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Outlaw Johnny Black Movie Review
Outlaw Johnny Black, a western/comedy, is a movie that was in the works for years.
It started off as a crowdfunded movie (I unfortunately lost money on this deal. I preordered a signed Blu Ray and never received it and never got refunded.) and it took years to be released.
But ultimately, on September 15 of 2023, Outlaw Johnny Black was released in theaters and not too long after that home video.
Because I lost money on participating in the crowd funding, I avoided watching this movie for a long time because even though I was excited about it long before it was released, the fact I lost money soured me on it quite a bit.
However, I finally did watch it (I bought the DVD for a much less price than what I lost on the preorder.) and I can say I enjoyed it.
The movie stars Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite, Blood And Bone, Never Back Down 2 and 3, The Dark Knight, Universal Soldier and Universal Soldier: The Return and many more), who also co-wrote and directed it.
He plays the title character, a outlaw bent on avenging the death of his father. He also ends up posing as a preacher in a small town, in which he ends up helping the town against a crooked land baron.
The cast also includes Byron Minns, Anika Noni Rose, Erica AshTommy Davidson, Barry Bostwick, and many more, including a few cool cameos by Michael Madsen, Jim Brown, and Fred Williamson.
It’s a fun western/comedy with some cool, fun action in it.
I really love the scenes where Michael is posing as a preacher.
At one point, he does a sermon and often says “turn it loose!!”. You have to see it.
Again, even though I lost money on participating in a crowd fund, I did ultimately enjoy this movie and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see a fun western/comedy.
I’m a big Michael Jai White fan and he definitely delivered another winner here.
To quote Outlaw Johnny Black “Turn it loose!!! Turn it loose”.
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Shattered Love: A Memoir By Richard Chamberlain Book Review
Movie/Television/Theater actor Richard Chamberlain released his autobiography Shattered Love: A Memoir in 2003.
I first became aware of Richard when I watched his movies King Solomon’s Mines and Allan Quatermain and The Lost City of Gold as a kid.
I know those movies are not on top of his favorite works list and that’s OK. But I loved them then and still do.
Richard has done a lot of great works over the years (Dr. Kildare, The Towering Inferno, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, Centennial, Shogun, The Thorn Birds and it’s sequel (or “mid-quel” as he called it), and many others, and he talks about some of them in his book.
He has a lot of great stories.
However, his book is about much more than his life in the entertainment business.
His book is much more about finding oneself, everything around us, and how to become a better person.
He took most of his life to finally come to peace with his upbringing (he had a psychologically abusive Dad), hiding his true self from most people, and just ultimately being.
I suppose it does take your whole life to accomplish this, if you ever do.
Richard got into meditation and learned from many people and books about ways to try to “just be”.
I applaud him for being able to do it.
I’m not saying he’s perfect. No one is. But he was able to find some peace and “just be”.
I know I will never be able to do it. It is impossible for me to “just be”.
I wish I could but I can’t.
Anyway, I found Richard’s book a great read and I recommend this to anyone.
And even though he may not be wild about them, thank you Richard for making the Allan Quatermain movies. They were an important part of my childhood and I’ll always love your work in them.
Thank you.
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Jasta …And Jasta For All Album Review
Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed has released another great solo album.
This time, he put out a Thrash Metal album called …And Jasta For All.
The album title and artwork is a take off/tribute to Metallica’s …And Justice For All album.
This album is HAAAARRRRD, as Jamey likes to say.
Charlie and Nick Bellmore play guitar and drums, respectively, and Joey Concepcion plays some guitar on it too. It also features a few Thrash Metal legends guesting, such as Scott Ian of Anthrax/S.O.D./Mr. Bungle/Pearl/The Damned Things, Steve “Zetro” Souza of Exodus, Chuck Billy of Testament, and Phil Demmel of VIO-LENCE, Machine Head, and Kerry King of Slayer’s band.
If you are a fan of Thrash Metal, you will love this.
Thanks Jamey for making another great album and for signing it.
It was released May 17, but I actually received it weeks before official release because it was shipped very quickly.
Again thanks Jamey. You rock!!!
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Miles The Autobiography by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe Book Review
I have been a Miles Davis fan since I was a teenager.
My brother got me into his music.
Miles Davis (1926-1991) is one of the biggest contributors to Jazz music and just music in general.
His trumpet playing influenced so many and his music is timeless.
He had a great ear for music and for talent.
He worked with a lot of great musicians, some of whom were Charlie “Bird” Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and soooooo many more.
His body of work is phenomenal.
Such classic albums such as ‘Round About Midnight, Kind Of Blue, Bitches Brew, and a TON of others.
This book, released in 1989, is about his life, told by him in his words.
No filter. It’s all there.
He was one of a kind and there will never be another like him.
Seek out this book and his great music.
You won’t regret it.
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Gone Are The Days Movie Review
Gone Are The Days was released in 2017.
It stars Lance Henriksen, Tom Berenger, Billy Lush, Meg Steedle, Steve Railsback, and Danny Trejo.
Henriksen plays Taylon, an outlaw who is near the end of his life.
He wants to rob one more bank before he dies so he can give his daughter (Steedle), who does not even know he is her Dad, the money and the money he already has in savings so she can live a good life.
What he does not realize is that she is a prostitute who is being pimped out by Railsback’s character, and so Henriksen needs to get her away from him too.
Berenger plays a sheriff and former Texas Ranger, who has history with Henriksen’s character.
This is definitely a western, but it is really more a character story of someone (Henriksen) at the end of their life.
You watch the movie and wonder what is real and what is perhaps a dream because Henriksen’s character is so far gone.
I found the movie a bit weird because of this, but nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.
I’m a big Lance Henriksen and Tom Berenger fan, as well as Danny Trejo (who has a small but important role in this).
Don’t expect this to be a straight ahead western because it isn’t.
But it is a good movie and I think everyone did a very good job with it.
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Scream Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street Review
Scream Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street is a documentary about actor Mark Patton, who is most known as the star of Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.
Yes this documentary talks about Mark’s experience working on that movie (one of my favorite horror movies), but this documentary is really his life story.
He talks about his upbringing, about figuring out his sexuality, getting into acting and why he left acting (really off the grid period for many years), and about just surviving all the obstacles that have come his way.
This documentary also shows him going on the road for conventions/fan expos/Comic Cons meeting fans and reuniting with some of his Nightmare On Elm Street 2 cast and crew. And trying to find some peace with the writer of the movie, who he had major issues with.
Mark has really lived, nearly died, and is still going strong.
His story is extremely compelling and inspiring.
You may even cry a little because there is some heavy stuff in this. But it is stuff you should know about. Not just about him, but about humanity in general. Both good and bad.
I want to wish Mark all the best in the world.
This is a PHENOMENAL documentary.
I HIGHLY recommend seeking out this documentary.
You do not have to be a horror fan or Nightmare On Elm Street fan to watch or enjoy this.
This is a human story. And one I think everyone should see.
Thank you Mark for this.
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Blue Oyster Cult Ghost Stories Album Review
Rock legends Blue Oyster Cult released their 16th studio album, Ghost Stories, on April 12 of 2024.
This album consists of songs that were recorded between 1978-1983 and one in 2016, but were never released or not completely done at the time.
Some parts were added, but the parts that were recorded at the time were not changed, but just spruced up, if you will.
This album is very good. Sounds like classic BOC.
Classic members Eric Bloom (Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (Vocals/Guitar) are still going strong.
If you are a fan, or have not checked them out and want to, I recommend this one and all their huge discography.
Rock out!!
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Saxon Hell, Fire And Damnation Album Review
New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) legends Saxon released their 26th (counting two cover albums) studio album Hell, Fire And Damnation on January 19 of 2024.
Saxon, consisting of singer Biff Byford, guitarists Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler (Brian replacing long time guitarist Paul Quinn, who also plays on two songs on this album), bassist Nibbs Carter, and drummer Nigel Glockler, have been quite consistent over the decades with album releases and tours.
They put out an album every few years and most of them, I think, are very good.
They have their style of hard driving, hard rocking, heavy songs, but also incorporate melody and anthemic lyrics.
This album sounds modern and fresh, but also like classic Saxon to me.
Lots of great rocking, heavy riffs with Biff’s great vocals, but also some really good melody too. In fact, more melody than I remember from most recent Saxon albums.
This band is really good on album and really good in concert.
I’m seeing them for the 3rd time, May 17, in Cincinnati, OH, co-headlining with the legendary band Uriah Heep, and I cannot wait.
Keep on rocking Saxon!!!!!
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The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx By Nikki Sixx Book Review
I’m a huge Motley Crue fan, but I was late reading Motley bassist/songwriter/founder Nikki Sixx’s most recent book.
The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx, was released in 2021, and as the title suggests, covers Nikki’s first 21 years of life leading up to the formation of Motley Crue.
The book actually starts more in the present about Motley getting back together (a few years after their “Final Tour”) to do a stadium tour.
Once Nikki talks about that, he goes back in time to the early years of his family, him being born, and a lot of things that happened in his first 21 years of life.
This is not a long read, but it is a fantastic read.
I highly enjoyed this book.
Yes I’m a fan, but I would have loved it anyways because I am such a music fan and a fan of autobiographies.
Autobiographies are my favorite type of book and even though Nikki has put out other books (The Dirt, The Heroin Diaries, This Is Gonna Hurt) he still has a lot to say, and he went into much more detail about his early years in this book.
Again, not a long read, but such a great book, though.
Check it out.
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Heaven And Hell: My Life In The Eagles (1974-2001) by Don Felder With Wendy Holden Book Review
I was super late to this, but I finally read Don Felder (ex lead guitarist of The Eagles) book earlier this year.
This book, called Heaven And Hell: My Life In The Eagles (1974-2001), was released in the late 2000s.
Don collaborated with author Wendy Holden on this book.
As the title suggests, this book chronicles Don’s time in the hugely successful band The Eagles. It also talks about his life leading up to being in the band and afterwards.
In short, it’s Don’s autobiography, and if you are a fan, I highly recommend reading this book.
Lots of stories. Lots of details.
As a side note, I also highly recommend seeing Don in concert. You will not be disappointed.
Don is an extremely talented guitar player and actually is a very good singer too.
He sings/plays The Eagles songs in concert and does a great job. He also has a few really good solo albums too. Check them out.
And check out this book.
Even if you are not a fan of The Eagles but just are a fan of music and bands in general, then this is quite the book to read about music and the music business.
Very good read.
