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!