.

Pour into prepared pans, equally dividing batter. Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30-35 minutes or until tests done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto cake racks. Cool completely. Spread jelly between layers. Frost top and sides with Peanut Butter Frosting:

Beat together 2 1/2 tablespoons softened butter and 2 tablespoons peanut butter in small bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in 2 cups sifted 10X (confectioners) sugar alternately with 3-4 tablespoons milk until of a good spreading consistency. Garnish top with stripes or circles or webs of jelly.

Vegan Dinnertime.

2008-06-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

Tonights VEGAN Dinner!

Bartoli tri-colored wheel pasta.

Trader Joes Lightly seasoned Chicken-less strips

Trader Joes Goddess Dressing.

Cook the Chicken strips over a light heat in a lightly oiled pan. I added garlick salt and dried onion and constantly flipped for about 10 minutes.

Cooked the pasta to "al-dente" , drained, then added a tablespoon of earth balance spread to the drained pasta.

pour into bowl, cover with chicken strips then the dressing. Enjoy.

mmmmm. Food rules.

Quick Vegan Snack

2008-06-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a real quick, simple yet satisfying treat i just put together.

Trader Joe's brand Cinnamon flavored English Style Crumpets.
Jif Smooth peanut Butter
Trader Joes "Just Strawberry" fruit spread
1 banana

Toast the crumpets about 2 "light" cycles in your toaster.

Spread on peanut butter, then spoonful of strawberry spread on top.

then eat.

You can go wrong with adding a glass of soymilk or even some orange juice.

great mid day snack to tide you over until dinner.

And like that.......He was gone.

2008-06-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Click the map to see more detail.

So. Life in reverse. August of last year i drove from NY to LA and started a life. Made friends, made relationships, smiled, laughed, cried, learned and lost.
I made a hard decision to move back to the east coast. I left a few things behind that i wish i hadn't. Hopefully one day i can go back and get them. One thing in particular.

Anyway. I drove alone. From Hollywood at 7:30pm on June 12th 2008. I Drove the Interstate 10 East to Houston. I met up with my friends in Soul Control there to hang, see a show and just break up the drive a little. Then i headed north east finally getting back to my mothers house in long island NY at 3:36am on June 17th 2008.

The following is a collection of thoughts and pictures from being alone in a car for 3 days with a very limited music selection on a 20gb ipod.

Some Totals:
Miles: 3156
Gas $ spent: $527
days driving: 4
Motel $ spent ( 4 motels): $244
gallons of water drank: 8
number of car repairs: 1 (fixed a tire before it blew out on me, whew.)
Number of hatebreed songs listened to: 63
number of speeding tickets: 1
number of starbucks stopped at: 4
number of "Coexist" bumperstickers spotted: 5
times considering picking up sketchy hippie hitchhikers: 2

Music that kept me going:
ADRIFT
BLACK MOUNTAIN
BLACK SABBATH
BLACKLISTED
BLOWBACK
COLOUR HAZE
CROWBAR
CULT OF LUNA
DEAD MEADOW
DOWN
EYEHATEGOD
FLOOR
THE GET UP KIDS
HATEBREED
HUM
I BEAT A CHEETAH IN A RACE
INTEGRITY
IRON MONKEY
KYUSS
LOW DIVIDE
MACHINE HEAD
THE MARS VOLTA
MUSE
PANTERA
REBREATHER
REGGIE & THE FULL EFFECT
RISE AND FALL
ROKY ERICKSON
SLAYER
THIS IS HELL
THOU
TORCHE
VERSE
YEAR OF NO LIGHT

There were a couple points where I just listened to the local radio stations and some weird religious talk radio while coming up through the south, into Tennessee and Virginia.

I need a bigger ipod.

I had to spend 3.5 hours in a Wal Mart to get my car fixed in the middle of western Virginia. I saw the most awful collection of human beings in this Wal Mart. Apparently NASCAR shirts and a minimum of 3 crying children are mandatory if you live in this area.

Starbucks is the best place to stop. Clean, lockable one person bathrooms. Coffee. Snacks, juice and water. Also a comfortable place to just sit and relax for a few.

Be aware at what Motel 6 you stay at. Some can be really nice and clean and comfortable. Some can have one towel, flies and a bed that vibrates in the morning to wake you up...but it wasnt an actual vibrating bed. I have no idea what went on there.

I really wish i could have had one dinner at Denny's along the way. All i wanted was a boca burger and seasoned fries. Alas, i didnt get it. See picture below of the sign on the door at Denny's that i got to when i finally found a Denny's. BOO.

I embraced the feeling of not wearing underwear this drive and i think i have discovered a new way to live my day to day life. "Commando"

I documented the entire drive via my blackberry and the world wide superhighway.

The following are a collection of random thoughts that i had and kept track of on my notepad on my phone, throughout the the trip:

Being behind cattle trucks bums me out in a few ways. Smell and the thought of all those animals dying.

Black sabbath wrote the best songs ever.

The desert is hot even in the middle of the night.

How does an 80 year old lady end up working the overnight shift at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere arizona.

Why cant i ever accept that if something turns out bad, im not always 100 percent responsible. Especially when one or more other people are involved.

Driving over 100 miles and not hitting a starbucks is a weird feeling.

Sometimes i run out of things to think about.

Slayers reign in blood, seasons in the abyss, south of heaven trifecta MIGHT beat sabbaths self titled, master of reality, paranoid trio. Might.

I love the vibe of filling up at a gas station in the middle of the desert with mountains surrounding you, and the sound of country music coming through those tiny speakers at the gas pump.

Gas 50 75 36 50 50 60 50 65 46 45

I have way more grey/white nose hairs than im comfortable with.

There is a distinct smell to the south. Its either the dirt or the grass or the trees, whatever it is, it instantly reminds me of being little and visiting my grandparents at their house in florida.

There were 2 ways i was treated in texas. One was very nice and friendly, inquisitive about my tattoos and if "im in a band or somethin?"
The second was complete disgust and horror to the extent of going out of their way to not walk past me in the store.
No middle ground.

If i didnt have a cigarette lighter in this car, my trip would be 1000000 times more boring. Viva car chargers.

"Love scenes" in movies make me extremely uncomfortable.

I still stand by my theory of " fuck waffle house". Just seeing their sign makes me want to puke.

I love the feeling of putting your arm out the window while driving and kinda pretending your arm is a wing and seeing how long you can make it hover alongside you.

This new mars volta cd just sounds like a mean old wizard troll trying to put a spell on me with spooky noises in the background. Not really feelin it. Too weird.

Listening to Blacklisted. One of the lines in "wish" he says " ...wish i wasnt an emotional wreck". That sums it up. I wish i wasnt. But i am.

Seriously. Frontage road. There is one everywhere. Is it a magical road that you can take from one frontage road, say in like, texas, and it will take you to the closest frontage road near your final destination? Next road trip, youll see. Frontage road.

Why does housekeeping staff at motel/hotels feel the need to bang on your door at 8am when checkout is at noon? Isnt there a simple way to check what rooms have been checked out of before they start randomly waking me up?!
Shit.

I dont get how a road can be 2 roads in one. Like im on a road that is I-77 south and also I-81 north. What?

Why are you in the passing lane if you are just gonna drive the SAME SPEED as the person in the travel lane and have both lanes of traffic trying to pass you?

The chik-fil-a billboards are absolutely brilliant.

I thoroughly enjoy the relationship between cars and tractor trailers while night driving. Helping out with a friendly flash of the lights when its clear for the truck to change lanes and the friendly * blink blink* back at you. That little exchange is nice.

Listening to the radio reminds m of why i dont listen to the radio.

And now for some pictures. CLICK ON A PICTURE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION!

All this time, and we still haven't learned.

2008-05-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

What Feeds The Fire. Possibly the best time, musically, for me. I didnt write a plethora of songs, or even record with this band, but being in the band for the short time i was, i made the closest friends and had the best/worst experiences i could have.
From the local shows we played almost every weekend, to "that one tour", as myself and Jim refer to it now, it was all great. This is the band that created Verse and Soul Control and in a weird way it inspired Have Heart to become the biggest thing in hardcore today. I recently came across a bunch of pictures of What Feeds The Fire, so....here they are.

Me and Sean, Richmond Virginia. Note the "Count Me Out" shirt. If you know me at all, me wearing that shirt means i must have spilled food on my At The Gates long sleeve or something and needed something quick to change into...

This is from "that one tour" in chicago after we played the Metro. Its that place that EVERYONE vegetarian and vegan go to after shows at the metro, you wait like 3 hours for a table and get sub par food...

This is a crew shot of a bunch of people we met in the mid-west...i think it was Ohio. Beaver Creek? memory is shot from all the weed. But the following few pictures were the same crew...

This next picture is one of those pictures that im going to hang on to for a long time.
This is the middle of an ongoing No-Limit Texas Hold'em game that Myself, Aaron and Pete from Bane and Jim C. were playing. we played it each night before and after the show, for days...This particular moment was in the basement of the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco... oh and this game created an ongoing "poker bond" that me and Aaron share to this day. and i think its the only documented photo of Jim playing cards.

Oh, i won.

This is What Feeds The Fire, and also, WFTF and our buddy Tom Z. at this photo spot in Echo Utah.
Here is Sean...

Here is all of us:

And here is me like, 6 years later, on my drive out to California when i moved in August 2008.

This is Sean at Hellfest 2002. Merauder was playing in the background.

And while im at it, here is a video from the same show:

These last few were taken at one of our final shows. July 26th 2003, Worcester MA, Palladium. All following photos by the wonderful Reverend Aaron @ returntothepit.com
Thanks for always documenting awesome shows...

Mark & Sean

Me

Jim

Sean:

Anthony:

Mark:

And, the set list......

In case you cant read it, it goes like this:
Intro
Take it back/outsider
Letting Go/ Live Or Die
Guilty / Whats Inside
GB Cover/ To The Fullest
Without The Weapon / Set Me Free
Never
No Way To Live / Still Waiting Dude!

I have a weak spot in my heart for this band and time of my life. It was the combination of the friendships and the level of shows we were playing at the time which made it most memorable. A "reunion" will never happen. The band has passed away and many new musical projects have happened since. I will always look back on this experience as the single most important thing i have done musically.
Thanks Dudes.

(most pictures in this post were taken by people other than me. So, i take no credit for any pictures other than the one of myself in Echo utah. Thanks.)

Something about me you didn't know.

2008-05-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, February of 2007 was strange. After getting home from being on tour playing guitar in Reggie & The Full Effect, I was called on by James Dewees to "help out My Chemical Romance". By help out, he meant leave your life behind and tour the entire globe and in between tune some guitars and basses for the band. SO, the 2nd day I had been home, after being away for over a month, im back on tour. A couple things about this...
I had only heard MCR on MTV and maybe one or two times when my friend Mark played them. In fact, i remember a day where Me, Mark and Jim were sitting in my living room, watching the Helena video and making fun of it the entire time.
Also, I had no idea at the popularity of the band. I agreed to "help out" not knowing a thing about the magnitude of the tour or band. I got to Nassau Coliseum one day of the last week of February and thus began about 6 months of experience not many get to have.
I toured the entire United States, Canada, Europe, UK, Scandinavia, Japan and Russia.

EDIT: 5/4/2008...
I found my "journal" of the experience on my computer while trying to find the exact tourdates and locations, which are these:

Feb 23rd- Nassau Coliseum Uniondale NY
24th-Hartford CT
25th- Philadelphia PA
26th- Cleveland OH
27th- off in Detroit
28th- Detroit MI

March- Got told i have a permanent job with MCR, so the next months are full of touring, here is the list:

March1st- Rosemont IL
2nd-Topeka KS
3rd-Lincoln NE
4th- Denver CO
5th- Off SLC UT
6th- West Valley UT
7th-Las Vegas NV
8th- Off Glendale AZ
9th- Glendale AZ
10th- Inglewood CA
11th-Anaheim CA
12th-OFF LA CA
13th-San Diego CA
14th-Fresno CA
15th- Oakland CA
16th- Reno NV
17th-Travel to England
18th- Arrive in Plymouth UK
19th- Production day Plymouth UK
20th- Plymouth UK
21st-Brighton UK
22nd-Birmngham UK
23rd-Travel to Paris France for a TV appearance
24th-Manchester UK
25th- Cardiff UK
26th- Nottingham UK
27th- Glasgow UK
28th- Day Off London UK
29th- London UK
30th- London UK
31st- Day Off Dublin Ireland

April 2007, still traveling overseas and working. At this point i am a Bass Tech and Keyboard tech. pretty easy, but long days.
April 1st- Dublin Ireland
2nd- London Uk Jonathan Ross Show
3rd- Cologne Germany
4th-Paris France
5th-day off Berlin
6th- Berlin
7th-Hamburg
8th- Easter day off Malmo Sweden
9th- Malmo Sweden
10th-Copenhagen Denmark
11th-Fly To Usa Houston TX
12th- Day off Houston TX
13th- Day off Houston TX
14th- Shows resume, Houston TX
15th- Dallas TX
16th- San Antonio TX
17th- day off pensacola FL
18th- Pensacola FL
19th- Tampa FL
20th- Orlando FL
21st- Orlando FL
22nd- Ft Lauderdale FL
23rd- DAY OFF DULUTH GA
24th- Atlanta GA
25th- NaN
26th- Charlotte NC
27th- Washington DC
28th- WILLIAMSBURG VIRGINIA
***After this show, all of Muses' crew and half of MCR and 13 crew members came down with severe food poisoning. So bad, many shows needed to be cancelled and many people actually were hospitalized between Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Luckily I didn't catch it, and had a few days off in a row. The first few days though, the production and stage and everything was set up according to a regular day schedule. We did it 3 days in a row, setting up the whole production, and tearing it down before we just all together cancelled shows up to the Bamboozle fest in NJ, but then cancelled the show after that and shows finally resumed in Worcester MA, but Muse headed back home to the UK, because their crew were still very sick. Circa Survive played the Worcester show instead.***
29th-State College PA CANCELLED
30th- scheduled day off Columbus Ohio

May 2007
1st- Columbus OH CANCELLED
2nd- Pittsburgh PA CANCELLED
3rd- Glens Falls NY- CANCELLED
4th- Reading PA- CANCELLED
5th- Newark NJ Bamboozle Fest Band headlines main stage. First show in 7 full days, Ray and Bob and Cortez are still very weak due to the food poisoning.
6th- Portland ME- CANCELLED
7th- Day Off Worcester MA
8th- SHOWS RESUME Worcester MA
9th- Montreal Quebec
10th- Ottawa ON
11th- Toronto ON
12th- London ON
13th- Day and a half drive to Winnepeg MB
14th Day off in Winnipeg Went to movies with Nate, Frey and Ivan and saw 28 Weeks later.
15th-Winnipeg MB after this show, i came down with a 24 hour virus and threw up multiple times on the bus on the way to the next show. It was the first time i threw up in about 10 years. the next show i had no energy and slept every possible minute, but i still did my job and made it through the night.
16th- Saskatoon SK
17th- Edmonton AB
18th- Calgary AB
19th- Day Off Vancouver BC
20th- Virgin Festival Vancouver
21st- Seattle Washington
22nd- Portland OR
23rd- FLY TO JAPAN.
24th- Arrival day in Tokyo Japan
25th- Music Station/ MTV awards rehersals Tokyo
26th- MTV Japan awards 2007 Tokyo
27th- Day Off Tokyo Japan
28th- Day Off Tokyo Japan
29th- Performance at Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan
30th- Fly 13hours to Frankfurt Germany
31st- Day Off Frankfurt Germany

JUNE 2007 This started the summer festival season
1st- Nuburgring GER
2nd - Nuremburg GER
3rd- Prague CZE
4th- Day Off Amsterdam
5th- Amsterdam Netherlands
6th- Day Off in London
7th- Jonathan Ross TV show @ BBC headquarters London
8th- Donnington UK
9th- Day Off London UK
10th- Fly to St. Petersburg Russia
11th- St. Petersburg Russia Show
12th- Fly to Moscow Russia
13th- Moscow Russia
14th- Fly to Venice Italy

15th-Venice Italy. *** During the set change right before MCR goes on, as people are moving set carts and things around, out of nowhere a whirlwind comes through directly through the festival grounds. Came from behind the stage and blew lights off of the trusses. The rain and wind ruined multiple pieces of gear and we had to cancel the next show in switzerland to re assess what we needed and get by the time we got to Wembley Stadium, for the biggest show of the tour. Sold out show supporting Muse.

16th- Cancelled Switzerland show
17th- Wembley Stadium opening for MUSE
18th- Travel to Paris France
19th- Show Paris FRA
20th-Bordeaux FRA
21st- Travel to Bilbao Spain
22nd- Bilbao Spain
23rd- Madrid SPA
24th- Lisbon Portugal
25th- Travel to Barcelona Spain
26th- Barcelona Spain
27th- Travel to Brussels Belgium
28th- Brussels Belgium
29th- Travel to Kristiansand Norway ( we get to take an 8 hour ferry ride from belgium to Norway)
30th- Arendel Norway

JULY 2007
1st- Gothenburg Sweden
2nd- Travel to Helsinki Finland
3rd- Helsinki Finland
4th- Dresden Germany Supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers
5th- Travel to Copenhagen Denmark
6th- Roskilde Denmark
7th- Balado UK

8th- Dublin Ireland *** right before MCR takes the stage, i tell Frank that this was going to be my last show working for MCR. I couldn't handle being away any more.

I started off working exclusively for Mikey Way and James Dewees, being a Bass/Keyboard tech. Then in mid April 2007, Mikey needed to leave for a while, and the guy, Matt Cortez, who was Fran Iero's guitar tech started filling in on bass while Mikey was gone. When this switch happened, Frank asked if i would tech for him as well, and, me being the nice guy i am, i obliged, so i spent 4 months teching and working for 3 band members. It got a little hectic here and there. Having the bass rig go silent mid song while the guys are playing Wembley Stadium, opening for Muse in a sold out venue with 75,000 people there....its stressful, i thought i was going to be fired that night. Franks pedals going out in texas and him ripping an Octave pedal off his pedalboard and throwing it into the crowd....that didnt accomplish anything.

Well...heres some pictures.

Flying to england for a 8 day sold out tour:

Manchester Evening News Arena 3/24/2007

Mikey Way.

The gear. Franks guitar rig on left, Mikeys bass on the left.

Frank reading a London newspaper article about his band while on the subway.

JAPAN.
This was the best place ive ever been. Hands down. I want to visit again. we had 2 full days off and were staying in an amazing hotel. People were so friendly, and polite. The culture is just so amazing....

Gigantic Grabby Game.

Me standing amongst the Japanese, in Shibuya, Japan.

Japanese vending machines rule.

Budokan Hall

Me waiting around to work...in japan...

RUSSIA.
They played 2 shows. St. Petersberg and Moscow. Kids were losing their minds. FUCK YOU IRON CURTAIN.

Moscow. Different world. Totally.

VENICE.
Heiniken Jammin Festival. A small freak tornado ripped through the festival grounds, right as we were changing over the stage for MCR to come on. I almost died. Seriously. A huge overhead light fell from the upper truss and fell a foot from me. Guitar rigs and keyboards were filled with water. Audio and spotlight towers collapsed and multiple people in the crowd got hurt.

Mike Frey, Ray Toro's guitar tech, doing his job.

LONDON. Opening for Muse at Wembley Staduim. 75,000 people

Muses' Production....they made a dvd for this show that came out recently. Its insane.

people watching Muse.

your band doesn't get glowing satellite dishes.

This was my view. Crowd just started coming in.

Updated the Tour itinerary up top. Here are some more pictures.

Lisbon, Portugal

This is me in Bilbao Spain, being a bummed out jerk.

ARENDEL, NORWAY

This is the view from my hotel room. It got dark for only 2 hours tops.

...another view from my room.

welcome to Norway, the tunnel after getting off the ferry from denmark.

Werchter Festival in Belgium

HELSINKI FINLAND.

Loading into the Helsinki Ice Hall

Me standing in some random woods in finland.

Waiting for our luggage in Finland

So, that will do it for now. Looking back at these pictures and thinking about the experience brings back many different feelings. But it was something i will never forget, and am totally lucky to have had the chance to do this.

Jim Connolly Interview

2008-04-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Jim circa August 2005

Jim Connolly Circa March 2008

Jim Connolly is one of my oldest friends. We've been roommates, co-workers, bandmates and most importantly close friends through it all. He is currently 1/4 of the Providence, RI based band Soul Control. I decided the other night that i
wanted to contribute something of substance to the online world. So, i decided that being i know neumerous friends involved in bands and the hardcore music scene, i'd take the oppourtunity to interview them. But not in the way most interviews go, more on a personal level. So, this is going to be my first installment of interviews of my close friends that are currently doing bands or something signficant, that i find worthy of interviewing them about. Here is a little background on me and Jim:

I met him in 2000ish. It was when Sean Murphy ( then singing for providence band What Feeds The Fire) called on myself, Jim and Anthony Amaral (also now in Soul Control) to fill in some voids of memebers who left WFTF.

(What Feeds The Fire in Utah, during their full us tour w/bane, hatebreed and Poison the well)

We practiced and it was perfect. We started hanging out, and one of the first times Jim and myself hung out was a trip to Foxwoods casino where i played 2-5 No-Limit Texas holdem with like$ 2,000 on the table and i think jim was playing 2-4 limit. I remember him saying that he couldnt concentrate on his own game becasue of the magnitude of the game i was in and how much money was at stake. Soon after we started hanging more and WFTF started playing shows and touring.

After WFTF had its run, a weird twist of fate and good timing lead to me moving into the apartment where he was living in providence with a couple other people. We still were trying to be involved with music, starting bands and it never really going anywhere, but the thing that remained constant was that Jim and Myself always remained friends, roomates and always involved in music, either going to shows and playing in bands, or just sitting in our living room listening to the Withcraft record "Firewood" for the first time, we've shared alot of good times.

So i decided to get some questions to him via email and have him put some persepctive on his band Soul Control and more depth behind his creative mind. Enjoy. Thanks Jim for taking it seriously.

Starting from the breakup of what feeds the fire to now, which was about 6 years, can you give a summary of your musical endeavors up to soul control?

basically just that one band with you. ever changing, ever evolving. diff names, diff styles but it was always me and you and whoever could play. started as "never" which was like a more metallic wftf then morphed into goat island which at first was a sludgier version of never. then we went instrumental and had more of a hum meets isis vibe. those few instrumental shows were real fun, especially that last one at as220. technically we never broke up?

Youve been into hardcore for a long time, coming up on the " old man hardcore" description, when and why did you get into it?

ya i'm 30 now, so i guess i'm officially old. i went to my first show in 1994. a month or two before then i was late for a field trip so i had to get on a bus that none of my friends were on. i sat with these dudes, they were cool even though i didn't know them. my high school was huge, you could easily not know people. we ended up hanging out that day and i rolled back with them on that bus. we kept hanging out, they would play me tapes and stuff. i remember them playing me burn and then inside out and then pointed at the rev logo and told me to just buy anything that has this star on it haha. they were always going to shows so eventually on my birthday they convinced me to go to one. they made me stagedive. it was a sam black church show with black train jack and i can't remember who else. i had a good time and said i was down to go to a show the next weekend. that show ended up being madball at babyhead in providence. needless to say my life was changed. from then on all i did was go to shows.

Soul Control. Richmond VA, July 2007

There was a point that you "got out of hardcore" why did you decide to become a british-rock/indie/shoegaze snob?

it was tough being in wftf man. you should remember that. seriously, we all fought so much. that one year of the hatebreed tour and all those shows and stuff burnt me out. near the end i would just sit behind the merch table sulking every show. i wasn't enjoying hardcore anymore, i felt like i was being forced to BE hardcore at that point. i donno, it was weird i just wasnt happy. after we broke up i only went to like 2 shows. one of which ended up being that bane show in ct where we "reunited." at the team neale gig, our last show, i wore an electric wizard shirt haha. i didn't become just a indie/shoegaze snob, at first i heavily immersed myself in stoner metal, which i still do. british music has always been a favorite of mine starting with the beatles when i was young. oasis was big with me and through them i found ride which led to all the other shoegaze stuff. i donno, hardcore will always be one of my favorite types of music but i obviously listen to alot of other stuff which leads you to calling me a snob haha. but yo, i may have seen belle and sebastian live 11 times but i've still seen madball more times than that.

Soul Control, Richmond VA July 2007

When did you decide that you wanted back into the world of hardcore, and being in vans and playing shows?

actually i didn't decide to get back into it, i accidentally did. i had started going to hardcore shows again albeit sparingly. it was really one show that did it, in fact it was that time that bedard was on the couch cuz you guys had gone to the woods and you guys got me to go to that bane show at the qvcc, remember that? i went nuts at that show, it was crazy. so many kids, lots of stagedives. kinda felt like a young kid again. then after their set i was standing around and this dude comes up to me and starts telling me how wftf was his fav band and that he models his own band after wftf and thanked me for doing the band. i was a little weirded out, but i said you're welcome man and told him to take his band farther than we did with wftf. then i asked him what band he was in and he goes "i sing in a band called have heart." i hadn't heard them, but i went home and checked em out online and sent him a message telling him i was sorry for not knowing who his band was but that i liked their songs. little did either of us know that a few months later that same band would be taking my new band on our first tour. so it was a combo of that bane show and talking to pat flynn that made me want to be more involved again.

as far as starting sc, that was a total accident. most people don't know that YOU were actually in and i wasn't. you on drums, eric on guitar, ant on guitar and mattdude on bass! you were revitalizing your old band skeleton flamethrower for fun. i would sit around and tell you guys when your riffs sucked. so basically i just sat around telling you guys you sucked ALL THE TIME cuz those songs sucked haha. mattdude would call me up and be like yo i'm not into this but i wanna hang with all you dudes again so i'm gonna still jam but i don't think we'll ever play a show. then you got the call to do either the reggie tour or the mcr tech gig and you had to leave for what was supposed to be one month. while you were gone ant asked me to help write some songs for the band, he'd play drums and then teach the drums to you when you got back. in about 15 mins we had written what became "dive". played it for the dudes, everyone got amped, matt wanted to sing over it and blamo...we were born. after telling you that we had started something else while you were gone and convincing ant we did NOT want to be called skeleton flamethrower we became sc and finished the demo and the rest is history. as far as getting back in the van and touring, that still surprises me cuz seriously i figured we'd maybe unload 25 demos and play like 2 local shows.

Soul Control, Corpus Christi TX August 2007

With soul control, you are the main writer of the music. What is your process of writing songs and what influences you the most, being for the past few years hardcore hasn't been your main focus of music?

i just sit in my bed and play around with my guitar. eventually i'll hit a chord i like and then build off that. after i find that one chord i'll usually mess with it till i have a whole song. i don't like presenting a song at practice until i have an entire song, its just how i roll. then at that practice eric will take it and add all his parts and basically color in the picture i drew. ant never needs much direction, he feels it out for a vibe and just goes with it. if anything we'll be like try hats instead of ride, but he usually has the beats on lock. as far as my influences in my writing i don't really see it shining through too much. the sc stuff sounds nothing like what i've been listening to since i've been in the band, thats for sure. if it did we'd sound like morrissey meets sonic youth or something haha. when i wrote the demo, which had some def "burn" parts i hadn't been listening to burn for a while. then some of the invo stuff had a quicksand vibe, which makes sense cuz when they wrote slip they were trying to write a shoegaze record and look what came out. so theres a similarity there, shoegaze. in this band i've never sat down and said "ok, i'm gonna write a song that sounds like this." i just strum around till a find a noise i like and go from there. what comes out after that is up to my hands.

Soul Control, Anaheim CA August 2007

Lets talk about gear for a minute...Whats your current setup/wishlist? IF you could have one guitarists setup, what would it be?

currently i use a 50w tube head through a couple of 2x15 cabs. our buddy the captain turned me onto 15's. i play pretty clean, so the 15's don't end up sounding muddy like you'd assume they would. my 2 guitars are my 83 sg special that i modded a bit and my 88 tele. the tele is my current live guitar, the sg is too fragile now. after a tour its so messed up from me flinging it everywhere when we play sometimes. i wrecked the neck, i prob need a reset and a fret job. the tele is a workhorse, it can take anything i throw at it. i love that thing. oh, if i could have one dudes setup, easy...jmascis.

Jim stoked to be doing merch at Sound and Fury 2007.

Tell me what Soul Control has accomplished since its initial creation?

a lot more than we planned. bunch of tours, i saw europe for the first time. couple records with another on the way. a lot of stuff i didn't think i'd ever accomplish musically, thats for sure.

Soul Control, Sound and Fury 2007

The rest of the guys in Soul Control are also older and come from a different school of hardcore and music, do you think the 4 of you have a different way of approaching the band, in comparison to most of the current hardcore bands?

not really. we might not be as "gung ho" as some younger kids i guess, we try to make smart decisions and not just jump at every offer there is. when i say smart i don't mean financially or anything, i mean smart as in we can stay sane enough to keep doing this. we did some long tours last year, europe especially and we got tired. we don't want to stop touring, so we figure just making them shorter is a good solution. thats one example of what i'm trying to say.

Soul Control, Carlsbad Beach August 2007

One show. 4 bands, living/dead/together/broken up. Who would they be and where would they play.

ugh, i hate these things. not because its hard, but its just weird. i donno. cuz like obviously i'd wanna see the beatles but at the time that they played out they hadn't written the songs i'd wanna hear ya know? is time travel involved? like a bill and ted type deal where i could go and pick people up and then make them play at my high school aud? i'm gonna go with that scenario. i want disraeli era cream to play and leave their backline on stage for me to oogle at. vauxhall era morrissey. pre noel worship ride, maybe using creams gear. normally i'd def go sabbath, but cream and ride would be loud enough and i'd want another chill band. prob belle and sebastian with isobell doing stuff from the first 3 records and some beatles covers to take care of the beatles thing. see why i hate these things? see what i do to myself thinking about em? ask me tomorrow, guaranteed diff 4 bands.

I think the exact quote was, " Dude, get me flipping off Japan." Carlsbad Beach, August 2007

Tell me what you are stoked about recently, in Music and in life in general.

hardcore wise, the new verse, the new blacklisted and ceremony and trash talk. i love a bunch of the bands we play with, but as far as core on my ipod goes, those are the ones that get the plays. outside of that i'm on a big jesus lizard thing right now, prob from working with lex. lots of nirvana, sonic youth and mudhoney. in europe g from blacklisted made me want to get stoked on cat power, so i've been listening to a lot of her. dinosaur jr is big, especially with me and zak. why do you gotta make me talk about music man, its all i do so it's all i'm gonna talk about.

...and this one was " Dude, lets flip off a gorge!" Devils Canyon, Utah August 2007

Whats your take on the tv show Lost. Give me your theory.

i'm back into it. seriously i hated season 3 to the point where i almost didn't even wanna watch this season. but they are doing a good job. i think whats unraveling is some time travel stuff. if not time travel some extremely high speed travel that messes with the space time continuum. like magnetic fields man, magnetic fields opening worm holes and stuff. i watch a lot of alien tv shows and it's all about magnetic fields.

Give everyone an idea of what its like to be in a hardcore band these days. Knowing you take care of most of the organizing and writing and merch and designing stuff, it must get a little stressful.

yea, sc is pretty much my job even though it makes me mad alot. i do all the mailorder which can get tiring but at the same time how can i not be stoked that all these people want stuff? like today i spent my day off packing up like 75 packages. then i did some work on organizing our summer. at some point i gotta sit down with my guitar and write some more for the sc record. it gets stressfull when i'm booking shows and designing merch, then dealing with the merch debt and all that. i donno, its a lot of work but its worth it because i love the band and it's what i wanna do in my life right now.

Soul Control, Atlanta GA, July 2007

With your constantly changing musical ideas and direction, what should people expect from Soul Control on the new record?

hmm. well its a little heavier. not in a chuga chugga sense, but just an overall heaviness. noisier, a little more melody. it varies from song to song, but it all fits into place as an album. its cohesive, at least we think it is. the burn and quicksand comparisons will def end, but you could kind of tell that if you listen to the progressions through the record. you could see where we were headed. i think its the next logical step. we're never going to put out something that sounds like the previous release. thats boring. i'm gonna assume some people might not like that, they'll say the demo was better or whatevs, but we can't just do the same thing over and over. we'd get bored and break up. the first 5 songs on invo sound nothing like the demo if you think about it, but they all fit together well, especially live. these new songs will fit right in live.

Soul Control, Lexington South Carolina, July 2007

Lastly, tell me how hard it was to be serious through this interview.

honestly, it wasn't hard. i was initially just gonna do a bunch of jokes that only we'd understand but they were better questions than we normally get. finally an interview where i didn't have to say "ummm, we're NOT a religous band...have you ever actually read the lyrics?" thats it though, i'm done. fly home and make me pancakes.

Anthony (L) and Jim (R) Sound and Fury 2007

All photos except the What Feeds the Fire group picture were taken by me, Rich Gaccione.
Thanks for looking, and please visit again in a couple weeks for another interview/photo update with Sean Murphy from Verse.

I love to cook. Pancakes mostly.

2008-04-27T14:27:00.001-07:00

As with every day off, this morning i made vegan pancakes. Today they were Chocolate chip and banana flavor with berry jam.
( canon 30d with 50mm 1.8 lens)

Recipe :
1 cup white or pastry flour ( pastry flour makes them more thick and dense, kinda more cake-like)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup of soy milk ( i use the Silk "very vanilla" kind)

to make em peanut butter:

add at least 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter ( little more wont hurt)
also add 1/2 cup more soy milk so the mix retains consistency

also add vegan chocolate chips, bananas, any sort of tasty shit...it works.

mix all the stuff together till not lumpy
pre heat a skillit and melt a little bit of vegan butter or small bit of veg oil to coat pan
keep heat low, as to not burn them
cook first side till the middle bubbles through, flip cook 2nd side about 1-2 mins total.

done.
eat.

Sunburned. Family. Awesome.

2008-04-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

Nighttime picture. Taken from the front of the cruise ship.
St. Thomas US Virgin Islands.
St. Thomas Sapphire Beach.
My Legs buring. My little cousin Jack in the foreground there having a blast being a little kid at the beach.

This trip made me miss my family more than ever, and was a totally awesome experience, aside from the sunburn and jetlag.

2008-04-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

From L to R : Rob Flynn, Me, Vinnie Paul.
Ceremony @ Chain Reaction.

so instead of myspace, facebook, flickr and any other website that ive tried to avoid in the past, i've resorted to this, "blog". Im trying to keep it photography based, but im sure ill make posts about completely random things as well.

The Beginning

2008-03-10T23:01:00.001-07:00

Ceremony
Witchcraft
Ceremony
Have Heart
Go It Alone.
Trash Talk. Epic Lounge. Downey, California.