Cliff 'Em All in Hollywood - 11.14.13

Here's everything you need to know. Now be there! 

Cliff 'Em All does Kill 'Em All

Cliff 'Em All will play Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" from start to finish this Friday night, Oct. 25th in Los Angeles at The Joint.

Your price to attend?  $0.  That's right.  It's free AND it's also a Halloween show, so come in costume for free swag and what not.  Don't miss it!

My Next Drum Class - Sunday 9/22/13

Drums For Teens & Adults begins again at Los Angeles City College this Sunday, September 22nd.  This is a group course for beginners and/or anyone completely new to music.  The goal is to get you to learn how to listen to, read and play music so you can jam with your favorite songs and other musicians.  There are still some spots available so sign up today!

Cliff 'Em All in NoHo - Wednesday August 28th!

If you're anywhere near Los Angeles on this day, come join us, War Ensemble and Fender's Ballroom for a night of classic thrash. 

"Trust your feelings!"

Cobra Venom is deep in the process of creating our new 7-inch EP and while we're very happy about what we did with Extinction Reality, we took a different approach for this new offering.  Extinction was very much a full-length album, a complete statement with the full range of instrument playing, songwriting and production capabilities we had at that point in time.  The new EP (name to be decided soon) is a raw, live-tracked sampling of our strongest current material.  The songs are focused while showing our band's musical growth at the same time.  We also made some major adjustments to these songs DURING THE SESSION and they sound way better because of it! 

"You must unlearn what you have learned."

My biggest challenge was trusting my live playing in a studio setting.  It has been a LONG time since I recorded without a click or backing track (at least 10 years, maybe longer).  It's also not that I couldn't use a click or track for these songs - it was a choice not to, in order to have a loose, uncontained, old school punk vibe for the album rather than a disciplined, technically precise and brutal performance by classically trained musicians.  The band trusted me to do well in this situation and I had to trust myself to make it work.  Fortunately, I'm very pleased with the end result and luckily for me, the rest of my band is also happy with my performance.  This doesn't mean that I'll NEVER use a click track again but it does mean that I can do either way in the future and be comfortable, confident, and effective behind the kit.

More info on the EP coming soon.  Our Indiegogo campaign video features the chorus of one of the new songs.  Thanks to everyone that has already contributed!  Please continue to spread the word and when it comes to your own creative endeavors, remember the words of Obi-Wan and Yoda....

Random Rant #6: Remedy For The Blueshirt Blues

My beloved New York Rangers have put themselves in ANOTHER must-win situation. This is familiar territory, though. We were barely in the race to make the playoffs a month ago. Two weeks ago it looked like we got lucky and were quickly on our way out the post-season door. Last week we managed to get it together and push past the Caps but Sunday's decimation during Game Two in Boston proved that a lot of the issues the Rangers have struggled with are still hampering us now – and the Bruins know it. More importantly, it has become apparent to this blueshirt that we’re in our own way more than the Bruins are in our way and it's time to fix that. RIGHT. NOW.

Here are the Ranger problems that the Bruins DON’T have:

• Special Teams. Everyone knows that our power play is weak. If that doesn't get fixed in the next 48 hours, we’re in big trouble. Once it does, the Bruins will have to adapt, which will buy us some time. They're an aggressive team so they WILL get penalties and when that happens, we need to make the Bruins worry about it. They also don't fear our PK unit either, which is part of another problem...

• Screens and Front-of-the-Net Traffic.  Lundqvist's close game is spot on but the team needs to support him on the distance shots that are harder to see.  This means the Rangers need tighter defense and shot-blocking at the point while pushing Bruins OUT of King Henrik's way in front so he has a good view of the shooter(s) and less chances being generated by nearby Bruins that can work with deflections.  Rask and the Bruins have this problem figured out, which is one reason why we've only scored two goals per game.  Another thing the Bruins have down and the Rangers need....

• Puck control. We're taking more shots (a vast improvement from the regular season) but we’re also getting less goals. We need better, faster shots on goal with confident passing and control of the puck in the neutral zone. We need to get in Rask’s face. Nash and Callahan BOTH scored in Game Two by charging right up to him and forcing him to guess too quickly. Worst of all, too many times, we skate backwards into our defensive zone to set up plays when we need to march forward into Bruin territory and generate momentum - ESPECIALLY on the power plays.  The Bruins seem to go to their defensive zone to set up plays during line changes or to kill the clock, but that’s basically it.  The rest of the time they move forward towards Lundqvist – even when they’re on defense!  And speaking of Lundqvist, for far too long, his team has been struggling with.... 

• Star Power Issues. The Rangers as a whole need to support Lundqvist and Callahan, NOT rely on them.  Nash finally broke his scoreless slump but now he needs to step up HARD or he may face the same fate as Gaborik.  At this point, I’m pretty sure Richards is fighting for his job.  Rask is a great goalie on a team of excellent players that support each other (Marchand and Bergeron especially come to mind along with the obvious ex-Ranger, Jagr), but they don’t RELY on each other.  The trust and the effort is there so that everyone can do their jobs.  Stepan, Hagelin, McDonagh and Brassard have made valiant efforts to make this happen for the Rangers and if they continue and the rest of the team follows, the momentum of the series will shift.  Changing this dynamic will get the Rangers at least to Game Six if not the Conference Finals or further.

I know our team can fix these problems.  Once they get handled, the Rangers will not only get wins at home and in Boston, but they’ll be ready for the Pens/Sens and whoever is the best in the West.  I hope Torts is working on all these things and more with them right now.  Most important of all, after we fulfill the destiny that awaits us this season, these things MUST be on the to-do list during training camp for next season.  Lundqvist is on track to break Mike Richter's win record next year and Cally is on his way to becoming the next Messier, so with a few crucial tweaks, this team can capture the spirit of the 90's Rangers and bring The Cup back to New York.

On to Madison Square Garden and victory.  Let’s Go Rangers!

Cobra Venom unleashes new music!

The Cobras and I are putting together a new EP that will be out this summer!  We decided to go with vinyl this time (plus downloads as well) and once again, you can be part of the process.  Pledgers will get the new music, a variety of new and exclusive merch items, plus some help from CV with their own creative ambitions as well.

Click for more info!

Cobra Venom in LA - Wednesday April 17th!

CV will be at The Joint on April 17th, playing songs from "Extinction Reality" that haven't been played live since the album came out along with some new jams.  We're also including one brand new song that has yet to be played in public at all! Joining us will be our good friends Eternal Misery, Life's Torment, Doctor Professor and Hydra.  Best part? Only $5 for all this brutality and it's ALL AGES, so bring the kids! 

We're also giving away another goodie when we hit 550 likes on our facebook, so "like" us if you haven't already to get in on the free stuff!

My drum class at LA City College!

Sign-ups for Drums For Teens & Adults start this week and will continue through April 26th.  This is a group course for beginners and/or anyone completely new to music.  The goal is to get you to learn how to listen to and read music so you can jam with your favorite songs and other musicians.

As Lord Vader once said, "We would be honored....if you would join us."  ;-)

Random Rant #5: Go See Old Movies In The Theater

Yeah. No subtlety for this rant.  I just told you what to do. Why? Cuz it's AWESOME.  Well, seeing old movies in the theater is AWESOME.  Me telling you what to do, like a complete jerk, is REALLY AWESOME. :)

Seriously though, especially if you're into action/adventure/comic book/fantasy/sci-fi/geeky stuff like me, the movies in that genre, especially from the 80s, were MEANT to be seen on gigantic movie screens.  Remember, studios were not totally sold on the VHS industry in the early 80s.  It took awhile for that to even be a consideration for production. Now of course everything that gets made has DVD/Blu-Ray consideration for watchability and sales projections but this was NOT the case back in the day and it shows.  The movies were made for the theaters and production was done accordingly.

Not meant for 15-inch screens

Matte paintings, models and miniatures have a life-likeness to them that modern film audiences either totally missed out on or can't remember.  Movies where there was a lot of physical art involved in the creation of the shots just stand out that much more in a cinema than on a screen the size of a book. I really felt this when I saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark last year and Batman this past week (thank you, Arclight).  I've seen both of those movies a zillion times on televisions but the cinema experience really lends something to the type of film that was created.  The sound was amazing, too.  The balance between dialogue, foley and music on a television or computer doesn't even come close to a theater experience and only THE BEST home theater systems can even try to do it justice in your living room.

I wonder if there's a way to bring some of the feel of these physical aspects back to movies.  CGI artists may get there eventually but there's still a ways to go.  Even the super high-budget movies like Avengers that look absolutely great on movie screens and on Blu-Rays aren't the same.  There's a lightning fast pace to the editing and effects processing that makes these movies look like commercials and video games more than films.  There are lighting issues too, maybe because so much stuff is moving and changing colors on these screens now.  And of course, there's the sound.  Film sound hasn't gotten quite as crazy as music production with the loudness of everything but it does get lost without a home theater setup.  

Only one building blows up and the movie still works

Ok, I'm gonna try to stop sounding like grandpa talking about the good old days and these young whippersnappers not knowing what good quality is now (I figure that'll happen around Random Rant #258 anyway).  I would like to ask the filmmaking community if there is a way to marry some of this new technology (certainly the digital artistry and lighting designs like we saw in Tron: Legacy) with  still craftsmanship that you'd find in model work and matte paintings.  Yeah, there's always costumes and props but I'm talking about major action sequences and location shots as well.  With a new Star Wars trilogy on the way, this kind of innovation can pay off BIG in the near future.

Disney, please no more bad aliens, fake backgrounds and pastel tones

I believe that younger audiences will get something cool out of this if they're exposed to the physical artwork in some familiar context.  Then they could learn to appreciate the older technology if they don't already.  The crowd that's longer in the tooth will also go to more movies if they feel like the movies are watchable as films and not just a 125-minute+ CGI video games with actors.  Since the older audience usually has money and families to bring to these movies anyway, why not give it a shot?  If the film industry is doing as well as we're being told, why not take a risk?  If nothing else, this move can revitalize some of these older film properties and bring more revenue to the table as nostalgia kicks in and new fans are brought into the fold.

There, I just told the movie industry what to do, too. Now that I'm done telling everyone else what to do, better get back to my job.

RLRR LRLL.....

Cliff 'Em All returns for Peep And Destroy 2/24/13!

Some other big show of some kind is happening in LA this Sunday night.....but it'll be over before we hit the stage, so come join Cliff 'Em All, Undead Cuervo and KNAC's Crazy Craig for the second Peep & Destroy gathering of 2013!

Groove to the sweet sounds Cliff 'Em All and Metalachi - 2.13.13

This day before Valentine's Day, show your special lady or gentleman a seductively good time at The Joint with Disjointed, Cliff 'Em All and Metalachi.  The show starts at 8, we're on around 9.  Come get your lovin' on.  :)

Cobras for Kitties! Benefit show Friday 2/1/13

It takes a special kind of metalhead to love adorable little kitty cats.  Actually, no it doesn't.  There are a lot of us.  This Friday, February 1st, Cobra Venom will be teaming up with a few of LA's best underground metal bands at a benefit show for one of LA's no-kill shelters as well as a book that tells the story of metalheads and their love of felines.  All the money is going to the cause and the people running the show are the coolest, most stand up humans you could get to run something like this.  Come be a part of this great cause and give your kitty a hug while you're at it!

NAMM 2013!

I'll be there starting today!  Looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making some new ones.  The NAMM Show is the official start of the music year for many of us and I'm really stoked about some big things in the works for myself, Cobra Venom, Cliff 'Em All, and an unsuspecting group of students in Los Angeles that are about to become padawan learners...

Say hi if you're in Anaheim!

Cliff 'Em All returns - Monday January 14th!

We're bringing 1986 back in the best way possible.  Join me and Cliff 'Em All at The Whisky for some kick-ass old school thrash.  Our friends P.D.P. and Last Great Nation will be playing as well.

See you on the Strip!