 |
Sometimes Updated Daily! Bookmark so you don't miss a thing! |
|
Come on In, The Water's Fine
No Lifeguard On Duty!
Big Dark Cloud
Links that Rock
BandHammer
Bands that Rock
AC/DC
Lists That Rock
80s Rock/Metal
Where To Rock
Arco Arena
Sponsors
|
January 29 - Reader Mail!
How freakin' cool is that? I've also received email from people who've gone out in search of Ironbeer, and tried it just based on my endorsement. The power of the internet amazes me sometimes... Oh well. If you're in Canada (or in another country that can legally visit Cuba), please consider buying a ton of this stuff on vacation so Bill and his family can make out like bandits. I'd suggest that we go in and overthrow the Cuban government to force freedom upon them, but that scenario hasn't exactly worked out like we'd planned in the past... And it doesn't seem like something we should do just so I can get a case of soda. Either way, I completely support Ironbeer and thank Bill for taking time out to visit my stupid website and offer up some fine family refreshment. In the meantime, be sure to walk past the Coca Cola display in your local supermarket and take a few steps back - Ironbeer isn't the easiest soft drink to find, but it's worth your effort. Moving on, I also got this:
Well, Vic, there's some bad news for you - it's out of print and pretty tough to find. If you hurry, there's one up for auction on ebay. Let me know if you win it. If not, I'll see what else I can do. It's a decent cd and worth checking out, but in all honesty, the first one was the best one. Don't pay too much for "That's the Stuff". This also arrived:
You want to look hot? I suggest a wool sweater. If that's not hot enough, wear a leather jacket over it and be sure to jump around. Trust me - you'll look REALLY hot. And last but certainly not least, this arrived:
Just goes to show... you never know who's reading. Adding confirmed visits from celebrities and from people much higher on the social food chain than I am is cool. Anyone else out there I should know about? |January 28 - We don't need no education. I actually turned in the lyrics to "The Trooper" when instructed to find a poem and bring it back for class discussion. Needless to say, my 10th grade honors English teacher was not impressed. Of course, she couldn't really specify what I had done "wrong", other than to chastise me in front of the class for daring to bring in a heavy metal song's lyrics for a class assignment. (Hey, I thought we were analyzing poems, sentence structure, verbal imagery, etc...) She really let me have it, and failed me. Thus began my decline out of the honors program. It should also be mentioned that this same teacher also chose to single me out for my tendency to march to the beat of different (and louder) drummers on many other occasions. While reading "Lord Of the Flies", we had a discussion about a chapter entitled 'Painted Faces and Long Hair'. As explained by her, the symbolism of the chapter was demonstrated by the concept of men growing their hair long and becoming more savage. She actually asked, rhetorically, "Can anyone explain exactly how long hair shows a descent from civilization? Hmmm... Is there anyone in the class with long hair who would like to explain how it symbolizes an intellectual and societal decline into savagery? James?" Of course, I was the only male in the class (and one of the few in the school) who dared to try to grow my hair out. The rest of the class got a chuckle at my expense, courtesy of my "teacher". But I sat stone faced and silent. Though every bit of me truly wanted to just shout "Fuck You", I was still an insecure 15 year old who had been publically humiliated in front of all of my peers during my formative years by a person of "authority". I knew that just walking out was impractical. But I wasn't gonna sink to her level, or let the class' laughter affect me - I mentally withdrew from the class that day. On Halloween, I dressed as Gene Simmons. I came to school with a black wig, painted face, leather pants, and the works. This same teacher told me to wash my face and take off my wig. I refused. This showdown quickly turned into another session of public namecalling, and cold glances. But I still refused to back down. Every time she threatened me, I ignored her. I didn't say one word in that class for the rest of the year. I didn't go to the principal's office, I didn't even speak to her. I sat and took her abuse, daydreaming about being anywhere else. You know, after that class, I didn't read a book from cover to cover until long after college. To this day I dislike reading fiction and hold both teachers and the public school system in contempt. And I was an avid reader until then, and would like to think that I'm at least reasonably intelligent and well-mannered - certainly not deserving of unsolicited abuse. I'm far past my high school years, but those memories still sting quite a bit. Though I'm glad that I developed a thick skin to the criticisms of others and could care less what other people think about me, it still hurts to revisit that class. I wonder if that teacher even had a clue that she forever ruined reading for me, and also wonder how many other kids were subject to the same humiliation that I was. Part of me really wants to find her and tell her as much. But the rest of me really has better things to do - I just bought some KISS dvds and dug up an Iron Maiden cd. I win. |January 26 - Happy Birthday Mom! January 25 - Behind... Sometimes it's fun to be able to see the world through the same eyes I used when I was 14. |January 21 - This is why America kicks ass.  Can't you just hear a breathy laugh? "Huh huh huh... Being president is cool..." But this isn't 'ol Dubya's first venture into my evil world. I've still got the promo poster from his movie:  Note to self - using old bad Photoshops is cool because it doesn't cost me extra money to host another new image... |January 20 - Random stuff. 2) It's cool to be able to drive with the top down on my car. It's also cool to be able to shower, shake my head, and go about my business without budgeting 2 hours in the morning for self-beautification. But I spent some time at the beach over the past few weeks, and, well... I've been called a "redneck" before. But now I've got a neck that hadn't seen the sun since Metallica made a good album, suddenly exposed to tropical rays. Oh well... 3) I've spent hundreds of dollars on stuff for my cats. They have everything that I'd want if I were a cat - padded shelves fastened to windowsills, multi-tiered furniture inside and outside, flowing water fountains, and quality catnip that could probably give Nikki Sixx a contact high. But the toy of choice for those privileged pets? A friggin' stick. 4) Why is American Idol still on the air? After the first show of the season, there's really no need to watch it. Here's a spoiler for the rest of the season - bad singers make asses out of themselves for a studio hack, an English prick, and a talentless bimbette. Then, at the end of the season, the "winner" makes a paint-by-numbers album of schlocky, midtempo, corporate-owned pop, featuring NO songs written by the performer. Terrible. 5) Ironbeer is the greatest soft drink ever. It's actually sweetened with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and has a hint of island spice inside. Just don't tell anyone in the government that it's from Cuba, lest you end up rotting in a jail cell for violating the trade embargo... 6) Sorry for taking so long between updates - but it'll probably happen again sometime. That's what you get for following a free website. As penance, there'll be something that should make a lot of you laugh very hard. I sure did. Right after the tears and anguish, that is... |January 9 - Here's the news... Anyhow, for the past several years, I've reigned benevolently as the King of 80s Metal. This is not a title I've casually bestowed upon myself, I've worked very hard to ensure that the musical, cultural, and historical contributions of everyone associated with the 80s metal scene are not forgotten. Furthermore, I've dedicated a lot of time and money to share even my more current experiences with the scene, bringing bad pics of all of our favorite musical guilty pleasures in concert from week to week. And to pat myself on the back, I think I've done an outstanding job of spreading around the music and making sure that you've all had opportunities to see what some of your old favorites are still doing today. But the bands I grew up enjoying didn't earn the term "Hair bands" for nothing. So having spent the past several years spreading the music around, I felt it necessary to make the ultimate sacrifice. I've already passed around the music. Now it's time to share the hair.    That's right, I cut off my hair and donated it to Locks of Love, a charity dedicated to providing hairpieces for children who lose their hair due to medical conditions. It's something I'd been considering for a while, but I wanted to make sure it happened with the best possible outcome for everyone (and also had to make sure that my donation would be received, as I was unable to deliver it in person). Locks Of Love also accepts financial donations to assist with the creation of their hairpieces, so if anyone else out there would care to contribute (and I'd love for you to do so), it's possible. Essentially, I'm proud to announce the addition of another charitable organization that can be added to the list of organizations that have been featured here over the years. It's important to give back, especially when you've been as blessed as I've been in my life. For a refresher, I've added a list of the charities and organizations that have either helped me, or that I've found it in my heart to support. And yes, to answer your question, I do feel very naked without my hair. It'll take a long time to get it back. But I'm lucky enough to have the chance to get it back when I want it. There are a lot of children who aren't so lucky, so if you're able, please consider a donation to Locks Of Love. |January 7 - Idiot Plus Afternoon Off Equals...  This was stupid purchase number 1. It's a 24-fret Jackson Dinky Strat with Seymour Duncan pickups. It also has a paint job that I'd never seen before, and sounded really cool when I tried to play Dokken riffs. Was that good enough? Well, I took a few more steps down and saw...  This was stupid purchase number 2. It's also a Jackson, but a Randy Rhoads model with active pickups. Crazy Train never sounded so, well, crazy. Which brings me to yet enother big stupid project in the name of rock n roll... I might get to sit in with an actual 80s metal band, to be named if everything works out. The guitar player for said band works in the music store on occasion (they all do...), and for some reason, didn't think I totally suck while I was road testing the guitars. Hey, I'm new in town so I haven't been booed off of any stages out here! Might be fun. Of course, by mentioning even that much here, it's guaranteed to either (a) blow up in my face or (b) not happen... But I didn't want anyone to think that I'm turning into some kind of Gene Simmons wannabe, always mentioning vague projects but never offering any specifics, lending crediblilty to theories that I'm just sitting around with hookers and blow instead of working on anything... My projects might not be big and glamorous, and a lot of them fail, but at least I actually pull 'em off on occasion. But believe it or not, that's NOT the "surprising" project I mentioned earlier... |January 6 - Clean Bill of Health! Now give me some damn coffee before someone gets hurt... |January 5 - Playlist updated! There's also some stuff from Jetboy and Loudness you might have missed back in the day. For the folks who tire of my glam crapola and occasionally crave something a little meatier, I added some stuff from Anthrax and Megadeth. More meat will be added on occasion as I convert songs from my collection into playable format. Want to hear anything in particular? Email me and let me know! |January 4 - Like this'll surprise anyone... Provided, of course, that my lil' heart doesn't explode in the meantime... |January 3 - Kickstart my heart... Anyhow, I was diagnosed with heart palpitations and arrhythmia. That's actually not entirely bad news. I thought I was having a heart attack when the first wave hit. So I spent some time hooked up to fancy machines, with needles sticking out of my arm. On the bright side, I've got this big bruise right where the needles went in, so at least I kinda know how Nikki Sixx felt during the 80s. Well, except for the euphoria part. And I have to give up caffeine and eat rabbit food while I wait for test results to come back. I also have to avoid heavy exercise, try to relax (I didn't know that life in Margaritaville was stressful), and get lots of rest. Then I go back for more tests to see if I really do have some super cool, multi-syllabic condition derived from Latin. But at least I'll have a hell of an excuse for skipping updates this week if I up and croak... |January 2 - This never gets boring. I should probably get back to work around here... But holiday fun takes priority over updating this website. For the most part, no one has pissed me off for a while, and adventures worthy of mention here at Casa James have been few and far between as of late. So I've been concentrating on overating, making very strong margaritas, and wearing shorts instead. Football will also occur this afternoon, as my beloved Miami Dolphins play their last game of the season today. So do my beloved Chicago Bears, but I can't get that station here. Oh well. Island life *IS* all it's cracked up to be. But rest assured, there are projects in the works to keep justifying your visits here. Just this week, there will be another overhaul of the FJ Radio playlist, book and cd reviews, updates to the Concert Pics gallery, and some other exclusives that you'll just have to wait to see. One of them might even be funny... Speaking of exclusives, word on the street is that Paris Hilton will be releasing an "original" cd. Being such devout fans of Ms Hilton's, um, "work", the FJ.com team knew that we couldn't rest until we'd gotten the scoop! Here's the cover art of the upcoming cd:  Of course, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, the cover art may be changed to preserve the surprise that fans of the talented and hardworking "singer" would expect. | |
Turn It Up!
Hit The Beach
Support: E.S.I.A.
|
