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Dream Theater Parasomnia Album Review
The Progressive Metal band Dream Theater released their 16th studio album Parasomnia, on February 7 of this year (2025).
For Dream Theater fans, this is a treat because Mike Portnoy, the original drummer and co-founder, is back!!!!
He left Dream Theater in 2010 to pursue other musical ventures, while the band (James LaBrie on vocals, John Petrucci on guitar, John Myung on bass, and Jordan Rudess on keyboards) carried on with drummer Mike Mangini for 5 studio albums and a few live albums.
A few years ago, Portnoy saw Dream Theater as a fan for the first time, worked with Petrucci and Rudess on another album by their instrumental band Liquid Tension Experiment (LTE for short), then worked with Petrucci on one of his instrumental solo albums and did the tour.
Sometime during that period, the decision was made for Portnoy to return to Dream Theater.
This new album, Parasomnia, is the result of this reunion with Portnoy back on drums.
If you are a Dream Theater fan, you should really enjoy this.
It’s very heavy, but also has plenty of progressive music, intricate parts, great singing, long songs, and even one ballad.
It’s a great album to listen to if you are a diehard Dream Theater fan, and it’s a great album for any new Dream Theater fans.
This may not be your cup of tea, but if it is, get it!! It’s great.
Welcome back Mike Portnoy!!!! Hopefully this is the lineup for the rest of their career, which I thought it would be until it wasn’t in 2010.
But I’m glad the band carried on, and I love a lot of what Portnoy did outside of the band, but nothing against Mike Mangini, but this is Portnoy’s gig and I’m very glad he’s back.
Carry on guys!!
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My Girlfriend Mariah and My Fantasticon Experience
My girlfriend Mariah and I went to Fantasticon in Toledo, Ohio.
We met Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Navy Seals, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Tombstone, The Rock, The Magnificent Seven TV series, The Walking Dead, The Mandalorian), and his wife Jennifer Blanc Biehn (Dark Angel, Party of Five, The Brady Bunch Movie), Donald Gibb (Bloodsport, Bloodsport 2, Revenge of the Nerds), and Mark J. Pillow (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).
All were very kind and gracious.
I had met Michael once before in 2019 and he said it was nice to meet me again.
I told Michael that Mariah and I both love his movie Tombstone, and he said that movie turned out really well.
Mariah was just getting his autograph, but I wanted to get a selfie of the three of us together (Jennifer told us since we were doing that that we didn’t have to pay as much. Thanks for that!!). Also, the sign at Michael and Jennifer’s table said it cost extra for Michael to write a quote on a picture, but it did not cost any extra. Again thanks for that!!
Thank you Michael and Jennifer soooo much.
Donald Gibb could not have been nicer. He said he appreciated the fans and that without us fans people like him would not be here. I thanked him a bunch.
Mark J. Pillow again was very kind and gracious too.
I told Mark how much I love the Superman IV movie and he said he loves it too.
I asked him why Gene Hackman’s (R.I.P.) voice was used instead of Mark’s in the movie and Mark said that it was just decided to use Gene’s voice since his character Lex Luthor created Mark’s character Nuclear Man.
I also asked him about Gene Hackman and he said he was a joy to work with and just be around and have lunch with.
And I asked Mark about working with Christopher Reeve (R.I.P.) and Mark said that Christopher was great but very busy.
Mark also appreciated my shirt I was wearing (Cannon Films, which produced and distributed Superman IV along with Warner Brothers).
There were other cool guests there too, but Mariah really wanted to meet Michael and I wanted to meet Michael and Jennifer, Donald, and Mark and we did!!
We weren’t there for too long, but we had a fun time.
Thank you everyone for your kindness, all the selfies and autographs (thanks Mark for the picture of me and you on your page, which I included here also, hope you don’t mind) and Fantasticon for this great time.
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Bob Daisley For Facts Sake Book Review
Bassist Bob Daisley has done it all.
For many music fans, they know him as the bassist on many of Ozzy Osbourne’s biggest albums, but many may not know that Bob wrote many of Ozzy’s lyrics and he played in other bands before and after working with Ozzy.
If you are a music fan, this is a MUST READ book.
Bob tells it all. Not necessarily dishing dirt, but just tells the truth.
He played in the bands/artists Kahvas Jute, Widowmaker, Chicken Shack, Rainbow, The Blizzard Of Ozz (what Ozzy’s group was supposed to be called), Uriah Heep, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, and more.
But as I said, many know of his work with Ozzy.
He wrote the lyrics on all of the albums he worked on with Ozzy and was the bassist.
There have been efforts to try to discredit him for some of his work, but you cannot argue with the truth, and that is: Bob Daisley is an extremely important person in the career of Ozzy Osbourne (who I am a fan of too).
I don’t want to say too much because I’ll be giving it away, but I’ll just say read the book because Bob tells all.
He talks about working with Lee Kerslake (another hugely important person in Ozzy’s career), Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, and many others he has worked with including Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio (I did not know he briefly played in the Dio band for a short run of tour dates), Cozy Powell, Gary Moore, Jon Lord, and so many more.
He has tons of pictures throughout the book too. My gosh it’s worth getting just for the pictures.
As a music fan, reading the story of him being around the Led Zeppelin guys and ultimately getting all of their autographs on their Led Zeppelin IV album to give to his sister for Christmas is phenomenal to me.
Bob has so many stories (this book is set up like a big coffee table book but is so easy and great to read) so I cannot say enough: GET THIS BOOK! You will not regret it.
Rock on Bob.
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Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review
I went to see the latest Marvel movie, Captain America: Brave New World, at my local theater on Saturday morning of February 15.
Anthony Mackie plays Captain America in this very good action movie/political thriller.
After going on a mission to recover a package, Captain America is being asked by The President Of The United States (played once again by one of my favorite actors ever Harrison Ford) to restart The Avengers.
However, an assassination attempt on The President thwarts this idea because the person who seemingly attempted to kill The President is one of Captain America’s closest friends.
However, more is going on here than appears.
Spoiler alert: mind control is involved and even The President is not exactly how he appears to be (Red Hulk).
As I said, this is a very good action movie but also a political thriller within a Marvel Comics superhero movie, which I find quite entertaining and refreshing.
Anthony Mackie is great. Harrison is awesome as always, and even though he’s not a completely likeable guy, he’s not totally bad either.
Giancarlo Esposito also has a small, but good part as a villain.
I’m not up on all my superhero stories, but I really enjoyed this movie.
I cannot recommend it enough.
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Eric Roberts Runaway Train Or The Story Of My Life So Far Book Review
Eric Roberts may bet the busiest actor on Earth.
He is constantly working and I mean that.
Movies (Runaway Train, King Of The Gypsies, Star 80, Best Of The Best 1 and 2, The Specialist The Dark Knight, The Expendables and soooo much more), TV (In Cold Blood, Less Than Perfect. Heroes, Suits, Grey’s Anatomy, and soooo much more), music videos (appearing in videos by The Killers, Mariah Carey, Rhianna, and more) reality shows (Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Dancing With The Stars), everything.
He’s even an author now.
Eric released his autobiography, “Runaway Train Or The Story Of My Life So Far”, written w/Sam Kashner, on September 27 of 2024.
In the book, Eric talks about many things.
His childhood, his relationships with his family (particularly his father and sisters, including his other famous younger sister Julia), starting acting as a kid and moving to NY to continue acting, many projects he’s done and his thoughts on them, his battles with substances, marriages (And how cats caused the end of one marriage. Read the book and you’ll understand.), stories about people he has worked with and learned from, an example of a week schedule in his life, and so much more.
Sorry that was a lot, but there is a lot in this book.
I really like Eric Roberts. He, like everyone is not perfect and he admits that, but I like him. I think he’s cool.
If you are a fan or just want to read a quick, but detailed book about a great talent and cool person, then read this book.
I hope I can meet Eric someday at a personal appearance because he does those too.
If you ever read this sir, just know I have all the respect in the world for you and I wish you well always.
Oh and when bought this book at a book store, it was already signed by Eric!! Thank you sir!!
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Becoming Led Zeppelin Movie Review
One of my best friends, Kevin Montavon, and I went to see a documentary/movie about one of the biggest and greatest bands ever: Led Zeppelin.
The film, called Becoming Led Zeppelin, chronicles the members of the band, singer Robert Plant, guitarist/producer/leader Jimmy Page, bassist/organist/multi-instrumentalist/arranger John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham, before they became the band.
The members themselves tell the story. Plant, Page, and Jones were interviewed in 2018 and the Bonham interview was archived somewhere for decades and was not heard until this film was about to get put together.
The guys really tell their story. About their upbringings, how they got into music, early bands they were in and early recordings they made, the formation of the band Led Zeppelin, the recording and writing of the first two albums and their concert tours.
This is a great film not to be missed by any Zeppelin or rock music fan all around the world.
My only complaint, like everyone else I’m sure, is that I wish it chronicled the rest of the band’s career.
But the title, Becoming Led Zeppelin, says it all.
Hopefully there will be another film chronicling the rest (I know the guys were interviewed plenty so hopefully there will be more.), but either way, this is a great piece of film, and up to this point, the only true authorized documentary/film involving the band.
And when you watch this film, you can tell how proud the guys are of their work and of their time being together when they were. And they should be proud.
I love this band and I wish I could time travel back to see them at any and every tour they did.
I’ve seen Robert Plant twice in concert, John Paul Jones in concert 3 times, and the son of John Bonham, Jason in concert, 6 times. I’ve sadly never seen Jimmy Page in concert or in person period, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to, but hey, I’ll keep hoping. I do have his autograph, though, as well as John Paul Jones’ and Jason Bonham’s autographs.
They are arguably the greatest band ever, and I would not disagree with that.
See this film!!!!!
Every member of Led Zeppelin is phenomenal.
All of their albums are phenomenal.
Led Zeppelin is phenomenal.
Great documentary/film, but I hope there will be more.
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Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica Book Review
Metallica ultimately became probably the biggest heavy metal band ever, but like all bands, they started small.
This book Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica, written by music journalist Mick Wall, came out in 2011 and it chronicles pre-band days of members growing up, how the band got started, and a lot of other times from then on up to 2010.
Metallica are still growing strong in 2025, and to quote music journalist Lonn Friend “they are the Led Zeppelin of this generation”. Lonn said this in the 90s, but I believe he is correct.
Who knew that a band that heavy would ultimately become the biggest band out of the music scene they came out of, and really became a U2 level size band.
But they did it and they did it by working very hard and with a lot of luck and great timing.
Sadly, not everyone made it through the whole thing. Bassist Cliff Burton tragically passed away in a band bus accident in 1987. Original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who later formed the great metal band Megadeth, was fired in 1983, and bassist Jason Newsted quit after 14 years of being in the band in 2001.
But three out of the four core members, singer/songwriter/rhythm guitarist/occasional lead guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett are still there, and bassist Robert Trujillo has been in the band for almost 22 years as of this writing.
And through all the ups and downs (going through therapy and rehab) and controversies among fans (the band cutting their hair and eventually making different sounding albums, especially in the 90s, fighting against Napster and ultimately fans who used Napster), Metallica have ultimately stayed strong, still make what I think are very good albums, and still are playing stadiums and frankly don’t need an opening act to sell that many tickets, but they still have openers and usually are great ones.
Not many bands can play stadiums, but Metallica can.
And they do it very well.
They’ve earned their success and this book chronicles all of this.
It’s not an official autobiography, but Mick Wall, the author, has interviewed most of the band members over the years and has used quotes from said interviews, along with quotes from other people who knew/know them and he put together what I consider to be an almost official autobiography.
My only complaint is that he puts his opinion in the book sometimes too much, but otherwise, it’s a great book and I highly recommend it.
I’ve been a Metallica fan for over 25 years and I always will be.
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Anvil The Story Of Anvil Movie Review
Anvil The Story Of Anvil is a documentary/movie that was made in the mid-2000s.
It chronicles the band Anvil, who have been around since the late 1970s and have made several albums.
Unfortunately, they never got to be huge.
They’ve always had their fan base and never stopped, but never quite got over the hump and became a household name and huge band.
As it turns out, a fan of theirs from the 80s who became a friend also, Sacha Gervasi, later went on to become a screenwriter for movies (including The Terminal) and he got back in touch with the singer/guitarist from Anvil, Steve “Lips” Kudlow.
Gervasi came up with the idea of filming the band, which also includes drummer Robb Reiner (no not the actor/director) and then bassist Glenn Five and guitarist Ivan Hurd and making a documentary movie about them.
This movie shows the band playing many places, sometimes with decent crowds, other times not so much, and getting screwed out of getting paid many times, and sometimes not even having proper transportation between shows.
It also shows the band, Lips and Robb in particular who formed the band and made a pact at 14 that they would rock together forever, getting back in touch with an old colleague, music producer Chris Tsangarides (rest in peace) and they agree they will make another album together. Although Lips and Robb have to come up with the money to make it too so they can own it, which is also chronicled in this movie.
It shows the internal struggles in the band while making this album, struggling to shop it around to different record labels, and ultimately, the album got shopped around enough to where Anvil got an opening slot on a huge Japanese festival called Loud Park, showing the band in all their glory rocking out to a big crowd.
There is a lot in this movie that has to be seen to be believed.
And I know some or many who have seen Anvil The Story Of Anvil believe it to be like the movie This Is Spinal Tap, and that it’s not real.
Believe me: It is real!!
And it must be seen.
It’s been out for many years now, and luckily, the movie was a big success and ultimately catapulted Anvil up enough to where they have been able to make a living finally with their music and have not had to work day jobs ever again.
No they didn’t make it to Led Zeppelin’s level of success, but they have done well.
And I’m glad they have been able to get to the level that they have.
Because they have worked hard and they are a good, solid band.
Check out their albums.
And please check out this movie.
Again, it’s called Anvil The Story Of Anvil.
I have two DVD releases of it.
The original and a re-release with even more bonus features.
And I’m sure it’s able to stream too.
Rock on Lips and Robb!!!
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Flight Risk Movie Review
I went to see the movie Flight Risk, which was released a week ago.
It stars Mark Wahlberg as a hitman posing as just a pilot out to get this government witness (played by Topher Grace) from testifying against someone.
Grace is being taken from Alaska to New York by a U.S. Marshal (played by Michelle Dockery) and let’s just say it’s a wild ride.
I really enjoyed this movie.
Wahlberg initally plays a pilot but his character goes from being very friendly and maybe even annoyingly friendly to being very dark and menacing.
Very well directed by Mel Gibson (regardless of his controversy, he’s a great filmmaker), Flight Risk is a very good thriller, keeping you guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout.
Go see it.
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A Rare Treat: Seeing Rickey Medlocke Sing and Play Blackfoot Songs, as well as some Lynyrd Skynyrd Rarities!!
- Date of Concert: Friday, January 24, 2025
- Location of Concert: Plaza Theatre in Glasgow, KY
- Opener: Peacemaker
Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Rickey Medlocke (Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd) has been making music and touring the world for more than 50 years.
His work with Blackfoot is forever classic rock in my opinion!!
He is also a classic member of Lynyrd Skynyrd (he was their drummer for awhile before going back to Blackfoot) and later rejoined Skynyrd as one of their guitarists and has been there ever since, still making great new music with them and touring everywhere.
Lynyrd Skynyrd takes up a lot of Rickey’s time, but in the last few years, Rickey put together his own band, appropriately named The Rickey Medlocke Band, so that he could occasionally do shows outside of Skynyrd and showcase more of his music, namely Blackfoot.
He also has recorded two new songs, both released in 2024, that are very good.
They are called “Never Run Out Of Road” and “Rise Again”. Check them out they’re great.
Anyway, I got to see one of these rare shows by The Rickey Medlocke Band and I have to say it blew me away!!
Rickey owns the Blackfoot name and several years ago, started forming groups using the Blackfoot name to let them go out and play the music for people.
I got to see one of those shows a few years ago too, and as great and fun as that was, nothing beats the originals.
I’ve read of bad blood between other members of Blackfoot towards Rickey and I’m sorry about that, but as a fan of everyone, I’m glad that Rickey is sort of taking the mantle up once again and giving these great songs a proper live experience.
His band, which also includes guitarists Mark Woerpel and Mark Westlund, bassist Johnny Keyte, drummer Steve Soderstrom, and Rickey’s wife Stacy Michelle on backing vocals and occasional lead vocals, is super loud and tight.
Rickey is as great as he’s ever been on vocals and guitar.
He also plays some Skynyrd songs (a couple he played acoustically for the first time ever at this show), other covers, and has played the new songs too but it’s mostly Blackfoot songs, which is fine with me.
I don’t intend to see very many shows in 2025, but this one was a big deal to me because as a Blackfoot fan, seeing Rickey sing/play these songs the way they should be sung and played is the best.
Thank you so much sir for all the great music you have made and continue to make.
Rock on always.
Oh and the opening band, Peacemaker, out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, were very good and rocking too.
They very much sound like a 1970s “Southern Rock Band” in the vein of Skynyrd, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, which is a great thing.
Seek them out also.
The Rickey Medlocke Band Set List:
- Sittin’ On Top Of The World
- Rollin’ And Tumblin’
- Fly Away
- Every Man Should Know
- Road Fever
- Railroad Man
- Guitar Slinger’s Song And Dance
- Fox Chase
- Left Turn On A Red Light
- Southern Native
- 30 Days In The Hole (sung by Stacy Michelle)
- Wishing Well
- Needle And The Spoon
- Simple Man (Acoustic)
- White Dove (Acoustic-First time ever played live!!)
- The Seasons (Acoustic-First time ever played live!!)
- Highway Song/Train Train/Highway Song continued
- Encore: Whiskey Train
Peacemaker Set List:
- One Step Behind
- Hittin’ The Road
- Jodie
- Cajun Woman
- On The Hunt (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
- Battleground
- Straight Out Tha Bottle
- Down By The Riverside
- Comin’ Home
- Ballad Of The Peacemaker
- Let You Go
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
