Ready for College Football

Okay it is a sports blog today. Don't worry I will be back with posts about theatre, movies, music and stuff soon. I haven't written a bunch on sports lately but those who have followed the blog for a while know I do write about sports.

Anyway, what I call My Rankings returns this year but I am publishing it on Hubpages. I used to publish it on Associated Content, Yahoo! Voices. They have changed so I can't publish them out as quickly so I am making a change. If you want to see if your team is ranked or how high I ranked them you can check out my pre-season ranking here.

Okay I know they used this song for Monday Night Football..but it works here to are you ready for some football?

I also published one more article on Hubpages as well. This one was on the most devastating football losses for the Florida Gators. If your a Gators fan like me some of them might make you groan. If you like some of the Gators rivals like Georgia and Florida State you might enjoy the article.

I will also be covering football for another site. I will post more about that when I publish something. In the mean time enjoy!

Remember, football starts tonight with South Carolina at Vandy!

The Fresh Beat Band

Yes the 3PM start time for the Fresh Beat Band did come as a surprise. I had to sign my daughter out of school and had the long ride home in rush hour to deal with. However, it was all worth it. My daughter had a wonderful time! You can read my review here.

Here is my daughter hamming it up before the show..


I applaud Wolf Trap for setting up a lost kids station at the concert knowing the Fresh Beat Band would draw a lot of young kids. An ounce of prevention goes along way!

My review has three videos attached to it if you would like to hear what the Fresh Beat Band sounds like. Here is another video for the song It's A Great Day...

Yesterday was a great day for my daughter and I. I hope I am blessed with many more!

R.I.P. Neil Armstrong

43 years ago last month Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Today at the age of 82 he died. You can read the NY Times article on his death. What a live astronaut, test pilot, and engineer. Quite a life of adventure, exploration and discovery.

Here is a fitting song REM..

On a serious note...The Walk

News of his passing,,,

May he rest in peace and may new adventures await the next generation

Review: Sara Jackson-Holman

I reviewed Sara Jackson-Holman's new album "Cardiology" over at CW's Place you can read my review here. Pretty good if you like piano and female vocals. She is sometimes compared to Adele and Amy Winehouse or at least in that style. You can read more reviews here as the site covers a lot of Indie Music as well as Christian music.

As always I try to add something different than just my review.

Here was her first single from her first album not the one that I reviewed..

Here is the song that kind of started her career (again not from album reviewed)..

and here is something from the album I reviewed...

Happy Friday! I hope you enjoyed and I will be back soon with a new post!

Dog Days of Summer: Follow Up

Well school has started. My little girl started kindergarten and my stepson has started another year in high school. Though in his case it is like he didn't have a summer with summer school and band. Scurrying around getting doctor's appointments going to open houses and orientations have put a pinch on summer time.

Summer does not end with me until the calendar says it is fall and then I still try to push it. However, for kids it ends a little early with school. One of the posts on the Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest was about summer plans so I am following that up. My daughters school officially started yesterday with a two hour orientation from 1-3. Tuesday, I ran some errands in the morning and took her the Catoctin Zoo.


Don't worry we saw lots of animals and witnessed the feedings of the alligators and monkeys. We also fed plenty of deer, goats, and pigs. After words we went to family night and then went to the County Fair. My son was playing in the band and wanted to hang out with his friends after. So after his performance I signed him out and gave him money. I went with my daughter and we met firefighters, had her face painted, dug for fossils, played on bouncy things, saw horses, goats, cows, chickens, turkeys and rabbits. We also went on a Ferris Wheel.

Wednesday my son had his first day of school. I still had a few hours before Evelyn had to be at orientation so I took her to one last movie "Shrek Forever After." Here is a trailer for that film:

Then it was off to school...



Today is her first full day of school her mom and I dropped her off but she gets to ride the bus home. It should be an adventure for her since she has never been in a school bus before. Don't worry I have a special concert planned for her next week. Like I said summer isn't over yet.

Blood and Donuts

No not the breakfast of champions but the title of a movie I reviewed. I decided to branch out into movie reviews and will be reviewing a few for a site called Disturbing Films. Blood and donuts is not even the breakfast of champion vampires. Could it be? Watch out Wheaties..

Bad jokes aside you can read my review here. Here is the trailer:

Here is a love scene from the movie:

Well thanks for stopping bye..I'll have something new and different for tomorrow

R.I.P. Scott McKenzie

Another hippie gone. Scott McKenzie gained fame for singing the song "San Francisco."  You might now the song about putting a flower in your hair. I discovered it via Led Zeppelin they added it to one of their "Whole Lota Love" medleys and I researched it and liked the song. Here you can take a listen..

You can read his obit here from the Telegraph. The song was written by John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. Scott co-wrote the Beach Boys song "Kokomo"

It is a shame he didn't really have another hit of his own..Here is about as close to it as he came..

May he R.I.P and may his songs live on...

Alan Jackson

Last night I went to the sold out Alan Jackson concert, the opening act was Craig Campbell. You can read my review here. It was a cool country concert as Alan played lots of hits. My wife nudging and winking at me as he played "Don't Rock the Jukebox" since he says "my heart ain't ready for the Rolling Stones" my wife was poking fun at me knowing I am a big Rolling Stones fan.

Here is Alan Jackson playing that song from last night..

To be honest I do like Alan Jackson's music. The opening act Craig Campbell was not bad. He has a good chance of becoming a star..

Here he is performing his biggest hit last night called "Family Man"...

I know I could sit here all day posting Alan Jackson hits but I will just post these two videos from last night.I had three articles published today including this one. So I will have at least two new blog posts coming up this week so stay tuned. I'll leave you with one more.."Where I Come From"

Hope you enjoy!

Playing it Forward: On the Write Track

I try to play or pay it forward every now and then. I'm not very good at it. I might be better at leaving comments again something I am not very good at. Though I leave more of the latter than I do the first.

Anyway, Donna L. Martin is a writer and she is having a blog contest so I decided I would join in on the fun! I'm a good joiner. She is giving away a couple of neat prize packs that would interest writers and readers. You can check it out at her blog at donasdayblogspot.com. If you like what you see go ahead and follow her and give her a comment. You can also learn more about her at her website donnalmartin.com. Good luck if you join the contest! Thanks for checking her out and I'm glad to play it forward for another blogger out there.

Meanwhile, on my blog I hope to have a cool Country Music post up this week and I am sure some surprises so check in again soon.

Silvermouse Review on a New Site

Okay I will be doing some music reviews on CW's Place. The site specializes in Christian and Indie music. I used my blog on my tagline since it is the best place to find out what and where I write. (If you dig enough or stick around long enough). So guests dropping bye welcome I hope you stay a while and come back. Regulars welcome back!

My first review falls on the Indie side and is Silvermouse's "Space Country." You can read it here it is short and sweet. As always I try to add something different, new, when I promote things I write on here.

Here is some Silvermouse for your viewing and listening pleasure from YouTube:

and another song:

If you like what you heard check out my review, check out their website, get the music! Check back soon I will have another post soon!

Elvis 35 Years Gone

Last year on this date I posted about my Elvis memories or lack there of..you can read my post here. Did have U2 and Robert Plant featured. One memory I did not share was my Dad took my Mom to see Elvis in Hampton. This was a big deal since my Dad wasn't big into concerts.

I don't know what year it was but this is the closing number from his 1972 show there...

Hard to believe I have never seen a show in the Hampton Colosseum. I've gone to shows in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth.

More from the show this is Elvis coming out on stage and the first number...

So last year I shared my Elvis memories, this year I shared my parents..(I think)

Life's Been Good-Joe Walsh

Yes I teased on an earlier post I was covering the Joe Walsh concert this week. You can read my review here.Well life has been good to me so far this summer on concerts.

Here is a different version of the song..taken from this year..

Here is Joe performing at the show I reviewed, you can take a look and a listen for your self..

Here is a picture I took of Joe Walsh performing...



Well I hope I shared a little extra and I hope you enjoy my review. Thanks for stopping bye I will have another post soon...

Robin Hood with a Twist

Add a rock band and a few songs to Robin Hood. Update it to represent the Occupy Movement and the 99%. Take some daring chances and you have lively, current theater with a classic twist. That is exactly what the MET did with their production and you can read my review here.

Here is the promo for the show:

Here is a bit of a teaser:

A local World Premiere from a local theatre company working with Frederick Community College and Hood College. I suppose this is what community theatre is all about.

Iron Cross in Concert

Saturday, I didn't go to the benefit show, pool party as another concert I was scheduled to review actually got confirmed late. So, I was kind of obligated to go. It was a neat experience for me and a challenging review to write. You can read my review here. Iron Cross is a Burmese (Myanmar) rock band and the entire concert was in Burmese. Which I have no problem with, English speaking bands play in foreign places and sing in English all the time.

However, it was truly a cultural experience. It was interesting hearing the crowd chanting, cheering, all in another language. Most if not all of the crowd was Burmese or Burmese Americans. I'm glad they came out and supported a band they enjoy! Just very humbling to know most of them probably spoke more than one language. I speak one. In a way I am Internationally illiterate. But it was an experience an adventure to be in an environment where I didn't know the language at all. (When I went to Mexico, they spoke English and I could pick up a word or two in Spanish). Here I could not. I could pick up what was banter, showmanship, and jokes from the body language.

I hope I did justice on the review. I will so they put on a 3.5 hour nonstop show. The guitarist, Chit San Maung is incredible. Don't believe me check the video below...

I've seen a lot of great guitarist, blogged about and interviewed many ad this guy belongs in the upper echelon of guitarists anywhere. He made me a fan of his. I loved how they used different vocalists and changed so many textures in their music. They would go from something poppy to something like heavy metal.

The drummer was great too as was the keyboardist. Here is the Wipeout jam which turned into a drum solo. This was from the show I reviewed. Wipeout was the most familiar song I heard...

Well it was a treat. I hope you liked my review and I hope you check out Iron Cross for something different.

Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest: Ultimate Vacation

I take staying home or around home for granted. Literally I could have someone's ultimate vacation by staying home and maybe some minimal car travelling. I could go hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I could fish the pond across the street, or I have a choice of two rivers. If I wanted to spend money I could canoe, kayak, raft or tube either river. The National Park is here. But I tend to have a need to go, go, go...

A vacation always sounds better before you go. Even if it is fun and a good time it could have always been better. I'm assuming time and money are available for the ultimate vacation since this is kind of fantasy. In reality those two things don't really line up.

If I am going with the family I suppose it would be Disney World. Do the multiple day thing and see all Disney has to offer. Though I am sure by the second day of standing in lines it wouldn't be an ultimate vacation.

OK make it better for the adults and throw a beach day or two in the vacation. Also throw in a day of deep sea fishing for me.

If it is just the wife and me. I would say a Caribbean Island some where. At this point I would settle for the Florida Keys. Maybe multiple islands but not really looking for the cruise thing. Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, The Virgin Islands, some where neat. We never had the honeymoon trip so we are over due.

Just me. Not really a summer vacation though I could go to New Zealand or Chile. It would be a ski trip. Anywhere but the East Coast. I don't mind skiing the east but I want to try somewhere else. British Columbia, Lake Tahoe, probably top my list but I am not picky. Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway..lots of options.
New scenery, it clears my mind, I would get in better shape all positive things.

Guess I just need to pick one...

The Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest: Plans

Okay I am more of a spur of the moment kind of guy. But here are my plans for the rest of the summer..

Saturday, I am going to a benefit blues concert, cook out, pool party, moon bounce kind of shin dig. It is local and for a little girl who was born several weeks early and developed cerebral palsy. You can read her story here. If you are led to help out I am sure her family would appreciate it.

Monday, I am reviewing the Joe Walsh concert..yes life has been good to me so far...

Then I am scheduled to review a couple more shows before the end of the month. I would like to go fishing a few more times, do something with the family, and maybe a zoo trip.In between I will write a few articles, blog a bit, and hopefully find a new day job.

Stay tuned I will be back with the ultimate vacation post on Sunday to wrap up the Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest.

Dog Days of Summer: Favorite Summer Activity

Cool another blog fest! I am participating in the Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest and I plan to post one each day of the Fest since there are three topics. The first one is Describe Your Favorite Summer Activity thus far..

Hmm..a lot of what I do I do year round. The top of the list is being a dad. So, I guess my favorite activity so far was being able to take my daughter fishing. She turned five in April so she was at that age where I could safely take her fishing without worrying about her snagging herself with the hooks. I snagged myself so I guess there isn't a really safe time for that.

Here is her first fish:



Obviously I like the concerts in the amphitheaters, however I am lucky enough to see concerts pretty much year round. Though this summer has been pretty cool with concerts, I've been so busy with them I decided not to pursue to many festivals. Being the cool Dad I am I brought my daughter to her first real non festival show..



I also am scheduled to take her to a concert per her request, a popular kid's band so stay tuned I will post about that concert later this month. Tomorrow's post will be about what activities I plan to do before summer is over...

Olympics: USA Vs Japan Women's soccer

The USA Women's soccer team won the Gold Medal today by beating Japan 2-1. Winning provided the team a little revenge for losing the World Cup last summer to Japan. I am glad it was another good match between the two teams. I am also impressed the teams attracted over 80,000 for the game. I think it was great day for the sport overall. You can read a recap here.

I don't know why the sport struggles to sustain itself in the pro levels in the USA. The girls have had success on the International scene and they create a brief buzz. Maybe it is just that soccer as a whole struggles here. However, the girls have skills and I am all for women in sports. Especially if it is something they excel at and is something entertaining to watch. Maybe one day..

Here are some Olympic highlights...

some more..

Well be back soon

The Dukes of September

Even in August, The Dukes of September sound pretty awesome. The band is led by a trio of singers. One is Donald Fagen the vocalist and keyboardist and half of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald who used to be in The Doobie Brothers, and Boz Scaggs who used to be in the Steve Miller Band. The backing band is pretty much Steely Dan's backing band and studio musicians. They presented a wonderful two hour show packed full of their hits and personal favorites. You can read my review here.

Here the band covers Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic...

Here they cover some classic soul with Love TKO...

They closed with song..

There are three other tunes lined to my review. I wanted to mix it up for my blog as I always try to add a little something extra when shamelessly promoting something I wrote. I hope you enjoy and I will be back soon,,,

Happy Independence Day and Olympic Medals Celebration for Jamaica

Congrats Jamaica on your 50th anniversary of your Independence! Usain Bolt gave Jamaica something else to celebrate when he won the Olympic 100 meter dash in London over the weekend. He might win another in the 200 and some other events. Teammate Yohan Blake too the silver to give Jamaica more to celebrate.

Here is some highlights...

Here is a parade from 2010..I am sure this year's will be bigger and better

Fun times in Jamaica ahead!

Jerry Seinfeld

I got to cover Jerry Seinfeld at the Kennedy Center. I ended up being doubled book for the night. So, I helped the band I manage set up for their gig in Hagerstown in the afternoon and navigated my way to Washington by 7PM. That my friends was comedy enough!

It was a treat since I rarely get out to see comedy. The last big name comedian I saw was George Carlin on his last tour. I hope this isn't Jerry's last one. Other than that I went to a comedy club in Florida and I watched a comedian open and emcee a jazz show in Jacksonville. Plus getting to go to the Kennedy Center for anything is pretty cool!

Chuck Martin, probably better known for producing and writing Arrested Development opened the show. He was pretty good at stand up and a wise choice for an opener.Here is a clip Chuck is in...

Everyone knows Jerry from his show Seinfeld. I had no clue he was 58! He has been doing stand up since he was 21 so he has a bit of experience. Anyway you can read my review here. Here is a clip of Jerry from 2008 talking about airports..

It was a great show if you get a chance check it out!

Anonymous the good Samaritan

Some where along the way I had dropped my driver's license. I didn't even realized I had until I opened my mail box. Inside was an envelope addressed to me. There was no return address. I opened it up and inside was my missing license and a note. The note read I found this while mowing grass. I don't know who found it and took the time to send it to me. However, it was nice of them and I wish them thanks. It is nice to know good folks still exist and it was a nice act of kindness by this anonymous good Samaritan.

Happy Birthday Jerry Garcia

Today Jerry Garcia, the guitarist, vocalist, for the Grateful Dead would have turned 70. Later this month marks the 17th anniversary of his death. 53 is way too soon to go. However, Jerry did have health issues I remember a Fall tour in the 90s that got cancelled due to his health. I was bummed, I had tickets to three shows on that tour.

I miss Jerry, since it marked the end of the Grateful Dead. Sure there are the splinter groups Further, Phil Lesh and Friends, Bob Weir and Ratdog. However, it isn't quite the same. The vibe is missing. I loved the peddlers outside the venue. If a fan bumped into you, they would say they were sorry and make sure you were okay. Yes their were drugs.  but you could say no and still be cool. They even had fans the Wharf Rats who were sober.

I was about the music, still am. They used to put on a long three hour show and they would have cool opening acts. I remember seeing Traffic and Steve Miller open for them. Bruce Hornsby would join them in most shows I saw at RFK. You could see multiple shows since the band would change the set list every night. If Led Zeppelin was responsible for my exploration and love of blues music and guitar driven rock. The Grateful Dead were responsible for my acoustic, folk,  exploration.

I mean I love Jerry with the Dead, solo, and his bluegrass projects as well. 17 years later I know what is missing.

This is the Grateful Dead performing Casey Jones at the first Grateful Dead show I went to back in 1992...

Here is a different Casey Jones. Off of Shady Grove an album Jerry did with David Grisman. I love this album,,,

Here Jerry Garcia and his band covers Bob Dylan....

Jerry Garcia happy birthday, sorry you left so soon.